Risk: Page 2

CFPB's Chopra blasts potential card hikes

In a rare TV appearance, the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that the payments industry isn't competitive enough and that fee hikes by the big card companies would add "insult to injury" at a time of inflation. He noted new fintech tools could ultimately be a benefit if they add competition.

By Jonathan Berr • March 14, 2022

New BNPL study raises concern about 'debt spiral'

Some consumers are charging buy now-pay later installment payments to their credit cards, and that should serve as a "warning flag" to regulators, said three economists who authored the research paper.

By Jonathan Berr • March 10, 2022

White House lays out digital asset priorities

The White House said Pres. Biden will deliver an executive order today explaining how the U.S. government will approach digital assets, laying out priorities for protecting U.S. consumers and businesses; ensuring a stable global financial system; and promoting American leadership in the use of the emerging technology. 

By Lynne Marek • March 9, 2022

Visa races to rescue employees from Ukraine

When Visa CEO Al Kelly got a message at church that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was trying to reach him, "that was the initial sign to me about the pressure we would feel," he said. Aside from implementing sanctions, the card giant has been in a race to move employees out of Ukraine.

By Lynne Marek • March 9, 2022

4 steps to avoid QR code fraud at your business

Criminals are now exploiting the popularity of QR codes. Here's how to protect your business.

March 8, 2022

Visa, Mastercard and PayPal suspend operations in Russia

The payments giants all separately cut off use of their services in Russia, citing that country's invasion of Ukraine. "This war and the ongoing threat to peace and stability demand we respond in line with our values," Visa CEO Al Kelly said in a Saturday statement.

By Lynne Marek • March 7, 2022

EU to restrict 7 Russian banks from Swift

The sanctions reportedly won't include Sberbank, which said Wednesday it would pull out of the European market. The Single Resolution Board is liquidating the lender's Austria-based unit while units in other European countries have been sold.

By Dan Ennis • March 2, 2022

Visa follows Mastercard in disclosing potential impact from Russia-Ukraine conflict

Visa disclosed Wednesday that Russia and Ukraine made up 5% of its 2021 revenue. Mastercard earlier in the week called Russia and Ukraine "important contributors" to its business and said sanctions triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine could impact 6% of its revenue.

By Lynne Marek • March 2, 2022

Visa, Mastercard block Russian banks from network

The card giants said they've disconnected Russian banks from their international payment networks to comply with the slew of sanctions being imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

By Jonathan Berr • March 1, 2022

FTC report shows consumer fraud losses jumped last year

Consumers lost a whopping $5.9 billion to fraud in 2021, with bank payments and cryptocurrency transactions generating the highest losses, the government report said.

By Caitlin Mullen • March 1, 2022

G-7 nations impose limited Swift sanctions

Japan on Sunday joined a coalition of six nations and the European Union in imposing Swift money transfer system sanctions on a limited number of Russian banks.    

By Jonathan Berr , Dan Ennis • Updated Feb. 27, 2022

US banks brace for stricter sanctions against Russia

The Russian banks the U.S. targeted Tuesday account for only 5% of the country's total bank assets. But penalties aimed at larger banks of greater systemic importance may be in the offing.

By Robin Bradley • Feb. 25, 2022

Payment companies mainly skirt Russia-Ukraine impact

Payments industry executives likely aren't worrying too much about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, based on the amount of revenue coming from the region, at least not yet.

By Jonathan Berr • Feb. 25, 2022

Firms tackle ballooning BNPL fraud

In another sign of buy now-pay later’s skyrocketing popularity, companies that tackle fraud are rolling out tools to address risk related to the payment option.

By Caitlin Mullen • Feb. 22, 2022

How deep fakes are hurting the payments industry

How payments players can protect themselves against deep fakes.

Feb. 22, 2022

SIM swap schemes threaten mobile payments

The FBI says SIM card swap fraud, where cybercrooks snatch sensitive data from mobile phones, is on the rise. The Federal Communications Commission is trying to do something about it, but it's not an easy crime to stop.

By Mercedes Cardona • Feb. 15, 2022

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.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 20, 2022

Why 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.

By Jonathan Berr • Jan. 12, 2022

7 payments trends for 2022 as innovation climbs

From cross-border services to BNPL to cybersecurity tools, there will be no shortage of innovation and competition in the payments industry as businesses and their regulators shape new digital tools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Jonathan Berr , Caitlin Mullen , Lynne Marek • Jan. 4, 2022

BNPL growth prompts change from credit bureaus

Paying in installments has become wildly popular, but many of these plans aren't reflected on consumers' credit reports. Credit agencies say adaptations are coming.

By Caitlin Mullen • Dec. 20, 2021

Feds increase scrutiny of buy now-pay later

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is concerned about consumers taking on too much debt, and about BNPL providers evading laws. As a result, it's demanding information from five of the biggest players in the emerging industry.

By Lynne Marek , Jonathan Berr , Caitlin Mullen • Dec. 16, 2021

Gen Zers relied on buy now-pay later for holiday shopping. It's time to pay up.

Look up #Klarna, #Afterpay or #Affirm on the social media site TikTok. Beneath some of those BNPL provider hashtags are videos of teens dancing and lip syncing to viral sounds, with the balances they owe in the background.

By Maria Monteros • Dec. 15, 2021

How Elon Musk's mood drives crypto

The world's richest man can send cryptocurrency prices soaring or plummeting depending on his mood. This year, Dogecoin has been the object of his affection, and derision.

By Jonathan Berr • Dec. 14, 2021

Card industry faces $400B in fraud losses over next decade, Nilson says

Fraud-fighting efforts kept card industry losses at bay last year, according to Nilson Report, but the research firm says don’t expect the same when this year wraps up. "The decline in the dollar amount of fraud losses in 2020 will not be repeated in 2021," the report said.

By Caitlin Mullen • Dec. 14, 2021

Crypto execs urge regulation tailored to risks

They told lawmakers at a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill that nothing short of U.S. leadership in the field of digital assets is at stake.

By Dan Ennis • Dec. 10, 2021