Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The escalating U.S.-China trade war is generating calls for a truce from the payments industry. Most recently, the ATM Industry Association announced its opposition to planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, calling them a “threat to business.” ATMIA members are expected to testify at a tariff hearing next week in …
August, 2018
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14 August
Poll: Most Financial-Services Professionals Expect Little Relief From Payments Fraud
Don’t look for many optimists in the payments industry when it comes to a future with less fraud. Fully 84% of those surveyed by TD Bank say payments fraud will become a bigger threat over the next one to two years. Released Tuesday, the survey, conducted this spring at the …
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14 August
Eye on Crypto: Square Takes Bitcoin to 50 States; A Former Top Visa Exec Touts Easier Transfers
Users of Square Inc.’s Cash App can now buy and sell Bitcoin in all states, according to a tweet the company sent at mid-day Monday. The Bitcoin capability, which Square introduced in November as a pilot, is hardly a major business for the San Francisco-based payments company, but it is starting …
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14 August
Kroger’s California Boycott of Visa Credit Cards Begins as the Grocer Mulls a Possible Expansion
The boycott of Visa credit cards by The Kroger Co.’s Foods Co chain in central and northern California began Tuesday as planned, but the parent company still won’t say whether the boycott will be expanded to its many other units. Citing what it calls high costs to accept Visa credit …
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14 August
Citcon in Mall of America Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/14/18
Citcon USA LLC, a cross-border mobile-payment and marketing company, said its service will be enabled at various Mall of America merchandise shops and guest services and in the Nickelodeon Universe theme park inside the Bloomington, Minn., mall. Citcon’s service enables Chinese tourists to find merchants that accept Alipay and WeChat Pay. …
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13 August
A POS System Provider Lands a Cannabis POS Deal
Point-of-sale system provider POSaBIT Inc. announced nine stores of the Starbuds recreational marijuana-dispensary chain will use its POS system. Though POSaBIT, in its press release, did not disclose specifically which payments Starbuds will accept via the POS system, its Web site lists debit card and cryptocurrency acceptance as alternatives to …
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13 August
Commanding 92% of the Home Market, It’s No Wonder Chinese Mobile Giants Are Looking Abroad
One reason China’s Ant Financial Services Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd. are interested in facilitating mobile payments for Chinese travelers in foreign markets, including the United States, is that both companies are topping out in their home market. Combined, Ant’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay controlled an estimated $15.5 trillion …
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13 August
KKR To Reduce Its Stake in First Data Through a Secondary Stock Offering, But Will Still Retain Voting Control
With First Data Corp.’s stock on the rise, KKR & Co. Inc., the investment firm that controls most of the payment processor’s voting shares, is planning a secondary stock offering that will reduce its stake but still leave it firmly in control. First Data announced Monday that an affiliate of …
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13 August
FBI Issues ATM Warning and other Digital Transactions News briefs
The FBI privately warned banks on Friday that cybercriminals are preparing a big “ATM cashout” operation, a choreographed global scheme in which fraudsters hack a bank or payment processor, plant malware that attempts to disable banks’ ATM withdrawal limits and related transaction controls, and use cloned payment cards to withdraw potentially …
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10 August
Canada’s Credit Card Interchange Is Going Down, But Will It Make Much of a Difference?
The Department of Finance Canada on Thursday issued its latest merchant-friendly announcement regarding payment cards, this one disclosing agreements with Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. for an average 10-basis-point reduction in credit card interchange for small and mid-size businesses to take effect in 2020. The department also said American Express …