The Latest

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  States split over gun merchant category code

  California passed a law last week forcing use of a gun merchant code, but other states have done the opposite. Now, maybe Congress will act.

  Retail

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  One-fifth of consumers consider BNPL to stretch holiday budgets: survey

  Millennials are the most willing age group to consider BNPL to manage holiday spending amid rising prices, according to a Square and Afterpay report.

  Retail

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  Supreme Court to consider debit fee case

  The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the petition of a North Dakota merchant group that sued over the Federal Reserve Board’s calculation of a debit fee cap.

  Retail

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  Discover, FDIC reach consent agreement

  The agreement, issued last week, addresses “shortcomings” in Discover Bank’s compliance management system for consumer protection laws, the company said.

  Retail

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  Global Payments tops Worldpay debt rating

  Global Payments landed a better mark from debt rating agency Fitch than did Worldpay in recent reports. That may matter as they pursue acquisitions.

  Retail

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  Q&A

  How Blackhawk Network quit PVC cards

  “There's a huge, huge upside” for the environment every time a gift card is made from paper instead of PVC plastic, Blackhawk Network Senior Vice President Cara Renfroe said in an interview.

  Retail

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  Jack Dorsey faces full Square agenda

  The billionaire co-founder is likely to focus on large clients, sales strategy and IT issues after he takes over the Block merchant unit next week, analysts predicted.

  Retail

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  Keeping track of multiple BNPL loans? There’s an app for that.

  Cushion CEO Paul Kesserwani felt overwhelmed when he tried to keep track of several BNPL loans at once, so he shifted his fintech’s focus to help others in the same boat.

  Retail

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  Modern Treasury CEO targets bigger customers

  The digital payment services company brought on a chief revenue officer last year to better serve larger companies, according to CEO Dimitri Dadiomov.

  Banking

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  Deluxe to offer direct-biller payment services

  Though checks have been vital to its business, the company is venturing further into digital payments, with an assist from Aliaswire.

  Banking

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  FTC lawsuit knocks Amazon on payments play

  The FTC alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the online retail juggernaut that it maintained a monopoly partly through its checkout process.

  Retail

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  Column

  TikTok moves to add ‘in-app’ wallet

  The social media app has taken another step toward providing in-app commerce and payments, but may face regulatory resistance.

  Retail

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  Chase to ban crypto payments for UK customers

  “If we think you're making a payment related to crypto assets, we'll decline it,” Chase U.K. told customers in an email reported by CoinDesk.

  Banking

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  Square adds merchant tools

  Block’s merchant business, facing stiffer competition in the point-of-sale space, has added about a dozen new features for its sellers.

  Retail

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  Column

  Social apps face challenges in implementing shopping tools

  Facilitating digital payments would be a big win for social apps, but regulators are less enthused.

  Retail

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  BNPL users ‘financially fragile,’ NY Fed says

  Consumers using BNPL have lower credit scores, have been delinquent on a loan or have been rejected for a credit application over the past year, New York Fed researchers said.

  Retail

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  Andreessen Horowitz pushes cross-border payment improvements

  While money is much older than software, it’s still more difficult to move payments around the world, the venture capital firm said in a recent report advocating cross-border improvements.

  Banking

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  Opinion

  Is FedNow pivotal for payments or overhyped?

  FedNow won’t fill the gap between the U.S. and other countries in payments innovation, writes one fintech CEO.

  Banking

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  Wawa’s $10.7M data breach lawsuit against Mastercard thrown out

  The convenience retailer accused the card network company of breach of contract and unfair practices stemming from its 2019 malware attack.

  Retail

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  Payments processing can get complicated. Here’s a primer.

  How many companies does it take to process a credit card payment?

  Retail

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  Congressional committee passes bill to thwart CBDC

  The House Financial Services Committee advanced a bill last week that would block the creation of a central bank digital currency.  

  Banking

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  Mastercard fires back at Durbin in letter

  The CCCA would “remove consumer choice, erode security, eliminate rewards, and dramatically prevent small businesses from investing in their future,” Mastercard said in a letter.

  Retail

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  Biden administration seeks to erase medical debt from credit reports

  In kicking off a medical debt rulemaking process, the CFPB aims to address the "tremendous burden" of medical debt, Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday.

  Retail

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  Holiday spending to increase 3.7%: Mastercard

  Consumer outlays for electronics and at restaurants are expected to boost expenditures this year, according to the card network.

  Retail

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  Varo aims to displace Venmo, Cash App volume with P2P feature

  The bank has launched a feature enabling Varo account holders to instantly transfer funds at no cost to anyone with a U.S. debit card.

  Banking

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