Payments

The payments company has agreed to acquire EVO Payments for $4 billion and sell off the consumer-focused portions of its Netspend unit as part of an industrywide emphasis on automated business-to-business payments.

The payment processor is an early user of Apple's smartphone payments capability, which provides a DIY option for retail workers, but doesn't necessarily cover all merchants in all use cases.

Within two years, the credit-card company expects to employ more than 1,000 people from a historically disadvantaged part of the city.

Visa said it believes it’s an “improper defendant” in the case.

Dee Hock, who recently passed away, was CEO of the card brand from 1970 to 1984. He championed a mix of competition and collaboration among financial institutions to foster innovation, an idea that is still used in technology development.

Data as of Mar. 31, 2022. Dollars in thousands.

The Maryland bank has lost 13% of its credit card customer base in the past year amid a flurry of marketing activity by newer players. But it is refusing to panic.

As competition tightens in the buy now/pay later arena, fintechs including Klarna, Afterpay and Zilch are upgrading perks to keep consumers from straying to their rivals.

Visa and Mastercard credit card-issuing banks with more than $100 billion in assets would be required to give merchants a lower-cost choice for processing each transaction under a new bill proposed to spur competition.

A potential Senate bill could pressure interchange fees, while the broader economy faces a downturn. Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach contends the firm is prepared for both.