Banking

Block bets on bitcoin

“We are no longer just a payments company,” Block CEO Jack Dorsey said at the company’s investor day Wednesday.

By Caitlin Mullen • May 18, 2022

FIS knocks Fiserv out of No. 2 merchant acquirer spot

In a competitive field of merchant acquirers, FIS bested Fiserv last year as JPMorgan Chase held its lead, according to a ranking from The Nilson Report. 

By Caitlin Mullen • May 18, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Digital payments surge has staying power

Consumers changed their ways to get through the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, and that meant major modifications in payments. Contactless, frictionless and touchless were in, as consumers worked from home and shopped online. Industries across the board altered their payments tools in response and show no signs of reversing course.

By Payments Dive staff

Affluent consumers may drive $257B in spending

The wealthiest U.S. consumers are eager to open their wallets again, especially for travel, though there is one possible caveat, predicts Visa's chief economist.

By Lynne Marek • May 17, 2022

Amex, Discover get top marks in direct banks survey

The No. 3 and No. 4 card companies, which also hold bank licenses, scored highly in customer satisfaction among online-only banks, J.D. Power found.

By Caitlin Mullen • May 16, 2022

Three US cash trends persist, Fed report says

The COVID-19 pandemic led U.S. consumers to change up their payment habits, but three long-term cash trends have mainly persisted, according to a Federal Reserve Bank report issued this month.

By Lynne Marek • May 16, 2022

Jack Henry prowls for acquisitions

The payment technology provider aims to start making acquisitions again this year, the CEO said. While potential targets had been too expensive in recent years, the public market's swoon is creating more options now.

By Lynne Marek • May 12, 2022

Yellen urges stricter stablecoin regulation amid TerraUSD crash

The coin, which relies on an algorithm rather than being backed by dollar reserves, plummeted to 23 cents Wednesday, according to CoinDesk.

By Robin Bradley • May 11, 2022

Mastercard CEO lands hefty raise

Compensation for Michael Miebach, who was the card company's chief product officer and president before he became CEO last year, climbed 75% to $16.1 million for 2021 after he took Mastercard's top post.

By Jonathan Berr • May 10, 2022

EMVCo invites input on new contactless standard

The firm controlled by the card companies has drafted a new contactless technology standard and it's seeking public comment on the specifications. Their plan is to implement a change by yearend.

By Lynne Marek • May 10, 2022

Cannabis payments companies focus on compliance, creativity

In the cannabis business, federal illegality has kept many banks and payments companies on the sidelines. That's opened the door for young companies that are using the ACH network to facilitate cannabis payments in states where it’s been legalized.

By Caitlin Mullen • May 6, 2022

Stripe-Plaid squabble erupts

When digital payments company Stripe launched a new service this week, it caught fintech Plaid, one of its customers and partners, by surprise, and not in a good way. Plaid's CEO expressed his displeasure in what has become a Twitter drama.

By Lynne Marek • May 6, 2022

Block 'just getting started' with Afterpay

San Francisco-based Block is focused on expanding buy now-pay later provider Afterpay’s customer base and managing its loss rate, Block executives said during Thursday’s first-quarter earnings call.

By Caitlin Mullen • May 6, 2022

DoorDash extends gas card rewards program

The program, which provides drivers 10% cash back on gas purchases on a prepaid Visa card, will now run through August.

By Alicia Kelso • May 5, 2022

Amex CEO snags $28.5M total compensation

Stephen Squeri, CEO of New York-based American Express, received $28.5 million in total compensation for 2021. The vast majority of that pay package came from annual and long-term incentive awards on top of a $1.5 million base salary.

By Caitlin Mullen • May 3, 2022

US payments firms notch venture round record

First-quarter data from research firm CB Insights showed U.S. payments startups saw a 61% spike in funding rounds from the previous quarter, but a 23% drop in total funding.

By Caitlin Mullen • April 29, 2022

Card companies called on congressional carpet

Visa and Mastercard will be in the hot seat next week at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee led by their long-time nemesis, Sen. Dick Durbin. A notice for the hearing teases that the discussion will zero in on "excessive swipe fees" and a lack of competition in the industry.

By Lynne Marek • April 29, 2022

For Discover, inflation brings sales growth, salary pressure

Riverwoods, Illinois-based Discover Financial Services on Thursday reported first-quarter card sales volume was 23% higher than the same period last year, but CFO John Greene said "it’s hard to envision year-over-year sales growth to continue in the upper 20s."

By Caitlin Mullen • April 29, 2022

Mastercard shakes off Russia concerns, inflation woes

Mastercard's first-quarter revenue jumped 24% to $5.2 billion on robust consumer spending as coronavirus restrictions faded and cross-border payments picked up.

By Jonathan Berr • April 29, 2022

Fidelity debuts 401(k) bitcoin option

Fidelity Investments said it is seeing growing interest in digital assets from plan sponsors. The offering will be widely available to employers mid-year.

By Kate Tornone • April 28, 2022

Senate Democrats berate Zelle over alleged fraud

In a letter to Zelle's CEO, two U.S. senators said the company's platform leaves consumers exposed to fraud, with little ability to recover lost funds. “Your company and the big banks who both own and partner with the platform have abdicated responsibility," they said.

By Robin Bradley • April 27, 2022

Visa earnings rise on cross-border revival despite Russia impact

Extraordinary international events have both buffeted and benefited the card giant's business this year. Visa said a recovery of travel and cross-border transactions boosted its earnings through March, despite a negative impact from shutting down operations in Russia after that country invaded Ukraine.

By Lynne Marek • April 27, 2022

US plays catch-up on real-time payments

Other countries, including China and India, are reaping much bigger rewards than the U.S. from their business and consumer adoption of real-time payment systems, according to a new study.

By Lynne Marek • April 26, 2022

CFPB aims to level playing field between banks, fintech

Banks have long complained that fintechs are able to offer many of the same financial services without abiding by the same laws. In an effort to level the playing field, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday it would invoke a largely unused legal provision. 

By Jonathan Berr • April 25, 2022

Crypto bank Anchorage ordered to revamp AML program

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said the bank — the first crypto firm to receive a national trust bank charter in January 2021 — must overhaul its anti-money laundering program after failing to implement internal controls for customer due diligence and procedures for monitoring suspicious activity. 

By Anna Hrushka • April 25, 2022

Travel lifts Amex results in 1Q

American Express results benefited from a return of travel during the first quarter and future bookings are up relative to 2019, the company said. Analysts expect increased travel to be a boon for the other card companies too when they report earnings later this week.

By Lynne Marek • April 25, 2022