The number of Apple Pay users has surpassed that of the Starbucks mobile-payments service, says eMarketer Inc., marking the first time a general-purpose mobile app has become more popular than the coffee retailer’s. New York City-based eMarketer counted 30.3 million U.S. Apple Pay users, while Starbucks had 25.2 million users. …
Read More »Discover’s Payment Volume Increases 7% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/23/19
Discover Financial Services reported its Payment Services unit, which includes activity on the Pulse electronic funds transfer network, on Diners Club cards, and with network partners, recorded $62.6 billion in volume in the third quarter, up 7% year-over-year. Volume on Pulse alone increased 5% to $47.5 billion. With Discover network proprietary …
Read More »Zelle Posted $49 Billion in Payment Volume for the Third Quarter
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Early Warning said Zelle’s volume totaled $49 billion, up 58% from 2018’s third quarter. Over the same time, transactions increased 73% to 196 million. Dollar volume on the Zelle peer-to-peer payments service increased more than 50% year-over-year in the third quarter while the transaction count jumped even more, …
Read More »Online Merchants Are Starting to Deploy the Big Networks’ Common Buy Button
The long-awaited common buy button became a reality Tuesday with an announcement from the four major payment card networks that they have enabled the technology for three e-commerce merchants. Half a dozen more are expected to come online for the technology, called Secure Remote Commerce, by the end of the …
Read More »Clover Scores at Fiserv Forum and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/22/19
Fiserv Inc. said its Clover point-of-sale system is in use throughout Fiserv Forum, a Milwaukee arena that is home to the Milwaukee Bucks NBA team. Fiserv said more than 25 large stadiums and arenas use Clover. In 2018, Clover processed more than $70 billion in payment volume.Evolve Bank & Trust said it …
Read More »AmEx’s Discount Rate Returns to Its Year-Ago Level
Issuer and acquirer American Express Co. said its global third-quarter discount rate—what merchants pay to accept the brand’s credit cards—was 2.39%, a slight increase from 2.38% a year ago. The uptick comes more than a year after AmEx said it would shave its worldwide discount rate in an effort to boost …
Read More »Shopify Acquires 6 River Systems and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/18/19
Payments and retail-technology provider Shopify Inc. announced it has closed on its acquisition of 6 River Systems Inc., a developer of cloud-based software and mobile robots for fulfillment. Terms were not announced.Fast Park, which operates parking garages near airports, announced it will accept credit and debit cards exclusively for payment at all …
Read More »How a New Credit Card From Synchrony Could Help Boost Revenue for PayPal’s Venmo
PayPal Holdings Inc. has made no secret of its push to generate revenue from its highly popular—but free—Venmo peer-to-peer payment service. Its latest gambit came to light early Thursday with the news that long-time finance partner Synchrony Financial will issue a Venmo credit card for the U.S. market starting the …
Read More »Galileo Lands $77 Million in Funding and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/17/19
Galileo Financial Technologies, a 19-year-old developer of application programming interfaces for payments, announced a $77 million institutional funding round led by venture-capital firm Accel.Flowhub Holdings Inc., provider of a management platform for cannabis retailers, announced a Series A funding round whose participants included Iqram Magdon-Ismail, the co-founder and former CEO …
Read More »Is Apple Card the ‘Most Successful Credit Card Launch Ever?’ Some Experts Demur
There’s little doubt that Apple Inc.’s Apple Card has stirred plenty of publicity before and since its Aug. 20 launch. And it enjoys the backing not just of Apple but of investment-banking giant Goldman Sachs, the card’s issuer. But is it “the most successful credit card launch ever?” That claim …
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