Issuing/Originating

Payment card issuer CPI Card Group Inc. said it has acquired instant-issuance technology from HID Global Corp. The all-cash deal closed June 23, CPI said, though price and other terms were not announced. Affirm Holdings Inc. said retailer Backcountry will add Affirm as a payment method on Backcountry.com and its other sites. Mastercard …

PayIt, a payments provider for state and local governments, launched PayIt Smart Works, a slate of AI-enabled functions for back-office operations, including consolidation of payment, banking, and remittance data. Banking-technology provider Mercury launched Mercury Command, an AI-based platform enabling users to make payments and conduct other financial business via natural-language command. Sutton …

Payments executives who may be hoping that a court ruling Tuesday will put an end to years of bitter wrangling over card-acceptance costs are likely to be disappointed, experts tell Digital Transactions News. “This does not end the argument. It just stifles it,” says Cliff Gray, principal at Gray Consulting …

For the better part of two decades, I’ve watched the payments industry evolve from a straightforward utility into a labyrinth of technical complexity. Merchant fee structures today are no longer just the cost of doing business. They are a volatile variable that can quietly erode a company’s bottom line. As …

Visa Inc. is setting the stage for stablecoin settlement in a partnership with Brale, whose technology enables businesses to introduce and operate digital currencies backed by fiat money. The collaboration, announced early Thursday, will allow the card network to test settlement with Brale’s SBC, a stablecoin backed by the U.S. …

PaidBy, an account-to-account payments provider, said it is working with Mastercard Inc. to boost global uptake of A2A payments using open banking. American Express Co. has added a second checked bag as a new benefit for holders of its Basic Delta SkyMiles, Gold, Platinum and Reserve Consumer cards and Business cards. AmEx said …

Consumers turned to debit cards in increasing numbers in the first quarter, finds the inaugural Galileo Debit Spend Index. Released Thursday, the report found that consumer use of debit cards at both fast food and sit-down restaurants increased more than 18% in the quarter, a reversal of a downward trend …

U.S.-based Marqeta Inc., a card-issuing platform, said it has begun offering account and money-movement capabilities in 30 more countries in Europe, working with Banking Circle, a global bank. Yardi, a rent-payments platform, said it is working with Zenbase, a company that lets renters split rent payments, to add rent reporting to …

Point-of-sale credit providers are looking for an edge as competition in the buy now, pay later business grows hotter by the week. Klarna AB early Wednesday said it has launched its Klarna Shopping Search app.  The app uses ChatGPT, an AI platform, to assist shoppers in finding current prices, availability, …

Payroc LLC launched Integration Essentials, a service to help software platforms more quickly embed Payroc’s payments services into their platform. It includes prebuilt services such as hosted payment pages, payment links, and Payroc Cloud for in-person acceptance. French processor Worldline has agreed to acquire transactions for the buy now, pay later …