Economy

Facebook, which hired PayPal president David Marcus to run its Messenger business last month, has shed some light on how Marcus' expertise will play a role.

LOMBARD, Ill.—The Justice Department’s Operation Choke Point is making life difficult for certain types of merchants by intimidating the payments industry into denying transaction services, say's the ETA's Jason Oxman.

LOMBARD, Ill.—ISOs and agents face a crowded, confused marketplace where some of the last hold-outs are now accepting cards for payments, according to Kevin Jones, president and CEO of Anovia Payments.

Amazon has released a beta version of an Amazon Wallet App that is currently focused on shopping and discounts, though it could serve as a launch pad for mobile payments.

The newly rebranded Visa Checkout is the latest of the card network's attempts to create a more streamlined, digital payment process that moves past the plastic card. Visa and Visa Europe have embarked on many projects around the globe in recent years, targeting e-commerce, mobile payments, P2P and other use cases.

The Justice Department's Operation Choke Point isn't really about combatting fraud, says Jason Oxman, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association. Federal regulators simply don't like high-risk merchants, such as payday lenders and guns dealers, he says.

Twitter has agreed to buy CardSpring, a payments infrastructure company, to fuel the transformation of its service into a platform for online commerce.

Visa introduced a new digital payment system July 16 called Visa Checkout, replacing the V.me digital wallet that formally launched in 2012. The idea is to move away from the "digital wallet" concept and convey a message of simplicity.

Apple has launched an automated account loading feature in Japan, a product that eliminates the need for plastic gift cards and may signal the beginnings of a pure digital wallet.

Clearent processed $4.4 billion in transaction volume last year, an increase of 61% over the previous 12 months.

BitPay, a Bitcoin merchant services provider, has launched a referral program to provide incentives to digital currency enthusiasts who sign up small merchants.

American Express’ network rules have deterred Discover from using lower interchange rates to lure more merchants, a high-ranking Discover executive testified in federal court.

What's in a name? Many payment companies have struggled with this question, finding out too late that the name they chose sent the wrong message or was rendered unusable by situations outside the brand's control.

Bitcoin enthusiasts are serious about Bitcoin merchant adoption, some might even say obsessed. But cryptocurrency nerds may find their obsession lucrative with BitPay's referral program.

If Seamless Distribution AB is going to pitch U.S. merchants on being able to duplicate the successful Starbucks mobile payment experience at their businesses, its new relationship with prepaid product provider InComm potentially provides a significant boost.

U.S. consumers, whose use of revolving debt fell by more than 15% once the Great Recession hit, are finally re-embracing the credit card.

Optimistic predictions aside, many Americans remain unaware or even skeptial of paying with their smartphones.

Barclays has experimented with a number of mobile, wearable and online payment systems in its quest to bring its payment offerings into the modern age. Through its tests and live deployments of new technology around the world, the London-based issuer has learned how to entice consumers to move beyond plastic cards.