The onset of the novel coronavirus has caused a seismic shift in the daily lives of Americans. While recent data in the fight against this pandemic are encouraging, we’re not out of the woods yet, and we will be slow to return to life as we once knew it. Social …
Read More »A Plunge in T&E Spending Hits AmEx As It Copes With the Pandemic’s Worldwide Impact
A trend toward a near-total collapse in travel-and-entertainment spending helped drive down overall first-quarter card volume and discount revenue for American Express Co., the company reported Friday. “March was a very difficult month,” Stephen Squeri, AmEx’s chairman and chief executive, told stock analysts during a morning conference call. As with …
Read More »Led by a Near Grounding of Travel Spending, Discover’s Volume Is Off 29% in April
Discover cardholders might not jet around the country like many American Express cardholders do, but it’s still telling that Discover’s travel spending volume has plunged 99% this month as governmental stay-at-home orders and business closures to control the Covid-19 pandemic chill the economy. The near grounding of travel spending was …
Read More »Payroc Acquires Gateway Payments and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/23/20
Payroc LLC said it acquired Gateway Payments LLC, an independent sales organization with merchants primarily along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Terms were not disclosed.Weave Communications Inc., a provider of payments and other services for small businesses, said its Weave Lite tool set will be offered free for 90 days. Weave …
Read More »Synchrony Sounds Notes of Cautious Optimism As the Pandemic Takes Its Toll
The nation’s largest issuer of store cards sounded a note of optimism Tuesday as the Covid-19 crisis continued to ravage consumer spending. “Believe it or not, there are deals in the pipeline [with merchants],” said Margaret Keane, chief executive of Synchrony Financial. “We’re not sitting back. We’re highly engaged.” Keane …
Read More »Coinqvest Debuts Crypto Processing Service and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/21/20
Coinqvest launched its enterprise cryptocurrency processing platform. With it, merchants can be paid online in cryptocurrencies and convert them into traditional currencies.The New York City Department of Transportation announced two apps can be used to pay for parking at more than 80,000 metered spots. In addition to the ParkNYC app, which …
Read More »Google’s Financial-Services Plans May Include a Card Redux
It’s well known that Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit wants to offer consumers checking accounts, though that service has yet to launch. But the search-engine giant also reportedly is developing a debit card that would work in concert with its Google Pay mobile-payments service, according to news reports from Silicon Valley. …
Read More »Airlines Urged To Have Payments Options Ready Once Pandemic Restrictions Ease
Nearly empty commercial airline flights mean a lot less tickets being purchased. This result of efforts to tamp down the Covid-19 infection packs a wallop for the travel industry. But, the time can be put to use taking care of formerly delayed payment projects and preparing for the resumption of …
Read More »Yiftee Adds Facebook And Instagram Promotion to Support Digital Gift Cards for Local Merchants
Among payment devices, gift cards are unique in that they can promote a business as well as enable payments at the store or online. That’s an edge at a time of a pandemic, and now technology platforms that support digital gift cards are leveraging that advantage. Yiftee Inc. late on …
Read More »BofA Reports Booming Zelle Numbers as America Copes With Stay-at-Home Policies
If the first quarter of the year is any indication, person-to-person payments might be getting a big lift as stay-at-home consumers look for safe ways to pay in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak. Bank of America Corp. reported Wednesday transactions on its Zelle platform shot up 76% compared to …
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