Loyalty and rewards

Of all of the valuable consumer assets that fraudsters like to steal, loyalty or rewards points or cash is becoming a favorite.

Like its rival Mastercard, payments volume is on the rise at Visa, but the coronavirus complicates the near-term economic outlook and makes China an even tougher market.

Cubic Corp is trying to boost transit ridership by allowing rewards earned via mobile payment usage to offset the cost of fares.

Digital receipts and rewards startup Flux has been gaining ground with retailers and challenger banks, and had continued the momentum by attracting investment from Barclays.

American Express has focused the past few years on overcoming a couple of its stigmas — that not all U.S. merchants accept Amex cards, and that younger cardholders were not intrigued by the status of holding an Amex card.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. sweetened rewards on their credit cards as the companies continue to renegotiate the terms of their longtime partnership.

Even in mature markets, consumers may not feel very connected to their payment cards. This is making issuers more reliant on selling data-driven experiences over simple transaction processing.

The recent explosion of online shopping tools pointing users to the lowest prices for items — particularly on Amazon — appears to be making the e-commerce giant nervous.

Banks can remain competitive in a more crowded field by offering attractive rewards through easy-to-navigate, secure microsites, says Informa Financial Intelligence's Gina DeCorla.

Fed proposal is at odds with the one offered by the FDIC and OCC; judge wants to dispel the “myth” that student loans can’t be expunged in bankruptcy.