The Western Union Co. said it will enable Visa Inc.’s Visa Direct real-time push-payment service. The move follows the remittance-processing company’s announcement in late 2017 that it would adopt Mastercard Inc.’s rival service, Mastercard Send. Merchant processor VizyPay launched a program called Cash Discount 2.0, which calls for merchants to …
Read More »PayFi Adds Real-Time Payments Option and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/4/19
PayFi, which provides a banking platform, said it will offer real-time payments services from The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC to community banks. Most U.S. consumers—38%—are likely to use a credit card for online subscription payments, finds a report from GoCardless, a recurring-payments company. Thirty-four percent choose a debit card, …
Read More »i3 Verticals Acquires Pace Payment and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/3/19
i3 Verticals Inc. completed its $52.7 million acquisition of Pace Payment Systems Inc. Pace specializes in selling payments services in the public and education sectors. Avis Car Rental, a unit of Avis Budget Group Inc., launched a split-payment feature in its mobile app. Called Split My Bill, the feature enables …
Read More »EMS in Cleveland Browns Program and other Digital Transactions New briefs from 5/30/19
Payments provider Electronic Merchant Systems announced its affiliation with the National Football League’s Cleveland Browns Proud Partner program. Paysafe Group said Philip McHugh will become its chief executive beginning June 24. He replaces Joel Leonoff, who will become vice chairman of the Paysafe board of directors. McHugh comes to Paysafe …
Read More »Klarna Launches a Direct-to-Consumer App With Installment Payments Built in
Klarna, the installment-payment specialist, has released an app that enables consumers to shop a variety of merchants and pay with Klarna without leaving the app. Announced Tuesday, the Klarna app presents the retailer’s site with a footer containing a Pay with Klarna button. When selecting that option, the shopper can pay …
Read More »The Global-TSYS Merger Responds to M&A Mania But Also Integrated Payments Trends
Facing major consolidation among rival processors. Global Payments Inc. and Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) made it official Tuesday they are merging in an all-stock deal that values TSYS at $21.5 billion and will leave Global with 52% of the combined entity. The acquisition is expected to close in the …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Why Visa And Mastercard Have Been on a Buying Spree
Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft each briefly enjoyed a market capitalization greater than $1 trillion. The two dominant global payment networks, Mastercard and Visa, aspire to join this august, and for the moment, memberless club. In the near term, the networks could grow on autopilot. However, inevitably diminishing retail-payments growth in …
Read More »Another Major Deal Could Be on the Horizon As News Emerges of TSYS-Global Payments Talks
A potential merger, joint venture, or partnership may be in the offing for Global Payments Inc. and Total System Services Inc. (TSYS). The two merchant-processing powerhouses have held preliminary discussions about a combination of some sort, according to a report late Thursday by Bloomberg.com. In addition to traditional merchant processing, …
Read More »AT&T Says It’s Now the First Mobile Carrier to Accept Cryptocurrency for Bill Payments
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 …
Read More »TriMet Adds Apple Wallet Option and other Digital Transactions New briefs from 5/23/19
TriMet, the transit agency for the Portland, Ore., region, said transit riders can now use its Hop Fastpass card in Apple Wallet and use their iPhones and Apple Watches to pay for fares on TriMet, C-TRAN, and Portland Streetcar lines. TriMet said Hop is the first transit fare to launch …
Read More »