Law and Regulation

Consumers and businesses are embracing instant-payment options for such transactions as bill payment, mobile-wallet funding and defunding, account-to-account transfers, and immediate payroll for employees, the Federal Reserve says. A pair of studies surveying businesses and consumers about instant payments and the payments landscape, released late Monday by the Fed, reveals …

The war over the proposed Credit Card Competition Act shows no signs of abating as combatants on both sides of the fence continue their efforts to sway legislators and public opinion on the matter of card-acceptance costs. The latest battle centers on data from payments consultancy CMSPI that says merchants …

The top management at Global Payments Inc. said early Wednesday the company is beginning to reap the benefits it planned for when it paid $4 billion to acquire EVO Payments Inc., a processor with international merchant connections. The deal, which is now more than a year past its closing date, …

Mastercard Inc. reported $6.3 billion in first-quarter revenue, a 10.5% increase from $5.7 billion in the 2023 first quarter. It posted a quarterly net income of $3 billion, up 25% from $2.4 billion a year prior. Executives noted strong consumer spending, cross-border payments volume growth, and new deals across its regions …

Firing back at a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging deceptive practices in the bill-payment business, doxo Inc. has issued a statement claiming the charges are inaccurate and push a narrative that will prevent bill-payment providers from streamlining the digital bill-payment process. The FTC lawsuit, filed late last week, charges doxo …

Capital One Corp.’s chief executive late Thursday struck back against concerns that the banking giant’s proposed acquisition of Discover Financial Services will dampen competition in banking and payments. “The facts will show there are no barriers to entry in the credit card business,” declared Richard Fairbank as he fielded questions …

Citing “relative stability” across key business metrics, such as cross-border volume, Visa Inc. late Tuesday reported March-quarter increases of 10% year-over-year in both net revenue ($8.8 billion) and net income ($4.7 billion). Driven by stable consumer spending, dollar volume grew 8%, while total cross-border dollar volume grew 16% and processed …

The Merchants Payments Coalition released a 30-second TV ad that says the Credit Card Competition Act, a measure that would stipulate merchants have credit card routing choices, would prohibit China’s credit card network UnionPay from processing U.S. credit card transactions. Currently, no regulation prohibits that the MPC says. The CCCA, if passed, would …

Despite a spike in ransomware attacks, fewer companies are paying ransom demands to free their data. A report from ransomware-remediation firm, Coveware Inc. reveals that just 28% of companies hit by a ransomware attack during the first quarter of 2024 paid, a record low. The trend comes as ransomware attacks …

The European Commission’s antitrust regulators are likely to approve, perhaps as early as next month, proposals from Apple Inc. that would open the iPhone’s NFC capability to wallets that rival Apple Pay, Reuters has reported. If accepted by the regulator, the proposals would end a four-year inquiry that otherwise could have led …