Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

August, 2021

• 23 August

  PayPal Expands Its Cryptocurrency Strategy Outside the U.S. With a Thrust Into the U.K.

  

  As part of its strategy to be a leader in digital currencies, PayPal Holdings Inc. on Monday announced it will enable users in the United Kingdom to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrency through their PayPal wallets. The move marks the first expansion of PayPal support for cryptocurrency outside the United …
• 23 August

  An Acquisitive Paysafe Strikes a Deal to Acquire viafintech, a German Payments Provider

  

  Fresh off a pair of acquisitions in the Latin American market, Paysafe Group Holdings Ltd. over the weekend announced a major move into the European Continent with a deal to acquire viafintech, a neobank and payments provider based in Berlin, in an all-cash transaction. Terms were not announced. The deal …
• 23 August

  Delivery Delays Spawn 45% of Chargebacks and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/23/21

  

  Of 500 companies that process at least 500 online monthly transactions, 58% say their chargeback rates have gone up since March 2020, and of these, 45% say the biggest reason likely is delivery delays, according to a survey by fraud-prevention technology firm Kount, a unit of Equifax Inc.Payment processor EirthPay announced its launch. …
• 20 August

  REGO Will Introduce a New Version of Its Mobile Wallet for Teens And Kids

  

  REGO Payment Architectures Inc. said Friday it will make version 3.0 of its Mazoola mobile wallet app and virtual debit card available in the Apple Store on Aug. 27. The Mazoola wallet is designed to help parents empower their kids to learn how to manage money in a digital world …
• 20 August

  E-Commerce Loses Some Momentum As Sales Slowed Down in the Latest Quarter

  

  The boom in e-commerce, which was touched off more than a year ago by the coronavirus pandemic, may be showing signs of losing steam. U.S. e-commerce sales in the second quarter totaled $222.5 billion, up 9.1% from the same quarter a year ago, according to numbers released Thursday by the …
• 20 August

  PayZen’s Hospital Bill Payment Plan and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/20/21

  

  Working with fintech PayZen Inc., the Geisinger Hospital system is launching a plan that allows patients to make payments over time at zero interest. The plan requires a minimum unpaid balance of $250 after insurance payouts.Mobile-parking app provider PayByPhone said its service now works with more than 2,400 spaces across the campus of …
• 19 August

  GoCardless And Piano Partner to Help Publishers And Brands Drive Recurring Revenue

  

  As part of its strategy to enable merchants to access direct debit payments through software they use already, GoCardless, a London-based provider of account-to-account payment solutions, is partnering with analytics and activation-platform provider Piano to deliver debit capabilities on the automated clearing house network to publishers and brands. The ability …
• 19 August

  Mastercard’s Credit Card Fees Find Themselves in the Cross-Hairs of a U.K. Class Action

  

  While the two global payments networks have been embroiled in a controversy over merchant debit card fees in the U.S. market, they also face trouble in the United Kingdom over an even bigger issue: credit card interchange fees. That fact was thrown into relief early Thursday when Reuters reported the …
• 19 August

  Boku M-Payments Network Spans 90 Countries and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/19/21

  

  Boku Inc. launched what it says is the world’s largest mobile-payments network. The M1ST Payments Network reaches 5.7 billion mobile-payment accounts in 90 countries and offers more than 330 payment methods, the company says.Global payments provider Adyen NV said Just Eat Takeaway.com, an online food-delivery marketplace, will issue its prefunded Takeaway Pay Card …
• 18 August

  PayPal Ups the Ante in Buy Now, Pay Later By Dropping Late Fees

  

  With the popularity of the buy now, pay later alternative growing, especially for online purchases, PayPal Holdings Inc. announced Tuesday it will no longer charge late fees for missed payments on its installment products in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, effective Oct. 1. PayPal has already eliminated …