Target to stop accepting personal checks

The retailer’s customers will still have six payment options after the change takes effect in about a week.

Congress members egg on US payments system expansion

A bipartisan group is nudging the Federal Reserve to explain why it can’t speed up a plan to extend the operational availability of the U.S. payments system.

Visa-Mastercard settlement generates thousands of claim conflicts

Lawyers hope a court-approved extension of the claims filing deadline will provide time for resolution of conflicts and allow other business owners to file new claims in the interchange fee case.

Klarna, Adobe partner on buy now, pay later services

The tie-up will extend Klarna’s installment payment services to more customers buying from sellers on Adobe Commerce.

Discover to settle card class actions for $1.2B

The card company has warned it could face an additional financial toll related to the misclassification legal matter, in which it overcharged merchants for years.

Payments conferences yet to come in 2024

Payments professionals still have plenty of choices when contemplating conferences to attend in the second half of the year. Here are our staff picks.

Updated July 3, 2024

CFPB keeps scrutiny on medical cards

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has found some patients felt pressured by healthcare providers to use medical credit cards, according to an update on the federal agency’s efforts to protect consumers.

BNPL credit reporting hangs in limbo

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has long wanted buy now, pay later loans to be listed on consumer’s credit reports. So why didn’t it include that in a March rule for the industry?

NCR Voyix terminates staff across several units

The tech company, whose tools are used by numerous stores, cut employees in its sales, engineering, professional services, data and product management teams last week.

New York BNPL bill is dead, for now

Hopes for passing a 2024 buy now, pay later bill in New York state to regulate the nascent industry expired with the end of the legislative session last month. But next year could be a different story.

Payments industry to use AI to detect fraud, improve efficiency

Research from the investment bank Jefferies suggests generative artificial intelligence could be used in the payments industry to improve fraud detection and make transactions happen faster.

Supreme Court lets complaint on debit fees proceed

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a case challenging a debit card interchange rate set by the Federal Reserve can proceed.

Visa-Mastercard settlement failed to treat merchants ‘equitably’

A proposed Visa-Mastercard settlement failed partly because a judge overseeing the case determined large merchants wouldn’t benefit as much as smaller merchants.

How buy now, pay later benefits merchants

Research from online payments processor Stripe found that providing BNPL increases the average size and total number of  sales.

Atlanta Fed taps payments head for operations chief

Cheryl Venable is exiting her role as chief of payments operations for the Federal Reserve Financial Services to take the new post.

Crypto firm Abra settles with 25 states for operating without a license

Abra agreed to repay customers some $82 million in crypto. CEO Bill Barhydt said all but $2 million, yet to be claimed, has been repaid.

Chuck morphs into a new Alloy Labs-backed effort

Community banks partnered with Alloy Labs and Payrailz a few years ago on a project called Chuck, in a bid to rival Zelle, but that effort has been subsumed by a stealthy successor.

Travelers want to use credit cards, but often can’t

Spending by travelers and tourists is often done in cash or by debit card, even if most travelers would prefer to pay another way.

Judge sways away from Visa-Mastercard settlement

On Tuesday, Judge Margo Brodie denied a preliminary settlement proposal made by the card networks Visa and Mastercard, and merchants who sued them in federal court nearly two decades ago.

Amex banks on spending at high-end restaurants

Analysts say American Express wants to cash in on the restaurant industry’s success and give customers admission to hard-to-access premium experiences.

Bank of America zeroes in on banking app innovation

The team behind the bank’s CashPro app aims to stay a step ahead of rivals, including with payment approval features.

Pennsylvania may ban interchange fees on sales tax

Democrats in the Keystone state’s House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would prohibit interchange fees from applying to sales tax when consumers make credit or debit card payments.

BNPL to shift toward larger-ticket expenses: CEO

The short-term financing option, which already costs more than cards for merchants, will eventually retreat from daily purchases, Priority Technology CEO Tom Priore predicted.

Why a Visa-Mastercard settlement is likely to fall short

The persistence of the networks’ ‘honor all cards’ rule may be a key reason Judge Margo Brodie is unlikely to approve a negotiated resolution of the two-decade-old case brought by merchants.

Affirm may see payment volume bump from Apple Pay: Mizuho report

The partnership is estimated to represent a $12 billion opportunity for buy now, pay later provider Affirm, according to an analyst note last week.