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

Explore the Trendline➔

Cross-border payments targeted for upgrades

When it comes to cross-border payments, businesses, non-profits and governments alike are determined to increase the speed of transactions and cut the cost.

By Payments Dive staff

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

Bank of America cards go green

The bank said all of its plastic credit and debit cards will be made from at least 80% recycled material starting next year. The move is expected to reduce its use of non-recycled plastics by some 235 tons.

By Robin Bradley • April 21, 2022

Payment players seek to expand credit pool

Driven by the financial inclusion movement and a desire to grow the pool of consumers eligible for credit products, well-established credit reporting bureaus and new fintechs are addressing the issue of access to credit and allowing more consumers to become creditworthy.

By Caitlin Mullen • April 21, 2022

NovoPayment lands $19M, spearheads US growth

Miami-based NovoPayment, the banking-as-a-service provider of digital payments and other services, is collecting capital for an expansion move in the U.S., just as its key business territory in Latin America is heating up as a destination for international fintech expansion. 

By Lynne Marek • April 20, 2022

Robinhood's acquisition of crypto firm puts UK, Europe in its sights

The purchase of Ziglu, which is in the good graces of the Financial Conduct Authority, marks the second attempt by the stock-trading app to broach the U.K. market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed Tuesday.

By Dan Ennis • April 19, 2022

Revolut, Cross River link up to offer US consumer loans

Customers who use the personal loan offering, which will be available in the coming months, won't be subject to late fees, origination fees or prepayment penalties, neobank Revolut said.

By Anna Hrushka • April 19, 2022

Waiting for action on hidden cross-border fees

An executive with the cross-border payments company Wise Payments calls on the federal government to expose the hidden fees buried in international remittance transactions.

By Rina Wulfing • April 18, 2022

Lawmakers seek to cancel card fee increases

Four members of Congress are suddenly pushing Visa and Mastercard to cancel the credit card "swipe" fee increases they planned to impose this month. The lawmakers cited inflation and a lack of competition in the card industry.

By Lynne Marek • April 18, 2022

Mastercard, Interos partner on risk management tools

Mastercard's new partnership with the software provider is the latest in a string of added ties to fintechs aimed at expanding its payments and risk assessment tool offering.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • April 14, 2022

Inflation hands cards a mixed bag

Higher spending due to inflation is poised to drive up credit card volumes, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence report. Card issuers have been eager to see stronger loan growth, but if delinquencies rise, that could be concerning for the industry.

By Caitlin Mullen • April 13, 2022

Despite pandemic, travel perks draw premium cardholders

Travel-related benefits remained a favorite perk for premium credit cardholders, according to a S&P Global Market Intelligence report, even as the COVID-19 pandemic has squashed travel plans. But as card issuers have hiked premium card fees, they may have hit the limit on cardholders' willingness to pay more.

By Caitlin Mullen • April 12, 2022

Payments players caught in venture capital squeeze

The flow of venture capital to startups ebbed in the first quarter for the biggest quarterly decline since 2012. Payments players, which have been big beneficiaries of such investments, are beginning to feel the pinch.

By Lynne Marek • April 12, 2022

Amex takes on banks in bid for new generation of clients

With the launch of its new checking service, American Express aims to expand its relationship with cardmembers — and not miss out on attracting consumers drawn to debit cards. 

By Caitlin Mullen • April 11, 2022

CBDC will take years to develop, Yellen says

Despite new technologies, payments often take too long, the treasury secretary said in her first remarks on digital assets since a March executive order on the topic. Regardless of where assets are stored, regulation should be "tech neutral," she said.

By Dan Ennis • April 8, 2022

FDIC: Banks should alert agency of their crypto-related pursuits

The regulator said it supports safe and sound innovations, but is concerned that the risks associated with crypto assets and crypto-related activities are not well understood.

By Anna Hrushka • April 8, 2022