Law and Regulation

Ever since Apple Pay debuted in 2014, Apple Inc. has kept the near-field communication chip in its devices off-limits to payment apps from other companies. But now legislation has appeared in Germany that may force the computing giant to grant access to that all-important chip, which allows Apple phones and …

U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.) planned this week to introduce bills that would bar tech firms from developing their own cryptocurrencies and make it more difficult for non-financial firms to obtain charters for industrial-loan corporations, a form of a bank, according to Politico. Garcia’s office did not immediately respond to a request …

The Federal Trade Commission has started a preliminary inquiry into whether Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and large debit card issuers are blocking merchants from routing transactions over PIN-debit networks, the Bloomberg Law news service reported, citing anonymous sources. FTC investigators reportedly have contacted merchants and their trade groups, Bloomberg Law said. Spokespersons for …

Compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard remains an elusive goal for many merchants and other organizations that handle general-purpose payment card data. In fact, compliance fell in 2018 for the second year in a row, according to Verizon Communications Inc. Verizon’s newly released Payment Security Report says only …

A retail trade association as well as Target Corp. have endorsed the Federal Reserve’s planned FedNow real-time gross settlement service. In a letter posted last week on the official FedNow comment site, the Washington, D.C.-based Retail Industry Leaders Association said “over the past decades RILA has seen competition and innovation …

Unattended-payments specialist USA Technologies Inc. held its first quarterly earnings call in more than a year following the resolution of accounting issues. In it, USAT reported first quarter fiscal 2020 revenue of $42.1 million, a 25.7% increase from $33.5 million a year ago. Its net loss for the quarter was $12.8 million, …

Thanks to an influx of technological advancements, individuals now have more choices than ever to save and manage their money. But ensuring that financial tools are best serving consumers takes cooperation among regulators, policymakers, and the private sector. Recently, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams said the agency will …

USA Technologies Inc. said a solicitation from Hudson Executive Capital LP, the unattended payments provider’s largest shareholder, to call a special shareholder meeting is invalid under the company’s bylaws. HEC wants to take control of USA Technologies’ board of directors with its own slate of director nominees.The Singles Day shopping event on …

U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie heard final arguments from lawyers Thursday on the fairness of a proposed settlement in the 14-year-old MDL 1720 credit card interchange case but, as attorneys involved in the case said was probable, did not make an immediate determination from the bench. Brodie in January gave preliminary …

A U.S. District Court jury in Marshall, Texas, awarded USAA $200 million in damages after finding that Wells Fargo & Co. infringed on two patents held by USAA related to mobile check deposit. USAA filed the suit in June 2018. USAA in August 2018 filed a separate suit in the same court against Wells …