Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Law-enforcement agencies and government regulators may be skeptical of, if not outright hostile to, the Bitcoin virtual currency, but at least a few investors have a different attitude. Witness this week’s announcement by BitPay Inc., a processor that provides Bitcoin services to merchants. Atlanta-based BitPay said it had raised $30 …
May, 2014
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14 May
COMMENTARY: The Real Significance of Vantiv’s $1.65 Billion Deal for Mercury
Vantiv Inc.’s deal to acquire Mercury Payment Systems LLC was noteworthy for its size—the deal carried a $1.65 billion price tag—but it was also exemplary of a key industry transformation from distribution-centric to product-centric acquiring. For decades, the merchant-acquiring industry has revolved around selling the services of barely differentiated payment …
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14 May
Isis Hits 20,000 Activations Per Day, Doubling Daily Rate from Previous Month
The Isis mobile-wallet consortium said Wednesday it is activating new wallets at the rate of 20,000 per day. That rate, achieved over the last 30 days, represents a doubling of the rate Isis saw in the previous 30-day period, the company said. The upbeat news from Isis comes as some …
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14 May
Fiserv Prepares Suite of EMV Services to Help Issuers With Looming Migration
As the U.S. payments system continues its migration to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa chip-card standard, companies like processor Fiserv Inc. are preparing services to help issuers with the effort. Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv announced this week it is offering a suite of services to help with issuer strategies, personalization, transaction processing, risk management, …
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12 May
Vantiv Announces Plans To Buy Mercury Payment Systems for $1.65 Billion
Payment processor Vantiv Inc. announced late Monday that it has struck a definitive agreement with the majority owner of tech-oriented independent sales organization Mercury Payment Systems LLC to buy Mercury for $1.65 billion in a debt-funded transaction. Durango, Colo.-based Mercury is suspending plans it disclosed in late March for an …
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12 May
Eye on Mobile: Apple Pairs iPhone with VeriFone Case in Its Stores; Square Drops its Wallet
Apple Inc. is making a change in the mobile point-of-sale hardware it uses at its 254 U.S. retail stores. In an exclusive deal, the consumer-brand manufacturer has begun using mobile POS devices produced by VeriFone Systems Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based payment-terminal maker says. Apple outfits its employees with mobile …
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8 May
Stockpile Emerges To Offer Digital Gift Cards Backed by Stock to ‘Everyday’ Consumers
A new type of gift card is set to debut this summer that will be backed not by cash but by shares of stock. The virtual card will come from a startup called Stockpile Inc., which has created a waiting list for interested potential accountholders and is planning to market …
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8 May
Government Probe of POS Rules Gets New Life as DoJ Case Against AmEx Proceeds
A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging anti-competitive behavior by American Express Co. can proceed, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled Wednesday. Seventeen states also are plaintiffs in the case. n The case is important because of the government’s continuing inquiry …
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8 May
Chase To Discontinue Its Blink Contactless Card, But It’s Unlikely To Slow EMV Migration
Citing little enthusiasm by either consumers or merchants for contactless card payments, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly begun informing cardholders that it is discontinuing its blink contactless program. While at first glance blink’s demise seems like a setback for chip-based card payments in the United States, it is unlikely …
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6 May
U.S. Readiness for EMV at a Low Ebb Despite Looming Deadline, Report Warns
By John Stewart With a crucial deadline looming in 2015, the U.S. payments industry will have only partially converted to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) chip card standard by the end of that year. Indeed, it will likely take years to equip small merchants especially to accept EMV, according to a report …