More consumers appear to be keeping their credit cards in their wallets when they shop. Credit union service organization PSCU says its data show that overall credit card spend among consumers who use credit and debit cards issued by credit unions working with PSCU is down 29.3% for the week …
Read More »Kount Releases A Weekly E-Commerce Purchase Tracker and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/10/20
Fraud prevention firm Kount Inc. released a weekly tracker of e-commerce purchase trends. In mid-March it showed that U.S. online sales of home office furniture and electronics increased 54%.Installment payments provider Klarna Bank AB said data from consumer use of its shopping app shows that e-commerce purchases are shifting to health and beauty and …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Expect Lucrative Perks As Cobranded Travel Cards Try to Stem a Customer Exodus
The Covid-19 crisis is making cobranded travel credit cards less valuable. Demand for travel has taken a nosedive amid flight restrictions to international destinations, mandatory stay-at-home orders, and rising alarm over the coronavirus pandemic. Airlines have had to cancel flights and ground thousands of aircraft. Airline lounges and hotels have …
Read More »After Strong First-Quarter Growth, the Coronavirus Takes the Steam Out of the ACH
Like other payment networks, the automated clearing house was going great guns until mid-March, but thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic it’s now in the midst of a slowdown. ACH governing body Nacha reported Thursday that total volume rose 7.1% year-over-year in the first quarter to 6.4 billion transactions, up by …
Read More »An Analysis of Planned Changes to Network Rates Yields a Deep Impact for U.S. Merchants
Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have postponed their planned U.S. interchange revisions until July, but when these changes do take effect the net impact on merchants will be deep, according to an analysis released by CMSPi, an Atlanta-based global merchant payments consultancy. Indeed, the new pricing planned by the two …
Read More »The Fallout From ID Fraud And Account Takeovers Includes a Lot More P2P Payment Fraud
Losses from identity fraud grew 13% in 2019 to $16.9 billion even though instances of ID fraud fell nearly 10%, according to the newly released 2020 Identity Fraud Report from Javelin Strategy & Research. The study also found that person-to-person payments fraud increased 733% from 2016 to 2019. Based on …
Read More »Card Networks Up Canadian Contactless Transaction Limits To Limit Physical Contact
Contactless payments already capture a big share of point-of-sale purchases in Canada, and that share is sure to grow with recent announcements by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. that they are raising their contactless transaction limits to C$250 to limit the handling of cards that could spread the coronavirus, according …
Read More »Eye on Merchants: An ISO’s Restaurant Service; Hilton, AmEx Donate Rooms; Visa’s $210 Million Commitment
As many merchants, especially those in hospitality, are challenged by slumping consumer demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak, payments companies are developing new resources and designating millions in aid. Restaurants, in particular, are experiencing steep drops in demand as consumers abide by shelter-at-home directives. They’re closing their dine-in spaces and, if …
Read More »Consumers Warm to Digital Payments and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/2/20
Seventy-three percent of U.S. adults say they would be more or much more likely to use digital payments or digital banking services during a time of social distancing, according to a survey of 1,043 persons aged 18 and up by The Harris Poll on behalf of William Mills Agency. The canvass took …
Read More »Another Marriott Data Breach and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/1/20
In its second major data breach in two years, hotel giant Marriott International Inc. disclosed a “property system incident” affecting personal information on 5.2 million guests. Fraudsters apparently gained access to Marriott’s systems in mid-January using the login credentials of two employees at a franchised property. Marriott, which said it discovered the …
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