The Latest
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Crypto questions one of 2022 regulatory agenda's unknowns
The people doing the regulating will be as important as rulemaking substance — including which agency will assume the role of cryptocurrency regulator.
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Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Fed's long-awaited CBDC report arrives
"While the existing U.S. payment system is generally effective and efficient, certain challenges remain," the Fed paper says. "A significant number of Americans currently lack access to digital banking and payment services."
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CFPB weighs in on earned wage access
The federal agency hinted this week that it will scrutinize earned wage access services and their fees to determine whether they're subject to lending laws. It also suggested it may revisit Trump-era policies regarding such businesses.
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Permission granted by Discover
Discover spends big to attract new cardholders
The card company’s marketing spend in the fourth quarter was up 70% over the same period last year, as it campaigned to attract new account holders.
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pixelfit via Getty Images
Payments pros demand top dollar in talent war
It’s become a “candidates’ market” with companies desperate to hire or retain payments executives and offering up to 30% premiums to lure professionals in short supply.
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Courtesy of Tricia Harte
Experian debuting BNPL bureau later this year
The Ireland-based credit reporting agency said it's creating a designated bureau to handle real-time reporting of buy now-pay later data, as the installments trend becomes increasingly popular with consumers.
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Courtesy of Mastercard
Mastercard links with Instacart on new card
Mastercard has lined up two new partnerships this week, bringing its card benefits to the grocery store aisle as well as the NFT marketplace.
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Matias Delacroix via Getty Images
B2B payments can be a pain. Here's why 2022 might be the year that changes.
The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the fast-forward button on payments innovation in the B2B space, and a crop of new technologies are set to make these payments faster and easier.
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Courtesy of Walmart
Walmart signals crypto, NFT plans with trademark applications
While plenty of companies are eyeing digital asset technology, a potentially large push from the big-box retailer could go a long way in spurring mainstream consumer adoption.
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Quinn Rooney / Staff via Getty Images
Settlement in Amazon-Visa dispute may be near
Amazon backed off a threat to stop taking Visa credit cards in the U.K. this week, as the two companies issued statements suggesting they'll avoid a pitched battle over "swipe" fees.
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NMI purchases IRIS to expand merchant services
With extensive venture capital infusions from three investment firms, NMI is making acquisitions to expand its payments reach.
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Bruce Bennett via Getty Images
Grocery co-op to pilot frictionless shopping tech
Retail cooperative Wakefern Food is conducting the test at a New Jersey location in conjunction with Israeli computer vision startup Trigo, which is making its U.S. debut with the partnership.
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Pierre Crom via Getty Images
Small businesses count on digital payments to drive growth
Most micro and small businesses surveyed by Visa said they expect new digital payment methods to help their enterprises grow this year, with almost a quarter saying they plan to accept digital currencies like Bitcoin this year.
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Permission granted by PayPal Spokesman Joseph Gallo
Buy now-pay later demand hit U.S. high during holiday season
Consumer use of the new installment financing tool in the U.S. climbed to an all-time high in December, although heady growth rates are slowing, an analyst report said. In any case, overall market penetration remains low.
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Permission granted by Accrue Savings
Save-now, buy-later startup raises $25M
Amid the buy now-pay later buzz, fintech Accrue Savings is going a different route. CEO Michael Hershfield said Accrue is on a mission to encourage consumers to save.
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Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
Powell says Fed paper on CBDC is weeks away
The oft-delayed digital currency white paper is coming "within weeks," Powell said Tuesday, but is "an exercise in asking questions and seeking input ... rather than taking a lot of positions."
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Alex Wong via Getty Images
Merchant group prods Fed on debit routing proposal
The Merchants Payments Coalition took Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's appearance before Congress this week as an opportunity to call out the central bank's slow-moving review of a debit routing proposal.
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Matt Cardy via Getty Images
ColumnWhy consumers like me are getting a barrage of credit card offers
Think it's weird that my cat got offered a credit card? That's part of the wave of offers arriving as card issuers and their processing networks seek to recover from a COVID-19 credit spending drop.
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Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
Is there an expiration date on Visa's main growth engine?
One analyst thinks so. Mizuho Securities Analyst Dan Dolev, who has been covering Visa for about three years, downgraded his rating on the largest U.S. card network company because he expects time is running out on consumers converting from cash to cards.
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Permission granted by Levy
Payments firms see slam dunk opportunity with sports venues
Digital payments players are charging into the sports and events space, bringing new technologies to arenas they say can improve the fan experience and unlock a trove of data.
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Courtesy of Sam's Club
OpinionCard reward programs are the rising tide to lift all boats
The chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition argues "Americans— regardless of income—love their credit card rewards programs." And the programs benefit consumers and merchants alike, he contends.
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Permission granted by Electronic Transactions Association
Crypto, privacy lead legislative priorities for payment trade group
The Electronic Transactions Association said legislative moves related to those issues will be among the most important it's tracking this year at the state and federal government levels.
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Retrieved from Ono Kosuki from Pexels.
ATMs headed the way of the payphone
As cash use declines, ATMs are disappearing. The U.S. count for such automated tellers peaked in 2019 and is headed down, according to data from the research firm Euromonitor International.
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Sean Gallup / Staff via Getty Images
The potential payments peril of punishing Russia
The international community is weighing kicking Russia out of the Swift global payments network as a sanction for the country's aggression in Ukraine, but it could backfire.
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Zhanna Hapanovich via Getty Images
Payments deals pile up in 2021
More than $50 billion in acquisitions were announced last year by companies in the payments arena. That wasn't a record, but it still ranked among one of the industry's busiest years for deal-making.
