Transaction Processing

In a rare public bidding war pitting the two leading payment card networks against each other, British business-to-business payment processor Earthport Plc’s board of directors on Friday recommended that its shareholders accept Mastercard Inc.’s all-cash buyout offer, which is 10% higher than Visa Inc.’s offer the board endorsed less than …

Discover Financial Services said its payments services operation, which includes network partners, Diners Club International, and the Pulse electronic-funds transfer network, processed $60.5 billion in total volume in the fourth quarter, a 12% increase year-over-year. Volume on Pulse jumped 11% to $47.1 billion owing to new issuers as well as …

Jason Oxman, chief executive officer of the Electronic Transactions Association since 2012, is leaving to accept a position as president and chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based Information Technology Industry Council. He is expected to take up his new duties late next month. In his years heading the 29-year-old ETA, …

Zelle, the peer-to-peer payments service, had a banner 2018 with $119 billion in payments on 433 million transactions processed via its network of banks. That is a 58.7% increase in payments from 2017’s total of $75 billion and a 75.3% increase in transaction volume from 247 million. The increases were …

Data-communications provider Transaction Network Services acquired R2G Services, a Chicago-based provider of a market-data and managed-hosting platform; terms were not disclosed. Payment processor Repay Holdings LLC, which private-equity firm Corsair Capital acquired in 2016, said it has a definitive merger agreement with Thunder Bridge Acquisition Ltd., a special-purpose acquisition firm …

Stripe Inc. has recruited peer-to-peer financing provider Funding Circle to extend loans to merchants using Stripe to process payments. The London-based lender has joined the Stripe Partner Program, allowing merchants to apply for loans up to $500,000 by uploading data that can support their application. San Francisco-based Stripe says it …

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase credit card unit and the Marriott International Inc. hotel chain introduced a contactless cobranded card, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, to replace the Marriott Rewards Premier Plus card. American Express Co. announced the rebranding of its current portfolio of cards for customers of Marriott International Inc.’s …

The activist hedge fund behind the move to take remote deposit capture software provider Mitek Systems Inc. private said Tuesday that it has acquired a 4% stake in eBay Inc. and is advocating for changes to improve the online marketplace’s profitability, including through payments opportunities. New York City-based Elliott Management …

Apple Inc. on Tuesday announced Target Corp., Taco Bell, and two regional chains are the latest merchants to agree to accept Apple Pay in-store, a development that could bolster the mobile-payments service and further smooth the road for contactless payments in the United States. Separately, Target announced it will also …

The proposed mega-deal that has Fiserv Inc. buying First Data Corp. for $22 billion presents integration issues that could take up to 10 years to iron out, according to a new report. “The integration of two companies of this scale will undoubtedly be a challenge—the short-term shock will take more …