Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

March, 2020

• 24 March

  Square, Alliance Data Feel Merchants’ Covid-19 Pain

  

  Merchant processor and business-software provider Square Inc. says some of its sellers have seen declines of 45% in payment volume in recent days, and private-label and cobranded card issuer Alliance Data Systems Corp. says business at its client merchants is softening.  Both companies held conference calls with analysts after the …
• 24 March

  In Response to Infection Concerns, the U.K. Raises Its Contactless Payment Cap by 50%

  

  With much of the world locked down in combatting the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial trade group in the United Kingdom said Tuesday the country would increase the spending limit on contactless transactions by 50% effective April 1. The move will allow consumers to pay without touching a keypad or …
• 24 March

  Growth in Mobile Fraud Far Outpaces Growth in M-Commerce, TransUnion Study Finds

  

  With 78% of e-commerce transactions in 2019 coming from mobile devices, retailers have good reason to invest in their mobile-shopping experiences. Doing so, however, is not without risk, says credit-reporting agency TransUnion in its Global E-Commerce in 2020 report released Tuesday. The report is based on approximately 10 billion transactions …
• 24 March

  BlueSnap Adds Marketplaces Features and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/24/20

  

  E-commerce payments provider BlueSnap Inc. said it is enhancing its Payments for Marketplaces product, which allows online merchants to launch and operate global e-commerce marketplaces. New services include auto-onboarding, split payments, and cross-border payment capabilities.Square Inc. will have an investor conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday to discuss how it is …
• 23 March

  Bridge, Tollway Authorities Toss Cash Acceptance Overboard, But Canadian Central Bank Urges Otherwise

  

  Cash is fighting an uphill battle to remain a payment option during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Over the past week, a number of toll-highway and bridge authorities have ceased accepting cash to limit the spread of the highly infectious disease. According to local press reports, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Illinois …
• 23 March

  WorldRemit Partners With Paykii to Enable Users in One Country to Pay Bills Digitally in Another

  

  Often overlooked in the market for digital bill payments is the need for immigrants, expats, and other persons living in one country to pay bills to service providers based in another country. To make that connection, international remittance service WorldRemit Ltd. said on Monday it is working with bill-payment platform Paykii …
• 23 March

  PayPal, Square Boost Hiring and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/23/20

  

  PayPal Holdings Inc. and Square Inc. are moving to increase hiring as consumers reportedly shift to mobile payments as a result of calls for social distancing.Arguing that “the [coronavirus] pandemic will pass, but the economic impact will last,” a collation of payroll processors and trade associations issued an open letter to President Donald …
• 20 March

  Contactless Payment Use Drops, But Not As Much As Chip And Magstripe, a Report Finds

  

  With students not in school, the closure of restaurants and bars, and work-from-home edicts in place, consumer spending is shifting. Witness that in the week of March 9-15, the payment volume made with dipped EMV cards fell 5.17% from the week prior and mag-stripe volume fell 13.07%, according to the …
• 20 March

  Experts Expect Even Faster Growth for Same-Day ACH As a $100,000 Cap Goes Into Effect

  Faster payments got a boost Friday as Nacha, the governing body for the nation’s automated clearing house network, raised the limit on same-day payments from $25,000 to $100,000. The move follows a similar action earlier this year by The Clearing House Payments Co. for real-time transactions and is expected to …
• 20 March

  Chargeback Gurus Issues Coronavirus Chargeback Guidance and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/20/20

  

  Chargeback Gurus released guidance on the potential for chargebacks as consumers and merchants contend with the effects of the coronavirus infection.Email-security firm Armorblox Inc. said it will provide its services free to companies with between 100 and 2,000 employees until April 30 to help guard against social-engineering attacks exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic.A cryptocurrency …