Holiday sales were robust in November, giving merchants reason to be optimistic about overall spending for the holiday shopping season, according to the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales in November, excluding automobiles and gasoline, rose 0.77% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis, and 4.24% on an unadjusted basis year-over-year, …
December, 2023
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11 December
How DataVisor Is Harnessing SMS Technology to Combat Fraud From Identity Theft
Short-message service, or SMS, is coming to the aid of fraud managers looking to verify the identity of persons on the receiving end of payments transactions. The technology, which undergirds the well-known texting function between users of mobile phones, can be harnessed to stop fraud, according to security firm DataVisor …
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11 December
FreedomPay Adds CitiPay And Other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/11/23
Payments platform FreedomPay has agreed to offer Citi Pay, a provider of point-of-sale financing and a unit of Citi Retail Services, to its merchant clients. Payment processor 100Group announced an expansion in motorsports with an agreement to process transactions for Tony Stewart Racing. SimplePin Inc., a payments platform specializing in the insurance industry, has …
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8 December
Navy Federal Credit Union Picks Alacriti for RTP Access
With real-time payments perhaps on the cusp of becoming an essential payment service, Navy Federal Credit Union, which rung up $2.7 million in real-time deposits on its first full day on the RTP network from The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC, is using Alacriti to connect to the network. Bridgewater, …
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8 December
With Time of the Essence, Arguments for And Against the CCCA Intensify
With Congress scheduled to adjourn Dec. 15, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., made a last-minute push on the Senate floor late Thursday, calling for a vote on the Credit Card Competition Act before adjournment. Durbin’s remarks, which also pushed back against arguments by card networks and card issuers that the proposed …
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7 December
Visa Enhances Merchant Security in the Era of Digital Fraud
As the digital economy continues to grow, people are relying on virtual transactions more than ever. But with the expansion of digital money movement comes new opportunities for fraudsters to exploit merchants and their customers. In today’s economy, fraudulent activity can happen anywhere, to just about anyone. Digital cybercriminals are …
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7 December
As International Travel Rebounds, Citcon Works With Alipay to Bring Alipay+ to U.S. Merchants
E-commerce wallet-technology provider Citcon USA LLC has partnered with Alipay to enable merchants in the United States to accept e-wallet payments from international travelers through the Alipay+ platform. Alipay+ is a cross-border mobile-payment platform that enables consumers traveling abroad to make purchases using a chosen payment method. The partnership marks …
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7 December
Amazon Drops Venmo Only a Year After Adding It As a Payment Method
Amazon.com will stop accepting Venmo for payments effective Jan. 10, according to news reports and a page on Venmo’s Web site. “Due to recent changes, Venmo can no longer be added as a payment method. Venmo will remain available to users who currently have it enabled in their Amazon wallet …
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7 December
SoundHound’s $25 Million Acquisition And Other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/7/23
SoundHound AI Inc. said it will acquire SYNQ3 Restaurant Solutions, a voice artificial intelligence and technology provider for restaurants, in a deal valued at $25 million. Once completed, the deal will extend SoundHound’s services to 10,000 locations and more than 25 national and multinational chains. The deal is expected to close …
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6 December
Pidgin Partners With Modern Banking Systems to Bring Real-Time Payments to Small Banks
Payments-platform provider Pidgin Inc. will work with Modern Banking Systems, a provider of core bank-processing technology, in an effort to bring real-time payments capability to community banks. Pidgin’s platform supports real-time processing through multiple payment rails, including FedNow and The Clearing House Payments Co.’s Real-Time Payments network. The deal was …