Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

January, 2019

• 22 January

  Integrating Fiserv and First Data Could Take Up to a Decade, Report Says

  

  The proposed mega-deal that has Fiserv Inc. buying First Data Corp. for $22 billion presents integration issues that could take up to 10 years to iron out, according to a new report. “The integration of two companies of this scale will undoubtedly be a challenge—the short-term shock will take more …
• 22 January

  Mastercard’s $648 Million Fine and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/22/19

  

  The European Commission, the European Union’s antitrust regulator, fined Mastercard Inc. €570.6 million ($648.2 million) for restricting merchants’ ability to sign with an acquirer in another EU single-market country with interchange rates lower than rates in the merchant’s home country before December 2015, when regulations capped EU interchange. The Commission …
• 21 January

  Most Merchants—78%—Experience Fewer Chargebacks Under New Visa Rules, Says One Survey

  

  Almost a year after Visa Inc. altered the chargeback-resolution process, merchants are reaping some of the benefit. A survey of 500 Chargeback Gurus merchants found that 78% have fewer chargebacks under the Visa Claims Resolution program. “The first goal was to streamline the dispute process,” Suresh Dakshina, Chargeback Gurus president, …
• 21 January

  Adyen Founders’ Good Fortune and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/21/19

  

  The two co-founders of online transaction processor Adyen are now billionaires thanks to last week’s market upturn, according to Forbes. Chief executive Pieter van der Does holds a 4.8% stake in the company, which went public last year. Arnout Schuijff, chief technology officer, holds a 6.4% interest. Among Adyen’s U.S. …
• 18 January

  As More Interest in Surcharging Emerges, So Too Comes Some Clarity on the Rules

  

  Is it a cash discount or a surcharge? Some merchant sales agents may now have a little more insight into the answer to that question. Some payments industry observers see no distinction between whether a fee is added or removed from a product’s final price to cover the cost of …
• 18 January

  AmEx Logs a $2 Billion Fourth-Quarter Profit As Card Volume And Discount Revenue Rise

  

  American Express Co. on Thursday reported a $2 billion profit for the fourth quarter of 2018, representing a significant turnaround from a $1.2 billion loss in the final quarter of 2017. Last year, the New York City-based card giant took a $2.6 billion charge in the fourth quarter that was …
• 18 January

  Square Launches Card for Merchants and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/18/19

  

  Square Inc. introduced its Square Card for its merchants, a Mastercard-branded business prepaid card issued by Sutton Bank that makes funds in the seller’s Square account available instantly for purchases. Holders of the no-fee dual-interface card get a 2.75% discount when they make purchases at other Square sellers’ locations. Fit …
• 17 January

  Fiserv’s Planned Acquisition of First Data Raises Questions About the Debit Market’s Future

  

  The proposed merger of Fiserv Inc. and mega-processor First Data Corp. has huge implications for many parts of the payments industry. But the deal, if consummated as planned, could have an especially large effect on the U.S. debit card market. First Data owns the Star electronic funds network, while Fiserv …
• 17 January

  BitPay Touts Two Straight Years of $1 Billion-Plus in Volume Despite Bitcoin’s Dramatic Collapse

  

  The collapse of Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies in 2018 led to a general feeling of pessimism in the mainstream payments industry about the prospects for digital currencies, but at least one specialist processor apparently bucked the trend toward malaise. In a year-end review of its performance, Atlanta-based BitPay Inc. …
• 17 January

  WEX’s Latest Acquisition and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/17/19

  

  WEX Inc., a payments and technology provider in the fleet, travel, and health-care sectors, said it has acquired Discovery Benefits Inc., an employee-benefits administrator serving more than 1 million consumers across the country. New York City & Co., the official visitors’ bureau for the city of New York, said it …