The conditions for the widespread adoption of contactless payments using chip cards are in place, asserts a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. But when that will happen and what will trigger it are unknown in the Fed report, “Tap to Pay: Will Contactless Cards Pave the …
Read More »As Discover Found Out, Some Cash Rewards Will Bite Harder Than Others
Merchants and card issuers long ago discovered the value of cash in driving transaction volume, but on Thursday Discover Financial Services demonstrated how expensive some rewards categories can be. Discover reported $677 million in discount and interchange revenue for the first quarter, up 5% from the same quarter last year. …
Read More »Venmo Has More Than 40 Million Users, But It Remains a Tough Margin Puzzle for PayPal
There’s much more to PayPal Holdings Inc. than Venmo, but that’s where the payments industry’s spotlight has shone in recent months. So on Wednesday, PayPal for the first time revealed how many active users its peer-to-peer transfer service has: 40 million plus. Venmo users rang up $21 billion in volume …
Read More »Bleumi Combines Stablecoins And Blockchain for a Cross-Border Remittance Service
Blockchain startup Bleumi Inc. announced Tuesday it has launched two services, Bleumi Pay and Bleumi Invoice, for cross-border remittances. Bleumi Pay, a gateway that works with so-called stablecoins to avoid the price volatility afflicting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. The gateway will allow businesses and merchants to receive payments via Web site, …
Read More »In a Return to Mobile Financial Services, T-Mobile Launches Its Money App Nationally
In a sign that at least some U.S. wireless carriers haven’t given up on their ambitions in mobile payments, T-Mobile US Inc. on Thursday launched its T-Mobile Money service nationwide. But the service, which began as a pilot in November, goes beyond payments offerings to include some traditional banking services …
Read More »CardFlight Unveils SwipeSimple Terminal, Extending Its Software Into the Smart POS Market
CardFlight Inc. is adding point-of-sale terminals to its roster of SwipeSimple-compatible products with the launch Tuesday of SwipeSimple Terminal. This puts the SwipeSimple POS software on more devices in addition to tablets, personal computers, and mobile devices. More than 50,000 merchants currently use SwipeSimple, CardFlight says. SwipeSimple Terminal initially is …
Read More »Payroc’s Surcharge Program and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/16/19
Independent sales organization Payroc LLC launched RewardPay and CashRewards, programs aimed at offering merchants card-network-compliant services for surcharging and cash discounts at the point of sale. A report from Transaction Network Services Inc. shows 26% of survey respondents in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia who own a …
Read More »Gift Transactions on Zelle Prompt Chase to Roll Out Gift Cards for Mobile And Digital Users
A surge in gift transactions on the Zelle person-to-person payment network has led JPMorgan Chase & Co. to roll out a feature allowing its mobile users to send digital gift cards. The new service, announced Monday, is available now for both mobile and online customers and enables more than 60 …
Read More »Retailers Riled up About Regulated Debit Interchange as Authorization Costs Decline
A prominent merchant group says that in the face of declining authorization, clearing, and settlement costs, it is time for the Federal Reserve to lower its regulated debit card interchange rate. The Retail Industry Leaders Association issued its call after the Fed last month released its latest bi-annual study of …
Read More »A New Refund Policy From PayPal Will Stop Returning Fees to Sellers on Canceled Sales
PayPal Holdings Inc. has posted some important policy changes set to take effect soon, including one that will stop refunding sellers for the commission part of the fee they pay on sales when buyers cancel. Sellers on forums like Reddit have been reacting for at least the last five days …
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