News

December, 2016

• 9 December

  Boosted by Young Adults, U.S. Credit Card Usage Continues Its Comeback

  

  Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults now carry a general-purpose credit card, and credit cards are gaining popularity with young adults, according to new consumer survey findings from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. The Maynard, Mass.-based research and consulting firm reported this week that 63% of U.S. consumers have a major-brand credit …
• 9 December

  How Chatbots Are Starting to Mine Payments Potential for Banks, Issuers, And Chat Apps

  It may be called artificial intelligence, but the potential this technology opens up for payments and banking is turning out to be very real. Earlier this week, yet another major messaging platform agreed to support chatbots that would let its users transfer funds, check their bank balances, and perform other …
• 8 December

  FIS Expands Its Innovation Strategy With the Launch of a Network of Fintech Companies

  

  Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) has launched what it calls a network of early-stage financial-services technology startups that it says w The FIS HiPo Network, short for “high potential,” so far includes half a dozen fintech startups: Akouba, an online platform for the processing of small-business loans; Bleu, a …
• 8 December

  Chase Pay Taps Technology from LevelUp to Deliver an Order-Ahead Feature at QSRs

  

  JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase Pay mobile-payments service has added an order-ahead feature that relies on functionality developed by LevelUp, a Boston-based mobile-payments and mobile-loyalty company. The new feature is available today for Chase Pay users at quick-service restaurants in Boston and will be usable at QSRs nationwide in “coming …
• 7 December

  Survey Finds That Kicking Cash off the Bus Will Be Hard To Do

  

  Despite years of efforts by transit agencies, payments companies and banks to get mass-transit riders to switch to cards or mobile tickets, most riders still prefer to pay fares with cash and regard cash as the most secure payment form, according to new survey results from payment technology provider ACI …
• 6 December

  Vantiv Teams With PPRO Group To Let Web Merchants Take Payments Globally

  

  U.S. merchants processing with Vantiv Inc. that want to court international e-commerce customers now can offer these shoppers alternative payment methods unique to their locations. Vantiv announced on Tuesday it is working with PPRO Group, a London-based payments provider, to enable non-card payment methods, such as direct debit, bank transfers, cash-based electronic …
• 6 December

  Blackhawk Makes Apple Pay Integration and other Digital Transactions News briefs

  • Cyber criminals can guess Visa card numbers and other information required for fraudulent online purchases in a matter of seconds, according to researchers. By distributing multiple guesses across many sites, the method avoids triggering automated guess limits at any single site, according to a paper in IEEE Security & Privacy, a …
• 5 December

  COMMENTARY: Why You Shouldn’t Count on Real-Time ACH for Retail Payments

  

  A demand-deposit account is the anchor liquidity instrument for most consumers and businesses. For some members of the unbanked, it’s a GPR-prepaid-card account. Policymakers and commercial actors are moving to enable real-time payments between DDAs at thousands of U.S. banks. Policymakers aim to improve payment-system efficiency and enable new and …
• 5 December

  The Feds Plan To Create a National Bank Charter for Fintech Companies

  

  The U.S. Treasury Dept.’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, plans to create a special-purpose national bank charter for financial technology companies, a booming field in which payments firms play prominent roles. Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry divulged the planned charter during a speech Friday at …
• 5 December

  A New App Lets Supermarkets Get in on the Trend Toward E-Commerce in the Store

  

  Few consumers like waiting in lines to pay, especially at grocery stores. One California grocery chain is taking steps to make it easier for shoppers pay for their purchases with the launch of a self-checkout app. The California Fresh Market location in San Luis Opisbo, Calif., is using Future Proof …