News

April, 2025

• 14 April

  Toast Adds Applebee’s to Its Growing List of Restaurant Chains

  

  Toast Inc. has signed an agreement with the restaurant-chain operator Dine Brands Global to install its point-of-sale and restaurant-management technology in 1,500 Applebee’s locations nationwide. In addition to Applebee’s Dine Brands operates such restaurant chains as IHOP, Neighborhood Grill + Bar, and Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. Applebee’s will install Toast’s POS terminals, …
• 14 April

  U.S. Bank Tethers Payment Acceptance to a New Business Banking Account

  

  U.S. Bank is stepping up its efforts to entice merchants to use its business checking account with the ability to accept credit and debit card payments. Announced Monday, the U.S. Bank Business Essentials account enables merchants to accept card payments and be eligible for free same-day access to their funds …
• 14 April

  JPMorgan Expands Kinexys and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/14/25

  

  JPMorgan Chase & Co. has added support for pound-denominated accounts to its Kinexys Digital Payments system, which processes blockchain transactions for commercial accounts, Bloomberg reported. Up to now, accounts have been denominated mostly in dollars. Kinexys was launched in 2019 as JPM Coin. Theya Inc., a Bitcoin self-custody platform, launched Theya for Business, …
• 11 April

  Merchants Continue to Improve Gift Card Programs, a Blackhawk Study Finds

  

  U.S. merchants achieved higher performance scores for their gift card programs in 2025, according to Blackhawk Network’s eighth annual review of the programs. Staples Inc. led all merchants with a score of 104%, followed by Amazon.com with a score of 101% and Best Buy Co. Inc. at 99%. Cosmetics retailer …
• 11 April

  Cash App Penalties Total $40 Million in a New York Settlement

  

  Block Inc. has been ordered to pay a $40-million fine to the state of New York for what the state’s regulator on Thursday called “significant failures in its Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering compliance program, which violated the [New York Department of Financial Services’ money transmitter and virtual currency regulations.”  The …
• 11 April

  Branch’s Mastercard Payroll Card and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/11/25

  

  Fintech Branch launched a payroll debit card tied to a digital bank account instead of a prepaid card, as many payroll cards are set up. Schwarzwald Capital said it has invested an undisclosed amount in Vesta Corp., a transaction-guarantee platform for card-not-present payments. Bitcoin transaction-verification platform Branta said it has worked with Amboss, a provider of …
• 10 April

  Consumers Plan to Use Tax Refunds To Pay Down Debt, ACI Finds

  

  Paying down debt is one of the top ways consumers intend to spend their tax refund in 2025, says a survey from ACI Worldwide Inc. Some 39% of consumers surveyed said they would use their tax refund to pay down credit card debt and other loans, an indication that inflationary …
• 10 April

  How Congress Stymied Mobile App Bills Based on a CFPB Rule

  

  Sweeping regulation that would have impacted all major mobile-payment apps in the United States appears to be headed for the dustbin following action by the House of Representatives Wednesday to vote down a bill based on regulation from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The House action follows a Senate vote …
• 10 April

  PayPal Unleashes Ferrell Again and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/10/25

  

  PayPal Holdings Inc. said will release a second wave of advertisements with actor Will Ferrell to promote its checkout services, PayPal Pay Later, its buy now, pay later service, and a sweepstakes that will cover, for 1,000 winners for 100 days, up to $100 of their transactions made with PayPal. PayPal launched the …
• 9 April

  How Helcim Is Accelerating Merchant Funding

  

  Canadian payments provider Helcim Inc. is bringing next-business-day funding of digital payment receipts to small and medium businesses in the United States and Canada free of charge. The service, called Faster Deposits, will significantly speed up merchant access to digital payment receipts by days, the processor says. Most deposits take …