Digital Currency

Cardtronics plc said its Allpoint ATM network and Visa Inc. reached an agreement to waive ATM fees for travelers visiting the United States from Southeast Asia who have a Visa travel prepaid card or debit card from certain financial institutions. Allpoint counts more than 40,000 U.S. ATMs. Lightspeed POS Inc., …

The Electronic Transactions Association sent letters to Congress and the Canadian Parliament urging lawmakers to ratify the pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) that would replace the North American Free Trade Agreement. Among other things, the USMCA reflects “the importance of data, technology, and innovation,” and would bar any country from …

AT&T Communications said on Thursday that starting now it will accept bill payment in cryptocurrency, making it the first mobile carrier, and one of the largest companies overall, to do so. The company, a unit of AT&T Inc., is using Atlanta-based processor BitPay Inc. to handle digital-currency payments. No information …

Nxgen International Inc. acquired payments provider Payment Plus Inc. for an undisclosed amount. PPI will continue to grow its business in Kentucky and the Midwest, Nxgen said. Card-issuing platform Marqeta said it raised $260 million in Series E funding, placing the company’s value at almost $2 billion. Marqeta said the …

Sezzle, an online provider of installment loans to consumers, will use the Bank of America Merchant Services platform for digital card processing. Lavu, provider of mobile point-of-sale systems for restaurants and bars, certified three receipt printers from Epson America Inc. Lavu previously certified Epson’s Mobilink line of mobile receipt printers. …

Automatic Labs Inc., a unit of SiriusXM, announced its Connected Car Assistant is available at major retailers nationwide for $99.99. The product, which consists of an app and an adapter, allows drivers to pay road tolls, among other connected-car functions. Revel Systems Inc. completed the installation of its cloud-based iPad …

Bank of America Corp. is considering not renewing its merchant-acquiring joint venture with First Data Corp., known as Bank of America Merchant Services, when the contract ends in June 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. BAMS is the nation’s third-largest acquirer, having processed $840 billion in payment …

Facebook Inc. reportedly is planning a cryptocurrency-based payment system using a digital coin with stable value that would enable the social-networking giant to avoid fees it incurs for conventional card payments, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal cited by the Associated Press. The report says Facebook is …

Facebook Inc. chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told stock analysts this week that although advertising will continue to be the primary contributor to revenue, the company plans to add more commerce functions on Instagram, Facebook, and Facebook Marketplace, including features that let users buy products directly through the platforms. Instagram has …

The pending acquisitions of two leading merchant processors by two leading core financial-institution processors are a “good thing,” Visa Inc. chief executive Alfred F. Kelly Jr. said Wednesday.  “We’ve got very good relationships and a lot of history with all four of these players,” according to Kelly. His comments came …