News

December, 2023

• 11 December

  Holiday Sales on Cards Are Off to a Healthy Start, the NRF Says

  

  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,  …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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, …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …