Payments

The U.S. Justice Department sued to block Visa’s $5.3 billion deal for the data aggregator over concerns that it would harm competition in the global payments market.

The agency said customers of SMART Payment Plan LLC could receive up to $7.5 million for statements that created a false impression about the service used for auto loans, but in a twist the bureau said it may pay most of the restitution.

As the presidential voting count waged deep into the night on Tuesday, the fate of fintech, financial services and payments regulation hung in the balance.

It is a frustrating reality during a time of national crisis that emergency payment options for vulnerable populations remain such a complex and inefficient landscape, says Flourish Ventures' Sarah Morgenstern.

States have led the way on fintech rules, but a Democratic-led government would take a stronger role, says DailyPay's Matthew Kopko.

In a major break from the Payment Card Industry security standards playbook, merchants and service providers using newer technologies would have the opportunity to rewrite network operation and testing procedures when achieving compliance.

Reflecting the rapid transition to digital payments, PayPal has reported its strongest growth in total payment volume and revenue in its history, coupled with strong growth for Venmo, its P2P app.

The person-to-person network is being used more often for purchasing, with consumer payments to small businesses up sharply.

Businesses are looking for banks to help them shed paper and automate transactions, says FISPAN's Clayton Weir.

Mastercard has rolled out a set of AI-powered tools to thwart fraud and data breaches across banks' ecosystems, particularly to benefit acquirers’ online merchants.