Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
By Paul Schaus Considering new regulations on general-purpose prepaid cards, is it worth it for banks to still be in the business? The answer is: Maybe not. If banks have enough customers who are underbanked or unbanked, as well people just on a tight budget clamoring for prepaid cards, prepaid …
May, 2015
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13 May
When It Comes to Acquirer Revenue, It Pays To Be Big—Just Not Too Big
By John Stewart Experts in merchant acquiring have long pointed out that, when it comes to revenue, size matters. Now there are numbers measuring just how much it matters. Acquirers processing the most annual volume, some $30 billion or more each, earned revenue at a rate of 41 basis points …
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13 May
Apriva Issues Software Development Kit To Ease Mobile-Payment Integration in Apps
It’s no secret that one cool use of smart phones and tablet computers is the ability to use apps. Research firm eMarketer Inc. predicts that 93% of U.S. smart-phone users will download and install at least one app in 2015, and 90% of tablet users will, too. It’s also …
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12 May
Security, Costs Weigh on Issuers as They Ponder Their EMV-Issuing Strategies: Report
Payment card issuers considering the conversion of their credit and debit cards from magnetic stripes to EMV chip cards need to consider not only the cost, but the security and reputational factors of doing so, says Computer Services Inc., a banking-services company. In its new “The Road to U.S. …
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12 May
Processors Contest CFPB Charges That They Improperly Aided Debt Collectors
By Jim Daly Processors accused by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last month of aiding allegedly fraudulent debt collectors by providing them with payments services are beginning to file their answers to the federal charges. At least one of them is accusing the CFPB of “regulatory overreach” in the style …
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12 May
Chase Begins Issuing EMV Debit Cards, Expects To Reach 70% of Cardholders by Year’s End
Banking giant JP Morgan Chase & Co. has begun issuing EMV debit cards, with plans to convert its entire debit card portfolio of 34 million cards to chip by the end of 2016, Chase announced Tuesday. Chase began testing chip-enabled debit card issuance in Arizona and Illinois two months …
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11 May
As Mobile Payments Applications Grow, Startups Reap Rich Investment Haul
Mobile payments emerged on the scene a few years ago, but now it’s clear every market they touch—from the point of sale to peer-to-peer transfers to online lending—has become hot for investment. For proof, look no further than the latest list of so-called unicorns, privately held startups valued at $1 …
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11 May
For Now, Consumer Habits Hamper Mobile-Payments Adoption for Many: Javelin Report
Few doubt the tremendous growth in mobile payments as consumers increasingly wield their mobile phones at the point of sale. In fact, consumers spent approximately $4 billion doing just that in 2014, a marked increase from the $961 million in 2013, says the “Mobile Proximity Payments Forecast 2015,” a new …
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11 May
USA Technologies’ Network Volume Grows 28% While Its NFC Base Expands
Unattended-payments provider USA Technologies Inc. (USAT) said its revenues increased 47% to $15.4 million in fiscal 2015’s third quarter ended March 31 versus $10.4 million year earlier as connections and transaction volume in its wireless network rapidly increased. Malvern, Pa.-based USAT on Monday said its network handled 54.8 million transactions, …
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8 May
Small-Merchant Funding Gallops Along as PayPal Hits $500 Million Mark, CAN Capital $5 Billion
Seemingly shunned by traditional lenders during the Great Recession a few years ago, small merchants turned to alternative financing to buy inventory and equipment. It’s a trend that shows few signs of dissipating. PayPal Inc. this week said it had lent $500 million in the first 18 months of …