Digital Currency

[Editor’s Note: Following Digital Transactions News publication Friday, a U.S. District Court judge temporarily halted the layoffs at the CFPB, according to the Associated Press. Judge Amy Berman Jackson has scheduled an April 28 hearing on the matter.] A dramatically reduced Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will still operate, but with …

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has added support for pound-denominated accounts to its Kinexys Digital Payments system, which processes blockchain transactions for commercial accounts, Bloomberg reported. Up to now, accounts have been denominated mostly in dollars. Kinexys was launched in 2019 as JPM Coin. Theya Inc., a Bitcoin self-custody platform, launched Theya for Business, …

Block Inc. has been ordered to pay a $40-million fine to the state of New York for what the state’s regulator on Thursday called “significant failures in its Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance program, which violated the [New York Department of Financial Services’ money transmitter and virtual currency regulations.”  The …

Fintech Branch launched a payroll debit card tied to a digital bank account instead of a prepaid card, as many payroll cards are set up. Schwarzwald Capital said it has invested an undisclosed amount in Vesta Corp., a transaction-guarantee platform for card-not-present payments. Bitcoin transaction-verification platform Branta said it has worked with Amboss, a provider of …

CelllPoint Digital, a specialist in payments orchestration, will expand the payment methods available through SabreSonic and Radixx, services offered by Sabre Corp. a travel-technology company. U.S. payments platform Spreedly Inc. said it will work with Ebanx, a payment-service provider, to support alternative payment methods for international firms operating in Latin America. Payments …

Cryptocurrency is coming to restaurants, a market that has already become hotly contested by a range of payments companies. Blaqclouds Inc., a crypto platform based in Los Angeles, announced on Friday DineWithCrypto, aimed squarely at consumers looking to order meals for delivery or pickup. DineWithCrypto has already connected to 190,000 …

The Sacramento Regional Transit District launched Tap2Ride, a contactless open-loop fare system from Kuba that enables users to use a contactless credit or debit card or a mobile wallet to pay for rides, said Kuba, a transit fare system provider. Floorzap, a developer of business-management tools for flooring retailers, announced a …

The Department of Justice approved Capital One Financial Corp.’s $35-billion proposal to acquire Discover Financial Services, noting it does not see strong enough competition concerns to scrub the deal, which was first proposed by the two parties in February last year. PointsKash Inc. said it has concluded an agreement with Discover Network to issue …

Led by digital wallets, instant payments, and QR-code payments, alternative payment methods will account for $142 trillion in volume by the end of 2030, up 170% from now, according to a forecast from ABI Research. Eurostar, the European passenger rail line, has adopted Klarna AB to enable ticket purchases in three equal installments …

Two private-jet operators early Monday announced news about their acceptance of cryptocurrency, raising yet again questions about the usefulness of digital currency both for luxury spending and everyday shopping. Clearwater, Fla.-based Hera Flight said it has started accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies for charter flights. Meanwhile, Paramount Business Jets …