News

October, 2018

• 2 October

  Wells Releases Control Tower App and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/2/18

  

  PayPal Holdings Inc. announced a partnership with the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns that makes PayPal a payment option on some point-of-sale terminals in the Suns’ arena. The PayPal logo also will adorn players’ jerseys beginning Oct. 17, when the NBA season starts. Free Speech Systems LLC, the company behind …
• 1 October

  In Effect Seven Years, Durbin’s Interchange Caps Still Roil the Waters of the Payments World

  

  The debit interchange controls of the Durbin Amendment went into effect seven years ago Monday, and to mark the occasion the Electronic Payments Coalition issued its latest salvo in what appears to be a never-ending feud over that law. According to survey results released by the EPC, 52% of registered …
• 1 October

  Eye on ATMs: Visa Will Lift Dynamic Currency Conversion Restriction at ATMs, Euronet Says; New PAI Leadership

  

  In what may be a boon for ATMs, Visa Inc. will allow dynamic currency conversion for consumers using international ATMs beginning April 13, 2019, says Euronet Worldwide Inc. The Leawood, Kan.-based processor, which operates more than 41,000 ATMs globally, says the rule change enables acquirers and ATM operators to offer …
• 1 October

  Payscape Signs Referral Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/1/18

  

  Unattended payments provider USA Technologies Inc. reported that it was unable to file its overdue annual report for fiscal 2018 to the Securities and Exchange Commission within the 15-day extension it asked for in September. The company said it is still investigating certain contractual arrangements that prompted it to ask …

September, 2018

• 28 September

  Behind the ETA’s Self-Regulation Program for ISOs, Acquirers, and Payment Facilitators

  The word “regulation” generates little enthusiasm in the merchant-acquiring industry, but it’s more palatable when “self” is the operative adjective rather than “government.” Thus, the Electronic Transactions Association is pushing its new Self-Regulation Program for acquirers, independent sales organizations, and payment facilitators. Launched early this month, the voluntary program requires …
• 28 September

  In Boarding New Accounts And Reducing Abandonment, Biometrics May Be Nearing the Mainstream

  

  Biometric authentication may be coming into its own as a tool to aid financial institutions and payments companies in serving their customers. At financial institutions, as much as $20.75 million is saved annually using biometric authentication instead of SMS one-time password services, says Reston, Va.-based Daon Inc., a biometric-services company, …
• 28 September

  Eye on Acquiring: Global Payments Ventures Into Fast Food; Shah Resigns As JetPay Chairman

  

  Few businesses have been more targeted by the trend toward integrated payments than restaurants, and late on Thursday that trend unfolded further with Global Payments Inc.’s agreement to lay out $490 million in cash for Sicom Systems Inc., a Lansdale, Pa.-based developer of both front- and back-of-the-store management systems for …
• 28 September

  Qoins Debuts As Debt-Payoff Service and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 9/28/18

  

  A new micropayment platform called Qoins has just closed a first round of funding for $1 million. The app allows users to pay off debt by rounding up purchases to the nearest dollar and sending the excess to the creditor, with a focus on credit card and student debt. Qoins …
• 27 September

  Cash-Based Online Payment Service PayNearMe Adds Card And ACH Options

  

  For nine years, PayNearMe has focused on enabling consumers without access to payment cards to make cash payments for online goods at point-of-sale terminals in what has grown to a network of some 27,000 merchant locations. On Thursday, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said it now can process credit, debit, and …
• 27 September

  Understanding OFAC: A Best Practices Compliance Guide for All Businesses

  

  Over the last decade, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed $4.3 billion in civil money penalties. But did you know that businesses other than banks received 81% of these fines last year? Yes, OFAC violations are costing U.S. businesses hard-earned cash. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, …