Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• A consumer class-action lawsuit filed by the United Kingdom government’s former financial-services ombudsman against MasterCard Inc. seeks 14 billion pounds ($18.6 billion) in damages for allegedly charging excessive merchant fees between 1992 and 2008, expenses merchants passed on to consumers. In a statement, MasterCard said it “firmly” disagrees with …
Read More »U.K. Class Action Seeks Almost $19 Billion From MasterCard, but How Strong Are Its Claims?
By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews An eyebrow-raising consumer class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in the United Kingdom against MasterCard Inc. over payment card acceptance costs has parallels with U.S. card litigation, and like its American cousins, the British lawsuit faces an uncertain future. The suit seeks £14 billion ($18.6 billion) in damages, the biggest …
Read More »Digital Transactions September 2016
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Read More »UnionPay Acceptance Locations Increase and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• The ATM Industry Association issued an updated position paper in support of variable surcharges, or so-called “convenience fees,” for ATM transactions; the trade group says global network policies effectively force ATM deployers to assess uniform surcharges despite differences in network interchange rates and fees, and that the coming of …
Read More »EMV Spurs Independent ATM Deployers’ Push for Variable Surcharges
By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews The ATM Industry Association on Monday issued a position paper that once again calls for freedom for deployers to set variable surcharges. The Sioux Falls, S.D.-based trade group took that stance a decade ago, but the coming of EMV chip cards to the U.S. makes the surcharging …
Read More »Visa And MasterCard Deny Home Depot’s Claims But Shed No Light on Disputed Fees
By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews In new court filings, Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. are denying the antitrust allegations that The Home Depot Inc. leveled against them in a June lawsuit. That’s no surprise, but the networks’ responses leave some arcane network fees shrouded in mystery. Visa and MasterCard filed answers to …
Read More »Eye on College Payments: More Convenience Fees, And a Nasty Tuition Scam
It’s back-to-school time, and that means it’s also time for college-age students and their parents to pay tuition charges. Most of the largest private, public, and community colleges accept credit cards for these charges, but a growing majority of these institutions also assess hefty so-called convenience fees to cardholders, according …
Read More »For Many Players, Same-Day Clearing May Be ‘Just Good Enough,’ Analyst Argues
By John Stewart @DTPaymentNews When it comes to faster payments, most of the U.S. payments industry’s focus lately has been on the glamorous option of real-time settlement, but sentiment is beginning to emerge that says same-day payments may just be fast enough. Those who make that argument point out that …
Read More »A New Report Fires an Opening Salvo in Effort to Bring Durbin Cap to Credit Card Fees
By Kevin Woodward@DTPaymentNews The debate over the price merchants pay to accept credit cards may be about to intensify. A new report suggests that capping credit card interchange at 22 cents plus 30.5 basis points per transaction could cut $15 billion from the current total of $33 billion U.S. merchants …
Read More »Visa Reminds Thunder Bay That It’s Still Around as Its Standoff With Wal-Mart Continues
By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews Visa Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. say there is no news in their standoff that began July 18 with Wal-Mart kicking Visa out of its three stores in Thunder Bay, Ontario. But Visa over the past several weeks has run a marketing campaign to remind residents of …
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