Law and Regulation

Proponents of credit card surcharging have received a Christmas present in the form of an Oklahoma attorney general’s official opinion declaring the state’s no-surcharging law unconstitutionally restricts free speech. The development means surcharge bans remain in only four states. State Sen. Michael Brooks, D-Oklahoma City, asked Attorney General Mike Hunter …

Chip-based transactions at the point of sale totaled more than non-chip payments for the first time in 2018, just three years after the United States began in earnest to convert payment cards and point-of-sale devices to the EMV chip standard, according to the latest Federal Reserve Payments Study, released Thursday.  …

Gas stations and convenience stores won’t be getting an extension of the upcoming October 2020 fuel-pump EMV liability shifts, according to a merchant trade group. Meanwhile, Visa is warning of malware-based attacks against fuel retailers that invade their point-of-sale systems.  The major networks have set next October for pumps to …

The term “exceeding expectations” has long been a cliché in corporate America, but it certainly applies to this week’s initial public offering of stock from invoice-management and business-to-business payments provider Bill.com Holdings Inc. Now Sweden-based installment-payments provider Klarna AB, reported to be the most valuable financial-technology provider in Europe and …

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which serves the area in and around the nation’s capital, plans next year to start allowing users of Apple Inc. devices to pay at fare gates with their iPhones and Watches using a virtual version of the agency’s SmarTrip card, according to The Washington Post. Android …

Over the past 10 years, regulators across the United States, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East have levied nearly $26 billion in financial penalties against financial institutions for anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC), and other sanctions-related violations. In today’s heightened regulatory climate, organizations need to be concerned with …

PayPal Holdings Inc. on Wednesday sued the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleging the regulatory agency’s 8-month-old prepaid rule represents a “category error” and a violation of the First Amendment, and should be vacated by the court. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charges …

A new set of security protocols to better safeguard online connections within the financial-services industry is in the offing. Securing and trusting these connections is a critical piece of the payments infrastructure. Experts say the underlying standards they are built on—called public key infrastructure—need updating. That’s why the Accredited Standards …

A new standard unveiled Wednesday by the PCI Security Standards Council could pave the way for more acceptance of contactless payments with no more hardware needed than a merchant’s off-the-shelf mobile phone or tablet. The standard is dubbed Contactless Payments on COTS (commercial off-the shelf devices), or CPoC. It spells …

Prices for Federal Reserve payment services to depository financial institutions will go up by an average of 2.4% on Jan. 2 under a new fee schedule approved last week by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The Fed estimates Check Services customers will see average price increases of 3.3%. Users …