U.S. retail sales, excluding automotive products, grew 3.1% year-over-year in the Nov. 1 through Dec. 24 period, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse. The result is not adjusted for inflation. Standouts were e-commerce sales, up 6.3%, and restaurants, at 7.8%. The worst performer was jewelry, at negative 2%. Blockchain operator Paxos said it will …
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Having taken aim at credit card late fees and interest rates, and having targeted non-bank digital wallet providers, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra has now indicated his regulatory agency is turning its attention to credit card acceptance costs. Chopra’s comments Thursday came as the Credit Card Competition Act, …
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Buy now, pay later loans have become in a relatively short time a popular financing option for consumers, especially for holiday-season shopping. But now, that’s increasingly true not just for gifts, but for everyday purchases as well, according to data from payment-solutions and card-issuing platform provider Marqeta Inc. Based on …
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Citing a payments industry that is united in its opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act, research from the Congressional Research Service questioning the benefits of the legislation, and suspect support for the bill among members of Congress, the Electronic Payments Coalition says it is primed to continue its fight …
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The U.S. Department of Justice announced late Friday it is filing cases against several fraud rings that use so-called microtransactions to mask their fraudulent activity from victims and card issuers. The lawsuits are being brought as part of efforts by the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch to stop criminals that …
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An Illinois merchant has filed suit against Apple Inc., Mastercard Inc., and Visa Inc., alleging their efforts to develop Apple Pay prevented competition. Filed last week by Mirage Wine + Spirits in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the suit specifically claims the agreements among the …
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The Electronic Payments Coalition has opened a new front in its battle to prevent passage of the Credit Card Competition Act: it’s recruiting social-media influencers to join its cause. In June, the EPC put out a memo on the new tactic as part of its “Hands Off My Rewards” campaign …
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Tokenized credentials are supposed to stop fraud by masking card account numbers when a transaction is processed, but according to Visa Inc. global losses owing to illegitimate tokens totaled $450 million last year. That’s bad enough to prompt the network to announce early Wednesday it is launching Visa Provisioning Intelligence, …
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Buy now, pay later provider Zip Co. said U.S. merchants that accept Google Pay online can integrate Zip’s Pay-in-4 service, backed by WebBank, for Google Pay transactions. Trustly Group AB, an open-banking payments platform, announced its transaction volume on the Real Time Payments network increased 29% in the third quarter over the …
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Discover Financial Services said its board of directors has appointed Michael G. Rhodes chief executive and president. Rhodes, who will take office on or before March 6, succeeds interim CEO and president John Owen, who will continue as a Discover board member. Rhodes comes to Discover from TD Bank, where he was …
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