Digital Currency

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 …

Lighthouse Credit Union said it will work with payments-technology provider Alacriti Inc. to update the credit union’s payment operations. Point-of-sale equipment maker MagTek Inc. announced an integration with KwickPOS, a restaurant management POS system provider. A survey by Bitget Global Inc. of 4,599 cryptocurrency users shows 46% prefer crypto payments because of speed, but 37% point …

The payments platform Wirex Ltd. has launched Wirex Travel, a travel-booking utility offering discounts and cashback to users paying with a Wirex card. Nayax Ltd. has agreed to embed its payments technology within products from N-and Group, starting with the latter’s automated self-service commerce machines. Payments provider Priority Technology Holdings Inc. has launched Ambient, a …

Two U.S. banks, Custodia Bank and Vantage Bank, executed what they say is the country’s first tokenization via blockchain of U.S. dollar demand deposits held at a bank, with the resulting transfer and redemption of stablecoins for a customer. The banks say the test carried low transaction costs and fast settlement. …

Merchant interest in accepting cryptocurrencies continues to expand, with headline progress stemming from high-end luxury-goods segments. The latest example comes from ECD Auto Design, a Kissimmee, Fla.-based dealer in restored luxury cars. The company on Thursday announced it is accepting crypto for vehicle purchases. ECD’s move comes as digital currencies …

Nayax Ltd. has launched what it calls its State-of-Charge feature for EV Kiosk, a service that lets users pay for EV charging while capturing session details separately on a mobile device by scanning a QR code. Klarna AB has agreed to offer payments options, in including pay in full and buy now, …

Order.co, a business-to-business payments service, announced a number of enhancements, including real-time transaction tracking and what are said to be more robust security measures. Payments provider Shape Technologies said it will work with PXP, a technology platform, to help independent sales organizations, independent software vendors, and payment facilitators offer services that would …

A leading merchant association and a group representing stablecoin interests early Thursday threw their weight behind efforts to bring stablecoins into the payments mainstream in the United States. The move by the Merchant Payments Coalition and the Payment Choice Coalition seeks to “promote their shared goals of enhancing innovation, competition, …