Ackroo Inc., a point-of-sale marketing and payments platform, said it has closed on its acquisition of Simpliconnect, a cloud-based marketing service for service stations and convenience stores. Under the terms of the deal, Ackroo paid $750,000 at the close and will make six monthly cash payments of $125,000 starting July …

The number of cryptocurrency hacks globally reached 190 last year, setting a new annual record and exceeding 2021’s total by 44%, according to Comparitech. The value stolen totaled $3.57 billion, exceeding the combined total for 2019, 2020, and 2021. Some 82% of senders of remittances across borders said the cost of living has risen …

China-based UnionPay International announced 38 million merchants globally now accept the UnionPay card, four times the number 10 years ago, with 4 million added in 2022. UnionPay has issued more than 20 million cards internationally this year, bringing to more than 200 million the number of cards outside the Chinese Mainland. Former …

Dealer-Pay, a payments-technology provider for automobile dealerships, has integrated its platform with Dealertrack, a management system serving the same industry. Guarda, whose cryptocurrency wallet includes a prepaid Visa card, added five more digital currencies to the 14 it already supports. Supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin and Ethereum. Japan-based Smartpay has launched Smartpay …

MoneyGram International Inc. announced a partnership with bill-payment platform CellPay to expand bill-pay options for MoneyGram users while expanding acceptance for MoneyGram’s service to more than 30,000 billers. Some 3.46% of U.S. consumers opened a new credit card in November, down from 3.7% in November 2021, according to the December 2022 …

U.S. retail sales in the Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 period, excluding automotive, grew 7.6% compared to the same time in 2021, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse, which tracks in-store and online sales. E-commerce sales alone were up 10.6%. The calculation took account of all forms of payment but was not …

The volume of buy now, pay later loans in the U.S. market will total $1.92 billion this year, up 25% from $1.54 billion in 2021, according to research from Research and Markets. The report projects the market will hit $6.5 billion by 2027.

A fraud ring that appears to be based in Southeast Asia is targeting U.S. retailers and has already committed an estimated $660 million in fraud in stolen laptops, cell phones, computer chips, gaming devices, and other goods just in November, said Signifyd, an online-fraud prevention firm. Signifyd said it has been tracking …

Payments-technology provider Finastra said Mechanics Cooperative Bank, a financial institution with $645 million in assets, has adopted the Finastra Payments To Go platform to offer real-time payments via The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC and later through the Federal Reserve’s FedNow network. Digital-security provider IronVest Inc. launched what it calls a “super app” for …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered Wells Fargo Bank to pay $3.7 billion, including a $1.7-billon civil penalty and $2 billion in redress to consumers, for what the bureau says were illegal fees and interest charges on auto and mortgage loans, incorrect charges on checking and savings accounts, and other “incorrect” …