Pennsylvania may ban interchange fees on sales tax

Democrats in the Keystone state’s House of Representatives are pushing a bill that would prohibit interchange fees from applying to sales tax when consumers make credit or debit card payments.

By Lynne Marek • June 25, 2024

Amex to buy Tock for $400M

American Express said it will buy the reservation platform Tock from website builder Squarespace to buttress its dining digital services.

By Patrick Cooley • June 21, 2024

Illinois heads toward landmark card interchange fee restrictions

The state may become the first in the nation to outlaw the imposition of credit and debit card interchange fees on state excise tax and tips.

By Lynne Marek • June 7, 2024

Supreme Court upholds CFPB’s funding structure

The 7-2 ruling puts an end to a case that threatened the bureau's existence and pushed at least two federal judges to pause CFPB rules, pending the high court's opinion.

By Dan Ennis • May 16, 2024

Shift4 to buy rival POS firm Revel for $250M

The payments processing company plans to incorporate Revel’s point-of-sale capabilities into its SkyTab POS system, Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacson said.

By James Pothen , Lynne Marek • May 15, 2024

Toast CFO weighs in on Visa-Mastercard settlement

The restaurant-focused payments company expects to see an impact from lowered interchange fees by the second half of 2025.

By James Pothen • May 13, 2024

Visa debit card volume growth keeps sliding

The card network behemoth’s latest earnings report showed a contraction in card volume growth during the first three months of the year, and into April.

By Lynne Marek • April 24, 2024

Steak ‘n Shake installs facial recognition at self-ordering kiosks

The chain first tested the technology that lets customers pay using their face in October, and began deploying it in January.

By Julie Littman • April 16, 2024

Fiserv has ambitious goals for Clover. Can it meet them?

To achieve growth targets, Clover will need to fend off competition from rivals, especially Square, and make headway in new verticals and geographic regions, analysts and consultants said.

By Caitlin Mullen • April 1, 2024

FreedomPay doubles down on gateway focus

The company, which provides point-of-sale payments and other technology services to merchants, isn’t interested in handling acquiring, said President Chris Kronenthal. 

By Caitlin Mullen • March 18, 2024

JPMorgan to launch biometric checkout next year

The bank’s payments unit plans to engage in more pilots this year before rolling out the checkout service broadly next year, said Prashant Sharma, JPMorgan’s executive director of biometrics and identity solutions.

By Caitlin Mullen • March 11, 2024

Fiserv ponders M&A

CEO Frank Bisignano declined to comment Wednesday on a potential acquisition of Shift4, but would like to see Fiserv make more purchases that further its digital capabilities.

By Caitlin Mullen • Feb. 29, 2024

Toast to cut 550 employees

The company’s CEO acknowledged during an earnings call that “we grew our team too quickly in some areas,” while reporting a presence in 106,000 locations as of the end of 2023.

By Lynne Marek • Feb. 16, 2024

Adyen eyes growth in North America

Davi Strazza, North America president at Adyen, pointed to the Dutch processor’s single technology platform as setting it apart in a crowded field of payments players.

By Caitlin Mullen • Feb. 14, 2024

Where will embedded payments flourish in 2024?

There are three areas where embedded finance is a good fit, and they are characterized by high volume and frequent payments, writes one industry executive.

By Julio Gomez • Feb. 5, 2024

What’s ahead for payments in 2024

The industry faces more upheaval this year as legacy companies and upstart fintechs jockey for the upper hand, and regulators monitor the competition closely. 

By Lynne Marek • Jan. 31, 2024

Customer demand ebbs for Amex

Cardholders’ spending on airline tickets in particular decelerated during the fourth quarter, American Express CFO Christophe Le Caillec said Friday.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 26, 2024

Payments M&A poised to rise this year

Conditions could be ripe for more payments deals in 2024, as legacy players seek to add unique technologies and struggling startups find themselves in need of an exit plan.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 18, 2024

Payments M&A in 2023 amounts to a whimper

October’s uptick in activity didn’t continue through the remainder of the year, capping a quiet year for merger and acquisition activity in payments.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 12, 2024

Will Toast raise prices this year?

The restaurant point-of-sale provider may give clients a choice when it makes price adjustments, following a fee flub last year.

By Caitlin Mullen • Jan. 11, 2024

Restaurant gift card sales rose during Thanksgiving weekend

Guests spent 7.3% more on restaurant gift cards during the Thanksgiving weekend compared to the same period in 2022, according to Paytronix data. 

By Julie Littman • Dec. 5, 2023

Why quick service restaurants are doubling down on kiosks

Burger King, Taco Bell and Shake Shack are among the chains adding this technology to boost tabs and reduce labor pressure.

By Julie Littman • Nov. 27, 2023

Credit card bill battle may slide into 2024

Prospects for passing the Credit Card Competition Act this year are dimming, but supporters and opponents remain locked in battle over the legislation.

By Lynne Marek • Nov. 27, 2023

NCR Voyix sells payments assets for $82M

The divestiture mainly consisted of merchant contracts, Voyix’s front-end authorization platform “and certain relevant intellectual property,” the company said in its quarterly filing.

By Caitlin Mullen • Nov. 27, 2023

Digital payments have increased restaurant tips. But is it backfiring?

Some diners feel pressured by tipping digitally in front of employees, which can hurt restaurant traffic, but experts say there are best practices that can ease customer trepidation.  

By Danielle McLean • Nov. 22, 2023