Ackroo Inc., a Canadian gift card and loyalty platform, announced early Friday it has reached a “definitive” agreement to be acquired by Paystone, a Canadian-based gift card and loyalty processor, in an all-cash deal for $21 million. Paystone will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Ackroo at …
Read More »The ABA’s Letter to the Fed Is the Latest Salvo in the Battle Over Debit Card Interchange
The American Bankers Association on Thursday issued a long and detailed letter it has sent to the Federal Reserve Board to argue its case against a Fed proposal that would reduce a longstanding cap on the interchange banks can earn on debit card transactions. The ABA’s action follows an analysis …
Read More »Extra Bill Pay Costs up 18%, doxo Says and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/13/24
So-called hidden costs—such as overdraft charges, late fees, and identity fraud—linked to bill payments amount to $196 billion on an annual basis, up 18% from last year, according to a study from bill-payment platform doxo. Mastercard Inc. released its 2025 payment trends forecast that discusses AI, small business, and contactless payments, which …
Read More »Bank of America Completes Paze Enablement
Consumers holding Bank of America Corp. credit and debit cards now have access to the Paze online checkout following BofA’s declaration that all of its eligible cards are now enabled for the e-commerce service. Paze is an online-checkout service developed by Early Warning Services LLC. It is designed to provide …
Read More »Cyber Weekend Sales up 5.7%, Fiserv Says and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/6/24
Same-store sales volume rose 5.7% and transactions were up 6.7% during the days from Nov. 27 and Dec. 2 compared to the same week last year, according to the 2024 Thanksgiving Holiday Insights report from Fiserv Inc. Illinois-based payments provider Payroc will work with Sunday, a restaurant point-of-sale technology provider, to offer the …
Read More »The U.S. Is Number One…in Breached Card Details
A new report from Surfshark, a provider of virtual private network services, finds that the United States far outpaces the top nine other major economies when it comes to the rate of breached payment card details. Based on 5.7 million payment card data points that have been compromised since 2004, …
Read More »Illinois’s Interchange Law Will Distort Card Payment Economics, a Report Says
If the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act survives the legal challenges it faces, the law would “create significant market distortions,” says a recent report from the International Center for Law & Economics, a Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit research and policy center. Some of the most significant impacts on the market, according …
Read More »Credit and Debit Travel Faves and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/25/24
Some 79% of airline passengers globally use debit and credit cards for all or most airline travel, but digital wallets and instant payments are gaining ground, according to “Online Airline Booking Insights 2024,” a report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. Some 72% of passengers book most of their trips online. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. …
Read More »With Work, Many Merchants Could Be Compliant with New Click to Cancel Rule
Consumers irked by the difficulty of unenrolling from some subscription services will gain relief May 14, when merchants must be compliant with the Federal Trade Commission’s revised Negative Option Role, otherwise known as click to cancel. Merchants, however, have a lot of work between now and then. The rule, which …
Read More »Click to Cancel Effective Jan. 14 and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/21/24
The Federal Trade Commission said its Negative Option rule, also known as click to cancel, goes into effect Jan. 14, and regulated entities must be compliant by May 14. The measure obliges entities that offer subscription services to make unenrollment as easy as the enrollment process. Airline and travel payments specialist CellPoint Digital raised $30 …
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