Acquiring

Planet Payment Inc., a specialist processor focused on multi-currency and related international payment services, this week said it has begun “a process to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives focused on maximizing shareholder value,” a process that could result in the sale of the company. The review also could result …

Acquirers wanting to tap into the ever-growing number of e-commerce merchants, especially small businesses, might do well to target a handful of U.S. cities with large bases of retail entrepreneurs. E-commerce platform provider Volusion released this week a list of the top 10 cities based on volume of merchants and …

Consumer revolving credit outstandings, most of which are credit card debt, hit a record $1.02 trillion in June, the Federal Reserve reported this week. The new high is 0.1% higher than the old record set in April 2008, just as the financial crisis of 2008-09 was gathering steam. Relying on leaked …

In a brief filed Aug. 7, the U.S. Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court not to take up an appeal over a lower-court ruling upholding a so-called steering practice by American Express Co. The DoJ, which in 2010 joined 17 states in suing AmEx over the practice, argues …

The financial crisis of 2007-09 forced many banks to retreat from small-business lending, leaving a gap that digital-payments companies have rushed to fill. The latest move in this direction came Thursday, when PayPal Holdings Inc. said it has a deal to buy Swift Financial Corp., a Wilmington, Del.-based lender founded …

ThreatMetrix Inc., a provider of digital-identity and authentication services, reports that its network detected and stopped 144 million cyberattacks in the second quarter, a 100% increase from 2015’s second quarter. ThreatMetrix says its Digital Identity Network from April through June also stopped 300 million bot attacks in which hackers take …

Mobile point-of-sale services provider CardFlight Inc. announced that payments provider Central Payment will offer CardFlight’s SwipeSimple mPOS reader to merchants. Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) said home-improvement retailer Lowe’s will use FIS’s BizNOW prepaid service—labeled as Lowe’s PreLoad—to enable contractors to automate their purchasing activities, eliminating the need for their employees to …

After two delays, processor Vantiv Inc. and London-based merchant acquirer Worldpay Group plc finally announced a formal deal Wednesday that has Vantiv acquiring Worldpay in a deal that creates a global processing powerhouse. The cash and stock deal values Worldpay at $12 billion, a 34% premium to Worldpay’s six-month volume-weighted …

Declining use of cash at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has prompted the Atlanta City Council to re-bid a contract for banking services at the world’s busiest airport after only one bank, SunTrust, responded to the original proposal, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The incumbent, Wells Fargo, claims ATM revenues have declined and that its …

Worldpay has asked for second extension, this time to Aug. 11 after a first one to Aug. 8, of a British regulatory deadline as Worldpay and Vantiv Inc. executives put the finishing touches on Vantiv’s proposed $9.9 billion buyout offer for the London-based merchant acquirer. Reuters reported that the companies expect to announce a final …