Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

June, 2025

• 26 June

  As Colleges Pay Athletes, PayPal Looks to a Big Role in the Big 10 and Big 12

  

  PayPal Holdings Inc. will process payments from universities to student athletes under multi-year deals the payments company announced early Thursday. PayPal’s agreements with the Big 10 and Big 12 college conferences follows a court ruling June 6 that permits colleges and universities to include student athletes in a revenue share. …
• 26 June

  Affirm Goes Gaming and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/26/25

  

  In partnership with Xsolla, a provider of videogame-commerce platforms, Affirm Inc. has agreed to offer its payments options through online-game developers. Square, a unit of Block Inc. released its Square Handheld device in the United Kingdom. Square launched the device in May in the United States. Stablecoin-card issuer Rain said it will work with Toku, a …
• 25 June

  Eye on Hospitality: Square Greets Concert-Goers at a New Toronto Venue; PayPal’s Summer Promo at Taco Bell

  

  Building on its three-year partnership with the big entertainment promoter Live Nation in Canada, Block Inc.’s Square unit said Wednesday it will roll out point-of-sale payments at the new Rogers Stadium in Toronto, starting June 29. Rogers Stadium stands to become a major new seasonal transaction source for Square, which …
• 25 June

  Many End up Paying Ransomware Demands, Though Less Than They Did in Prior Years

  

  The scourge of ransomware is not abating, but some of its impact may be. That’s because companies are getting better at negotiating payments of less than the original demand, according to a new report from Sophos, a cyberfraud-prevention firm. In its “State of Ransomware” report, released Tuesday, Sophos says 49% …
• 25 June

  Xero’s $2.5 Billion Melio Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/25/25

  

  Xero Ltd., an accounting and payments firm, announced it will acquire the payments platform Melio Inc. for $2.5 billion upfront, with another $500 million in payments tied to performance targets. The commerce platform NuOrder by Lightspeed launched Order Trends, a compilation of statistics aimed at informing merchants’ buying decisions. Canada-based fintech Nuvei Corp. said …
• 24 June

  In the Wake of Fiserv’s New Stablecoin, Mastercard Trumpets Its Digital Initiatives

  

  Stablecoins are the talk of the payments town, and some observers are questioning whether these new digital alternatives could undercut the core network businesses of Mastercard and Visa. Now, Mastercard Inc. has announced several initiatives it says will keep it in the thick of the growing stablecoin market. In a …
• 24 June

  AI-Assisted Mobile Device Takeovers Are Becoming a Threat to Consumers

  

  While fewer consumers reported identity crimes between April 2024 and March 2025 compared to the same time a year earlier, the number of consumers reporting multiple identity crimes increased, The Identity Theft Resource Center says. In its annual industry report, the IRTC says reports of identity crimes declined 31% to …
• 24 June

  Lightspeed’s Expanded Saks Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/24/25

  

  The commerce platform NuOrder by Lightspeed said it will work with Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as part of an expanded agreement with Saks Global. In related news, Lightspeed Commerce Inc. said it will integrate reservations software from Whoosh for golf and club clients using Lightspeed’s payments platform. Shift4 Payments Inc. said it has yet …
• 23 June

  Shift4 To Acquire Smartpay Holdings in a Bid for New Zealand and Australian Merchant Markets

  

  In a major expansion of its business south of the equator, merchant acquirer Shift4 Payments Inc. on Sunday announced it has struck a deal to acquire Smartpay Holdings Ltd., an Auckland, New Zealand-based processor with a growing presence in Australia. Smartpay has 40,000 merchants in the region. Center Valley, Pa.-based …
• 23 June

  Fiserv Will Work With Circle to Develop Stablecoin Products

  

  Fiserv Inc. and Circle Internet Group Inc. early Monday announced they will collaborate to build products based on stablecoins for banks and merchants in Fiserv’s client base. The announcement came at the same time Fiserv said it plans to launch its own stablecoin, FIUSD, by year’s end. Simultaneously, Fiserv said …