On Nov. 20, 2023, Mastercard Inc. announced that its Chinese joint venture with Netsunion to process domestic payments had been approved by the People’s Bank of China and the National Administration of Financial Regulation. Was it a victory for, or a mockery of, free trade? If this landmark approval were …

Cantaloupe Inc., which specializes in payments technology for vending machines and self-service marketplaces, holds a commanding 15.5% share of the world’s 5.8 million vending machines connected to payments technology, according to a report from research firm Research and Markets. In total, Malvern, Pa.-based Cantaloupe links to more than 900,000 vending …

Bitcoin has struggled for years to win breakthrough adoption among sellers large and small, even though some major, e-commerce companies like Overstock-com, Newegg.com, and Microsoft Inc. have accepted the digital currency for at least a decade. But Bitcoin’ spotty acceptance may be masking some important advances among smaller and lesser-known …

It’s a positive, hopeful one. But, for the time being, a myth just the same. The landscape of payments technology is rapidly evolving in many directions, serving previously unserviceable merchant environments and supporting electronic payments where they were once unsupportable. It’s easy to dismiss the role mobile technology plays in …

The big payments processor Worldpay early Wednesday and late Tuesday announced two major deals, one of which will see it supporting multichannel payments for HMV, a London-based seller of DVDs, audio cassettes, CDs, and other entertainment products through a chain of more than 100 stores. The other development, announced late …

Google has settled an antitrust lawsuit over its Google Play payment practices. The suit, filed in 2021, alleged the Alphabet Inc. unit levied fees up to 30% for app purchases made in its Google Play store. The practice, along with Google Play’s 90% share of all U.S. Android app distribution, …

An Illinois merchant has filed suit against Apple Inc., Mastercard Inc., and Visa Inc., alleging their efforts to develop Apple Pay prevented competition. Filed last week by Mirage Wine + Spirits in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, the suit specifically claims the agreements among the …

Discover Financial Services said its board of directors has appointed Michael G. Rhodes chief executive and president. Rhodes, who will take office on or before March 6, succeeds interim CEO and president John Owen, who will continue as a Discover board member. Rhodes comes to Discover from TD Bank, where he was …

Financial technology platform provider Adyen NV late Monday announced it will become the acquiring bank for global payments platform Klarna AB next year for markets in North America, Europe, and Asia. The deal expands the companies’ more than decade-old partnership through which Adyen offers Klarna’s payment options to consumers, including …

The claims process begins today for merchants to file for a share of the $5.54-billion settlement of a massive lawsuit originally filed more than a decade ago that alleged that Visa, Mastercard, and banks had violated antitrust laws in setting fees for card acceptance. The number of merchants involved is expected to …