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October, 2021

• 11 October

  The Clearing House, SWIFT, And EBA Clearing Partner to Speed Cross-Border Payments

  

  The Clearing House, EBA Clearing, a provider of pan-European payment-infrastructure technology, and financial-messaging specialist SWIFT have completed a proof-of-concept aimed at introducing faster cross-border payments than are currently available. The three member-owned companies announced Monday they have finished a project to synchronize cross-border payments occurring in one instant-payment system with …
• 6 October

  The Latest EMVCo Standards Update Aims at Broader—And Streamlined—User Authentication

  

  Stronger authentication for voice-activated payments, as well as streamlined identity checks and support for a wider array of authentication technologies for online payments generally, are included in the latest version of EMVCo’s 3-D Secure standard, the global payments-standards body said Wednesday. EMVCo said its new update, version 2.3, responds to …

September, 2021

• 29 September

  PayPal Adds Staples to Its List of ‘Return Bars’ for Its Happy Returns Service

  

  As part of its efforts to extend its contact with consumers and merchants beyond checkout, PayPal Holdings Inc. announced Wednesday that Staples Inc. has become the latest merchant partner to serve as a return center for its Happy Returns in-person return service. Staples will roll out the service at its more …
• 24 September

  Startup Clik2pay Enables Consumers to Tap Their Bank Account For Online Purchases

  

  Seeking to provide online merchants with a lower-cost payment option and consumers a better user experience, a 3-year-old, Toronto-based payment-service startup called Clik2pay is enabling Canadian consumers to pay for online purchases directly from their bank accounts at participating merchants. The new payment option, which launched Thursday, leverages the Interac …
• 21 September

  Despite Booming E-Commerce Sales, Grocers Struggle With Online Profitability

  

  Since the pandemic hit, e-commerce has been a boon for many merchants. Still there’s one merchant segment that has not fared so well with online sales: grocers. They’re finding the channel not particularly profitable, according to reports. Despite the number of online grocery shoppers increasing five-fold in 2020 compared to …
• 16 September

  Dwolla Partners With Metromile to Enable Digital Insurance Claims Payments

  

  Seeking to improve the customer experience for insurance-claim payments, Metromile Enterprise Solutions LLC, an automated insurance-claims payments platform, is partnering with payment processor Dwolla Inc. to enable digital payments. With the Dwolla integration, insurance companies using Metromile’s Streamline platform can send claims payments in real time using The Clearing House …
• 8 September

  With Square Register’s Canadian Launch, Square Adds to Its Momentum Toward Bigger Sellers

  

  Looking to move further upmarket from the small sellers it started with, Square Inc. on Wednesday announced it is launching its Square Register point-of-sale system in Canada. Square is promoting the technology, which includes a screen facing the customer as well as one for the merchant, as suited to a …
• 7 September

  Mastercard Expands Its Open Banking Reach With an Agreement to Acquire Aiia

  

  Mastercard Inc. strengthened its hand in open banking on Monday, reaching an agreement to acquire European open-banking platform provider Aiia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Mastercard’s position as a provider of open-banking services in Europe. Mastercard established a presence in the business …

August, 2021

• 25 August

  Card Spending Surges in the Wake of Covid-Induced Shifts in Consumer Behavior

  

  Out of the gloom surrounding the U.S. economy since the onset of Covid-19 comes a report that consumer spending on credit and debit cards is not only robust, but also stronger than it was even two years ago. Dollar volume on payment cards in July was 21% higher than in …
• 23 August

  PayPal Expands Its Cryptocurrency Strategy Outside the U.S. With a Thrust Into the U.K.

  

  As part of its strategy to be a leader in digital currencies, PayPal Holdings Inc. on Monday announced it will enable users in the United Kingdom to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency through their PayPal wallets. The move marks the first expansion of PayPal support for cryptocurrency outside the United …