Digital Currency

Two U.S.-based fintechs focused on blockchain payments technology have expanded their footprint into Singapore, giving both companies a jumping-off point for expanding their respective businesses in Asia. Circle Internet Financial LLC, a Boston-based company specializing in commercial blockchain and crypto applications, has received provisional approval from the Monetary Authority of …

Amazon.com Inc. has launched a merchant cash advance service. The financing option, a white-label service of capital provider Parafin Inc., ties the cash advance to a portion of the merchant’s future sales for a fixed fee. It rolls out for some U.S.-based businesses Tuesday and should be available to many more …

With data sharing via open-banking arrangements becoming increasingly vital in the payments business, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday released an outline of a “data-rights rule” it is preparing that would govern how consumers’ financial information is shared among players such as banks and payments companies. The proposed rule …

Mastercard Inc.’s top executives early Thursday underscored a strategy for the company involving a diversity of payment flows and new network opportunities such as open banking and cryptocurrency. At the same time, the company’s leadership made plain the company will compete for debit volume in the wake of a Federal …

Tyler Technologies, a specialist in government services and payments, said it will acquire Rapid Financial Solutions, a provider of payments, card issuance, and digital disbursement services, for $68 million. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.Prepaid card specialist InComm Payments has acquired The Card Network, a gift card issuer based …

Financial-services technology provider Jack Henry & Associates Inc. launched a real-time peer-to-peer payments platform, based on the Digital Payments Platform from the payments-technology firm Payrailz. Jack Henry acquired Payrailz in September for undisclosed terms.Gr4vy, a U.S.-based payments-technology provider, said Australia’s Woolworths Group will use the company’s payments-orchestration platform to run the retailer’s Wpay service. …

Fueled by growth in goods and services and travel and entertainment spending, American Express Co. on Friday reported third-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, a 24% increase from the same period last year. Net income for the quarter totaled $1.9 billion compared to $1.8 billion a year ago. Overall cardholder spending …

Fintech app Karma launched Pay with Karma, an embedded checkout service that enables for consumers a simplified purchase experience across different retailers with multiple payment options.Ammo Inc., owner of GunBroker.com, an online marketplace for the firearms and shooting-sports industry, said it will launch a proprietary payment-processing platform on or about Jan. 1.Mastercard …

One of the ways cryptocurrency is becoming more familiar to consumers and merchants is through debit cards backed by crypto holdings. The latest development in this trend came to light early Friday with an announcement that the crypto exchange FTX.com will offer Visa-branded debit cards around the world. A launch …

It’s a fact of the payments world that fraudsters are adept at watching and following consumer behavior to maintain their criminal revenue flow. Just as consumers have returned to shopping in stores, criminals have returned to the point-of-sale, albeit without neglecting their online activities. That’s the summation from Visa Inc., …