Seeking to provide an alternative to rewards credit cards, Klarna AB has expanded its Premium and Max membership programs in the United States. Klarna’s membership program is a monthly fee-based service that offers consumers such rewards as cashback, exclusive deals, and lifestyle rewards, as well as airport lounge access and …
Read More »RTP Tops $1.3 Trillion and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/4/25
The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC said its RTP instant payments network topped $1.3 trillion in total payments in 2025 through November, up 428% from 2024. TCH said RTP transactions account for 98% of all bank-to-bank instant payments. PAR Technology Corp. announced Abelardo’s Mexican Fresh, a restaurant chain with more than 50 …
Read More »Small Businesses Are Turning to BNPL to Avoid Paying Credit Card Surcharges, J.D. Power Finds
While credit cards are the most common way small businesses pay for a purchase, a growing number are embracing buy now, pay later loans as a payment option. At the same time, many small businesses are opting not to pay by card in order to avoid a surcharge, finds J.D. …
Read More »The ‘Pressing Concern’ of Fraud and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/26/25
Fraud and scams have grown into a “pressing concern” for users of digital payments in the Caribbean and Latin America, according to a regional survey report released by Mastercard Inc. The research effort queried 3,577 adults in 12 countries in October. Mastercard has launched Mastercard Access Pass, aimed at allowing card issuers to …
Read More »Visa Identifies Payments’ Five Biggest Fraud Threats
Fraudsters are becoming better organized and building industrial-strength infrastructures to commit fraud, making their actions harder to detect and prevent, says Visa Inc.’s Fall 2025 Biannual Threats Report. The report, which pulls data from the Visa’s global network, identifies the five biggest fraud threats facing the payments ecosystem: the industrialization …
Read More »Eye on Payments AI: Hawk Debuts AI-Enabled Check Fraud Tool; EMVCo Sets Sights on Agentic Commerce
As artificial intelligence continues to weave itself into payments, organizations are adding new AI-enabled services and considering options for its use. Two of the latest are Hawk AI GmbH with a check-fraud prevention tool for U.S. financial institutions and EMVCo as it begins work on a global specification for its …
Read More »FICO Teams With Plaid to Include Cash Flow Data in Credit Scoring
FICO (Fair Isaac Corp.) has partnered with open-banking platform Plaid Inc. to develop the UltraFICO score, a credit score that includes real-time cash-flow data from Plaid. The new scoring model is intended to give lenders a more comprehensive view of a consumer’s credit readiness. The UltraFICO score will weigh a …
Read More »New CFPB Director Nominated and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/20/25
President Trump nominated Stuart Levenbach to be the new permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Levenbach is a senior official at the Office of Management and Budget. Acting director Russell Vought’s term is set to expire in December under the Vacancies Act. Toast Inc. said it will grant $10,000 to …
Read More »Nacha’s $10 Million Feedback and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/18/25
Nacha, the automated clearing house rule maker, is soliciting feedback on potentially increasing the transaction size of a same-day ACH payment from $1 million to $10 million. Comments are being accepted through Dec. 18. Steamboat Capital sent an open letter to the directors of Priority Technology Holdings Inc. expressing disappointment in an …
Read More »Another Merchant Lawsuit Settlement Is Reached, This One on EMV-Related Chargebacks
A lawsuit filed in March 2016 over how the four U.S. card brands handled the liability shift during the EMV migration more than 10 years ago, along with unreimbursed chargebacks associated with it, has reached its next step. The suit is over unreimbursed liability-shift chargebacks made with a credit or …
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