FedNow
"The FedNow Service has hit a new milestone shortly after reaching its one-year anniversary — there are now more than 1,000 financial institutions, headquartered in all 50 states, participating on the service. Small and midsize financial institutions, including community banks and credit unions, make up more than 95% of the participants on the FedNow Service network."
Chain Store Age
"A soon-to-open Sam’s Club store will eliminate fixed checkout in favor of app-based shopping and payment. According to a CNBC confirmed by Walmart via email, Sam’s Club is opening a pilot store in Grapevine, Tex. (part of the Dallas metroplex) in mid-October that will be the Walmart-owned warehouse club retailer’s first full-time frictionless store."
Stripe
"Stripe announced new features to help businesses accelerate their growth. The updates were part of Stripe Tour New York, the company's annual product showcase in NYC."
Open Banking Expo
"Tink, A Visa Solution, recently ran an out-of-home campaign with its partner Splitwise, showcasing how the bill-sharing app has introduced Pay by Bank payments, so that users can pay friends and family more easily."
Plaid
"Pay by Bank for Bill Pay is designed to help businesses capitalize on the opportunity of bank payments by providing a more seamless, cost-effective, and secure way for consumers to pay directly from their bank accounts"
Altcoin Buzz
"Samsung Pay added crypto payments via Alchemy Pay and its Virtual Card. This gives the virtual card an even bigger range of payment options."
Checkout
"Checkout.com announced a strategic partnership with Octopus, Hong Kong’s first homegrown global fintech, to enable online payment for customers of Hong Kong’s leading payment choice – becoming the first global payment service provider (PSP) to add Octopus as a payment option at check-out."
Business Wire
"Instant and secure payments can act as a multiplier to help businesses and economies thrive and grow. To further Mastercard’s vision of bringing immediacy to card payments, the company announced that South Africa will be the first market in the world to benefit from the security and speed of immediate Mastercard card payments."
American Banker
The Canadian government is about to cut payment fees for small businesses by up to 27%, adding to international pressure on credit card companies to reduce what they charge users and find alternative sources of revenue. [Subscription Required]
Bangkok Post
"Thailand is expected to transition to a cashless society faster than its regional peers, driven by the country's rapid digital adoption and transformation, according to a Visa survey."
Digital Transactions
"Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is refuting claims by plaintiffs in the Illinois interchange lawsuit that federal banking laws, such as the Durbin Amendment, supersede state laws. The latest back-and-forth is part of an unfolding lawsuit challenging the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act."
PR News Wire
"Ansa, the pioneer in white-labeled digital wallets has partnered with Plaid, the leading trusted data network powering the digital financial ecosystem, to power digital wallets with high-converting pay by bank capabilities for merchants."
Global Government Fintech
"Russia’s central bank is aiming to start the ‘extensive introduction’ of a digital ruble in nine months’ time. Bank of Russia has been experimenting with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the past two-and-a-half years and is ramping up pilot activity towards a rollout that it envisages as progressing through three main stages."
ACN Newswire
"JCB Co., Ltd., Japan’s only international payment brand, announced that it enabled Google Pay for its customers on September 6, 2024. Android™ smartphone users can now use Google Pay in stores where JCB Contactless is accepted, by adding their credit/debit cards issued by the JCB Group in Japan to Google Pay."
Mastercard
"Mastercard announced new cardholder offerings to benefit Canadian small businesses, growing its suite of existing tools and solutions. Through strategic partnerships with Slack, Asana, FlexiRoam, H&R Block and others, Mastercard is reinforcing its commitment to helping every small business thrive."
H2FOZ
"The limitations on transfers and payments made by individuals via Pix between 4 pm and 20 am will come into effect this Monday, the 6th, and will now be limited to a maximum of R$1 in total. This is one of the measures aimed at preventing kidnappings and nighttime robberies that use this means of financial transaction."
FX News Group
"Bank of America has expanded its Virtual Payables capabilities in EMEA1 with the launch of Virtual Payables Direct. The business-to-business (B2B) payment solution provides buyers with the usual working capital advantages of a card transaction – such as extended payment terms – in addition to a new enhancement that allows suppliers to be paid via a direct bank transfer."
Business Wire
"In the third quarter of 2024, Square completed a significant infrastructure shift, creating a best-in-class commerce platform with leading payments and ordering capabilities for sellers. The new platform fundamentally changes how the company builds products and will provide expanded commerce capabilities like Pre-Auth and Bar Tabs to sellers of all sizes across verticals in the U.S."
Business Wire
"Trulioo, an industry-leading identity platform with proven global coverage for person and business verification, today announced the launch of Trulioo Fraud Intelligence, a new capability delivering best-in-class predictive risk insights across more than 195 countries."
Business Wire
"Global holiday spending is expected to rise 16% in value from October through December 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to analysis by ACI Worldwide. ACI's annual Unwrapping Checkout Trends report provides merchants and acquirers with essential insights on payment trends, spending and fraud predictions, and actionable ways to maximize secure and authentic conversions."
Business Wire
"Modern Treasury introduced new features to help businesses adapt to real-time financial operations. As consumer demand for immediate access to goods and services grows, businesses need faster, more efficient systems to track payments and respond to customer needs in real-time."
CNBC
"Tensions are escalating between banking and payment companies and social media firms in the U.K. over who should be liable for compensating people if they fall victim to fraud schemes online. Starting from Oct. 7, banks will be required to start compensating victims of so-called authorized push payment (APP) fraud a maximum £85,000 if those individuals affected were tricked or psychologically manipulated into handing over the cash."
Atlanta Fed
"Consumer financial data is the foundation of payments, investments, and loans that, when used safely, can support a well-functioning and inclusive economy. Think of open banking as permissioned access to personal financial data. Consumers can authorize third parties to retrieve their information to transform it into useful services."
Business Wire
"During the 2024 National Day Golden Week, Alipay recorded a significant increase in both China’s outbound and inbound tourism spending. In China, international travelers spent 120% more year-on-year using their international card-enabled Alipay accounts at merchants during the first four days of the National Day holiday. Alipay Tap! saw transaction volume increase by 130% during the holiday compared with the same period in September."
Chain Store Age
"Gift cards continue to rise in popularity as a holiday gift option. Consumers plan to allocate 48% of their total holiday budget to gift cards this year, up from from 39% in 2023, according to the annual holiday forecast from global branded payments provider Blackhawk Network."
Washington Post
"State laws regulating how payment apps protect stored funds vary, creating a confusing patchwork that’s compounded by customer service challenges."
The Full FX
"With the world and payments and settlements rapidly evolving, the Bank of England says it has been “encouraged” by the level of support for extended RTGS settlement hours, noting the current hours are “unlikely to remain sufficient in an increasingly 24/7 and global world”."
The Verge
"Venmo is introducing a ‘set it and forget it’ feature for scheduling payments and requests on a monthly, weekly, or biweekly basis."
Financial Technology Association
"This fall, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is expected to issue a final open banking rule establishing personal financial data rights, culminating more than a decade-long process under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The landmark open banking rule could accelerate competition and choice by empowering consumers with greater control of their personal financial data."
Visa
"Visa is helping to bridge existing fiat currencies with blockchains through the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform ( VTAP), a new product designed to help financial institutions issue and manage fiat-backed tokens on blockchain networks."