Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

March, 2019

• 20 March

  The Fed’s Defining Security Moment and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/20/19

  

  The Federal Reserve announced the 22 members of its new Fraud Definitions Work Group, another component of its sweeping Payment System Improvement Project. The group, which comes from the banking and payments industries, regional Fed banks, and other organizations, will work with Fed leaders on recommendations for improving the quality …
• 19 March

  The Cboe’s Move to Stop Bitcoin Futures Trading May Not Be All That Hard a Hit

  

  The decision by Cboe Global Markets Inc. to shut down its Bitcoin futures market, news of which emerged late last week, may have been seen as yet another blow to the digital currency’s bid for mainstream respectability. But in some respects Bitcoin may not be any worse off for the …
• 19 March

  Instagram Testing Shoppable Ads With PayPal as Its Payments Partner

  

  So-called shoppable ads could get a big boost if a tap-and-buy test announced Tuesday by Facebook Inc.’s Instagram social network succeeds, a test in which PayPal Holdings Inc. is the payment processor. Other social networks and Internet sites have rolled out or begun testing shoppable ads, including Pinterest, Snap Inc.’s …
• 19 March

  P2P Users Value Speed and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/19/19

  

  Fifty-nine percent of consumers cited the ability to pay quickly as a reason they use peer-to-peer payments apps, according to a survey of more than 380 consumers from Tallwave, a digital-services firm. More than 65% have used PayPal and 37% have used Venmo, PayPal’s P2P payment service. Verifi Inc. launched …
• 18 March

  Weeks After Fiserv’s Bid for First Data, FIS Puts up $43 Billion to Snap up Worldpay

  The other shoe has dropped. Fidelity National Information Services Inc.’s $43-billion cash-and-stock deal to acquire Worldpay Inc., announced early Monday, will create a processing behemoth that will compete globally across a sweeping range of payments businesses, including merchant acquiring, e-commerce, faster payments, and core processing. And though the bosses of …
• 18 March

  FIS And Worldpay: Merger Mania Probably Isn’t Over, Analysts Say

  

  Close observers of the payment-processing industry predicted Fiserv Inc. would start a merger wave when it announced its $22 billion deal to acquire First Data Corp. in January. That prophecy seems to have come true with the even bigger $43 billion FIS-Worldpay merger announced Monday, and the consolidation wave probably hasn’t …
• 18 March

  SpotOn Integrates Poynt Terminal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/18/19

  

  SpotOn Transact LLC said it will integrate Poynt Inc.’s smart point-of-sale terminal into its platform. SpotOn said it is the first to work with Poynt to integrate loyalty, marketing, and POS software directly into the terminal hardware. Synchrony Financial expanded the merchant categories eligible to accept its Synchrony Car Care …
• 15 March

  Bountiful Stolen Personal Data Fuels Unrelenting Online Fraud Attacks, Forter Says

  

  In a time when criminal access to consumer data has never been more common, merchants continue to experience pervasive and persistent fraud attempts. That’s the key takeaway from the 2019 sixth annual Fraud Attack Index from Forter Inc. released Thursday. How bad is the problem? Fraud grew in 2018 in …
• 15 March

  First Data Rejected Overtures From ‘Party A’ Before Accepting Fiserv’s Merger Offer

  

  First Data Corp. began talking with a potential merger partner identified only as ‘Party A’ more than a year before Fiserv Inc.’s $22 billion takeover offer for the big payment processor was announced, according to a proxy statement Fiserv and First Data filed this week. The lengthy document—more than 300 …
• 15 March

  Visa and Mastercard May Face U.S. Ban on Venezuela Transactions and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/15/19

  

  The Trump administration is considering sanctions that would ban Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and financial institutions from handling transactions in Venezuela, according to Reuters. The move would be aimed at restricting the ability of the Venezuelan government, headed by embattled president Nicolas Maduro, to access funds. IBM Corp. may be …