Lost in the battle between banks and retailers — which is being fought with renewed vigor in the early days of the Trump administration — is any consideration of how caps on interchange fees have affected consumer spending patterns.

Mastercard is adding a new perk for elite customers by extending free airport and in-flight WiFi around the world for customers with certain cards targeting high-end global travelers.

On Sept. 30, 2016. Dollars in thousands.

The number of new checking accounts at the embattled Wells Fargo fell by double digits year over year, and account closures remained brisk. Yet the figures on credit card applications were worse.

U.S. households increased their borrowing in the final three months of 2016 at the fastest pace in three years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and Mastercard have reached an agreement that will reduce payment card interchange rates for members of Canada’s largest small-business organizations, bringing them on par with large merchants’ rates in the market.

The cards could prove to be popular with Americans who travel frequently to Asia.

CFO John Shrewsberry projects that legal costs and other expenses related to the scandal will swell to between $50 million and $60 million and remain at that level for the next several quarters.

Payments increasingly are the anchor connecting diverse business functions, including in the commercial trucking industry, where tools built into fleet card apps are helping to cut costs and paperwork for fuel taxes, workplace safety and other functions.

Cashless payments provider SIX Payment Services has launched a virtual PayLife credit card for making mobile payments in Austria.