Payments

Oklahoma lawmakers' decision last month to drop the state's surcharging ban was yet another signal that U.S. merchants have the final say in whether to apply extra charges to credit card transactions to offset interchange fees.

A seasoned investor in startups offers his top predictions for the coming decade. Among them: Big tech firms will become big players in financial services.

Though many merchants remain wary of alienating their customers with fees, others now see an opportunity to recoup the growing costs associated with accepting plastic.

Concerns about security and expense have dogged payments innovation for decades, and have always faded, argues Nvoicepay's Alyssa Callahan.

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.

So far this year, Lloyds and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have had payment failures in the U.K. And in the U.S., a software glitch at parking technology vendor Parkeon halted digital payments at meters in New York and other cities.

Businesses have to ensure they're not losing money on the currency exchange, and volatility in the local market could upset their earnings or pricing structures in those areas, says Rapyd's Joel Yarbrough.

JPMorgan Chase is boosting the annual fee for customers to $550 from $450 as it adds new perks with partners such as DoorDash and Lyft.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is boosting the annual fee for some customers by $100 as it adds new perks.

The NFC Forum, the global standards body and advocacy association for the use of NFC, released the specifications to improve communication speed and the ability to use NFC in areas in which "noisy radio environments" might cause interference.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show, taking place in Las Vegas, is a showcase of bizarre and revolutionary new technologies — with a few providing glimpses into the future of fintech and payments.

Facebook Pay's relatively limited scope has raised less opposition than the company's crypto project, argues Infinite Convergence's Anurag Lal.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. and China UnionPay Co. will soon unify the mobile codes that consumers scan to pay for purchases, granting the Chinese central bank-backed network a bigger foothold in a $27 trillion payments arena.

The thinking has been that additional POS complexity is the only way to give customers what they want and streamline business operations. Yet a typical merchant uses less than 20% of the capability of their POS solution—and not often very well, says Revel Systems' Chris Lybeer.

Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project has drawn vast political pushback, but also more tangible government action as nations globally consider central bank supported digital currencies. It’s also sparking a potential bottom-up approach in New York.

Comerica Bank won another five-year contract from the Treasury Department to run the prepaid Direct Express card program despite criticism of how it handled past fraud cases and customer service blunders.

Payments security firm MyPINpad has received certification from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council for its software-based PIN entry on Apple mobile and tablet devices.

Payment fintech Tribe Payments says it has implemented its new software platform at Telleroo to provide the company direct access to payment rails and other banking services for its accounting and bookkeeper clients.

Conflict continues to mount between the card brands and merchants. Merchants say they deserve more input and actual decision-making power and that payments should operate through completely open standards in which all involved parties have had a say.

Most banks already have the means to communicate directly with customers, in the form of a mobile banking app or email. It’s just a matter of putting those channels to good use. Targeted discounts and perks reduce shopping costs, and therefore customers’ stress, says Flybits' Justine Melman.