Issuing/Originating

Instances of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) fraud have become more prevalent in the United States as criminals become more brazen and increasingly prey on society’s most vulnerable. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries are one of the largest targets for EBT fraud. Last year, SNAP distributed over $113.9 billion to …

Marqeta Inc. late on Tuesday announced it will continue processing transactions for Block Inc.’s Cash App card product for another four years under a new agreement between the companies. The renewal will see San Francisco-based Block using Marqeta’s issuing platform through June 2027. The announcement comes days after Block reported …

BitPay Inc. expanded the payment capabilities of its cryptocurrency wallet Tuesday with inclusion of bill payment. BitPay users can now pay bills with digital currency at more than 5,000 billers, the Atlanta-based company says. To enable bill payment, BitPay has partnered with Method Financial, an Austin, Texas-based provider of embedded …

Digital-currency platform Circle Internet Financial has collaborated with Euro Coin to announce Programmable Wallets, aimed at enabling developers to embed crypto wallets in their apps. Payments platform InComm Payments announced it has acquired Zenda, a technology provider for health and benefits administration and provider of platforms for health-savings and flexible-spending accounts. Terms were not …

Card skimming remains a vexing problem in the United States, with the number of reported incidents increasing 20% during the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, according to the credit-data firm FICO. More concerning, however, is that the number of cards compromised as a result …

Fintech iWallet, whose technology lets repair personnel and other field-service providers process checks on a smart phone, said it is seeing growth among small businesses such as those in the plumbing, appliance-repair, electrical, and HVAC fields. Financial-technology provider Ascend will provide its billing-technology platform to process transactions for NFP, a property and casualty …

The Digital Dollar Project announced benefits such as reduced cost and risk from a recent pilot of a retail central bank digital currency for cross-border transactions. The DDP ran the project in the Philippines in partnership with The Western Union Co., supported by the consulting firm Accenture. Digital-currency platform Circle Internet Financial Inc. launched the …

As FIS Inc. prepares to dispose of a majority interest in its merchant-acquiring unit, the big processor confronts other key questions regarding potentially favorable developments in the payments business. Still, its top brass proved reluctant early Wednesday to discuss those questions, one of which touched on opportunities the proposed Credit …

Consumers plan to increase the number of gift cards they purchase this year by 12%, compared to 2022, and increase the value loaded on those cards by 7%, according to research from card platform Blackhawk Inc. released Tuesday. Blackhawk’s survey found that 37% of respondents have purchased more gift cards …

Merchant volume is surging ahead for Global Payments Inc. as the big processor looks to further acquisitions following its absorption of EVO Payments Inc. in March and pursues a strategy of signing up companies it calls “profacs,” or payments facilitators that rely on Global for key functions like merchant underwriting …