News

September, 2017

• 8 September

  ‘Not a Good Day’ at Equifax As Payment Implications Emerge from a Huge Data Hack

  

  In the hours after credit-reporting giant Equifax Inc. disclosed a massive data breach, consumers and businesses were left scrambling Friday to piece together the implications. But a range of consequences could affect Equifax itself as the Atlanta-based company struggles to recover from an epic hack that affected potentially 143 million …
• 8 September

  VeriFone Inches Closer To Taxi Selloff While It Looks To Growth in Fiscal 2018

  

  VeriFone Systems Inc. is getting closer to a sale of its payments service for taxis, the company announced Thursday during its third-quarter earnings call. Announced in June, the divestiture of the taxi business, which VeriFone started 12 years ago, is in an active process, Paul Galant, chief executive, told analysts …
• 8 September

  Zelle Notes 100 Million Transactions and other Digital Transactions News briefs

  Bank-owned Early Warning Services LLC said its new Zelle person-to-person payment service processed 100 million transactions in 2017’s first half for payments totaling $33.6 billion. More than 50,000 consumers are enrolling daily in a network that could connect 86 million consumers through the mobile-banking apps of participating banks and credit unions, Early Warning …
• 7 September

  Square To Apply for Bank Charter, a Move Likely To Irk Banks

  

  Square Inc. will apply for a Utah industrial bank charter today, a move that will extend the merchant processor’s move into lending and one which could draw the opposition of banks. The bank will be capitalized with $56 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. The financial operation will be …
• 7 September

  Global Payments Completes Active Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs

  Francisco Partners, a private-equity fund, has made an investment in Network Merchants Inc., a provider of payments technology and gateways to merchants and independent sales organizations. The unspecified investment is said to be “substantial.” Consequent to the deal, existing investor Bregal Sagemount will exit, and existing investor Great Hill Partners will …
• 6 September

  In Faster Payments, a New Role for the Fed Could Include Processing Services

  

  The Federal Reserve issued a report on Wednesday that indicates the nation’s central bank could play a much more active role in faster payments than many have expected, up to and including providing alternative processing services. Up to now, the Fed has limited its role to sponsoring working groups that …
• 6 September

  EMV-Accepting Merchant Locations Hit 2.3 Million in June, Visa Reports

  

  The number of EMV chip card-accepting U.S. merchant locations reached 2.3 million in June, up from 2.02 million in March and an increase of 77% from 1.3 million in June 2016, according to new figures from Visa Inc. Visa says in its latest EMV report that half of U.S. storefronts now …
• 6 September

  A Merchant Focus Tops Tech Savvy in Integrated POS Systems Sales, A New Report Says

  

  Marketers of integrated, cloud-based point-of-sale systems take note. It’s not enough to have full-featured service replete with multiple functions. It also takes a sales approach that is responsive and knowledgeable. That may sound like common-sense idea, but it’s one that has been vetted by The Strawhecker Group in its “The …
• 6 September

  FTC Settlement Includes Ban and other Digital Transactions News briefs

  The Federal Reserve issued a paper outlining “refreshed strategies and nine new tactics” for improving the U.S. payment system; the paper is a follow-up to the Fed’s strategic vision for payments issued in January 2015 and comes in the wake of the July report from the Fed’s Faster Payments Task Force. The Federal Trade …
• 5 September

  What Growing Pains? In-Store Mobile-Payment Volume Is Rising Fast, Researcher Says

  Enthusiasts may lament the slow rate of adoption for mobile payments generally in the United States, but some researchers are forecasting robust growth for contactless payments via mobile wallets at the point of sale. In a recent report, New York City-based research firm eMarketer said so-called proximity mobile payments will exceed $1,000 …