Payments | Credit Card Topics

Opinion: Let’s Respect the Decisions of Merchants Displaying the “Cash Only, Please” Signs

By: Erica Sandberg, 3/17/2025

Should you run to the ATM before shopping? If you want to help the merchant save money, you might. Although I am a huge advocate for wise and robust credit use, I've gone back to paper currency for many regular purchases. Once a week, I withdraw a small stack of $20 bills and dole them out on everything from meals to shampoo. Not only have I become a more conscientious shopper, making that money last as long as possible has become a fun challenge. But shoppers like me... read more »

What Is a Digital Wallet? How the Technology Makes Credit Card Payments More Secure and Convenient

By: Eric Bank, 3/17/2025

Back in the day, I always used to fish out a credit card when paying at a store or restaurant. For a long time, that was all most places could manage. But I started using a digital wallet a few years ago, and I’ve never looked back. Nowadays, it seems that the digital wallet revolution is upon us, and most places welcome them. A digital wallet is a secure app or software that stores payment information and allows you to make transactions using your phone, computer, or... read more »

As Buy Now, Pay Later Products Gain Popularity, One Generation Says “No, Thanks”

By: Andrew Allen, 3/11/2025

Buy now, pay later products extend convenience to customers seeking a purchasing tool that allows them to pay for an item over time without incurring interest. The worldwide value of the BNPL market surpassed $37 billion in 2024, and it’s estimated to have a value of more than $167 billion by 2032. Financial institutions are always seeking to offer products and services that will bring younger customers through their doors. Logic dictates that younger customers have more... read more »

Mastercard’s New Payment Platform Allows Users to Choose the Payment Method That Best Suits Them

By: Andrew Allen, 3/6/2025

Mastercard has launched One Credential, a tool that allows users to access a variety of payment methods on one digital platform. Gone are the days of fumbling through your purse or wallet to locate the card that you prefer to use while shopping at a particular brick-and-mortar store or online outlet. With One Credential, users can set their preferences to automatically select different payment methods for different types of purchases. One Credential allows users to load multiple... read more »

Projected Growth of Payment Card Use Opens Doors to Innovation, Competition for Market Share

By: Andrew Allen, 3/5/2025

Global payments from credit, debit, and prepaid cards are expected to grow to more than 1.1 trillion by 2029, representing a 43% growth over the same number of transactions performed in 2024. This projection is one of the recent findings in the Nilson Report that examines credit, debit, and prepaid card transactions from American Express, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa. Growth approaching 50% in just five years is an eye-opening number for an industry... read more »

Lawmakers Seek to Prevent the Federal Reserve from Creating a Central Bank Digital Currency

By: Andrew Allen, 2/25/2025

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is seeking to formally ban the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Earlier this month, Lee reintroduced a bill, known as the No CBDC Act that he had initially sponsored during then-President Joe Biden's administration. The bill is cosponsored by additional politicians, including Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has opposed the idea of the Federal Reserve establishing a CBDC for years. Lee’s move to reintroduce the No CBDC Act comes on... read more »

Keep Pace With Payments Trends and Embrace Networking at 2025 Smarter Faster Payments Conference

By: Andrew Allen, 2/20/2025

Payments industry insiders, inspirational business leaders, and a former astronaut will all be in attendance at Smarter Faster Payments 2025, a conference hosted by Nacha, the organization that manages the ACH network. The event runs from April 27-30 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Conference attendees can expect a rich, interactive experience at Smarter Faster Payments 2025. In addition to in-depth sessions that cover topics pertinent to payments... read more »

The Potential Demise of the Penny is the Latest Step in Society’s Shift Away From Cash Payments

By: Andrew Allen, 2/20/2025

The U.S. may soon be without its lowest denomination of coin currency — the penny — if President Donald Trump gets his way. Trump took to social media platform Truth Social last week to let the country know he has the one-cent piece in his crosshairs. “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than two cents,” Trump wrote. “This is so wasteful! I have instructed my Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to stop producing new pennies.... read more »

Visa Ventures into Account-to-Account Services in 2025, Portending a New Era in Payments

By: Andrew Allen, 2/14/2025

Visa is preparing to offer account-to-account (A2A) payment services in 2025. The company plans to rollout its A2A platform in the U.K. before expanding to other regions. Visa first announced the move in September 2024. Ryan McInerney, Visa’s CEO, spoke of the company’s A2A strategy during a company earnings webcast in late January. “We are still on track to launch Visa A2A in early 2025,” McInerney said. “After we announced it, we’ve done what we always do, which... read more »

Payments Professionals Can Get the Inside Track on Industry Innovations at the 2025 Payments Forum

By: Andrew Allen, 2/6/2025

The 2025 Payments Forum is scheduled for March 4-6 in San Francisco. The conference opens with a special event honoring influential women in payments and a meeting of the Electronic Benefits Transfer Community Council. A senior leader from Citizens Bank delivers the keynote address, which focuses on how data and modern technologies are transforming the customer payment experience. Payments professionals take note — the 2025 Payments Forum, to be held March 4-6 at the... read more »

Bloom Credit CEO Christian Widhalm: ‘Right Now, No One Knows What’s on Consumer BNPL Balances’

By: Andrew Allen, 2/4/2025

The rising popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions raises questions for lenders that don’t have a standardized way to track a consumer’s use of BNPL products. Globally, the value of the BNPL market exceeded $37 billion in 2024, and it’s estimated to have a value of more than $167 billion by 2032. For a market predicted to grow in size by more than $130 billion in less than a decade, it’s not surprising that lenders want to know more about these customers —... read more »

High-Risk Merchants Can Flourish By Working With a Payment Processor That Understands Their Business

By: Andrew Allen, 3/4/2025

Many financial institutions are risk-adverse, which can make life difficult for high-risk businesses seeking a payment processor. High Risk Pay provides payment processing solutions to merchants of all risk levels. The company’s exceptional customer service, in-depth knowledge of high-risk industries, and competitive fee structure help businesses save time and money. The road to a successful business is full of obstacles. You may have the world’s greatest idea... read more »

Klarna Partners with Stripe to Enhance its Reach, but the BNPL Industry’s Future Remains Uncertain

By: Andrew Allen, 1/22/2025

Klarna is partnering with Stripe to bring its BNPL services to new territories. Government agencies such as the CFPB have signaled that increased regulatory scrutiny may be in store for businesses operating in the BNPL space. The CFPB’s impact on financial oversight may change drastically under President Trump’s watch. Payments innovator Klarna has announced a partnership with Stripe that enhances the company’s global reach. As a result of the alliance, businesses... read more »

How Pending State Legislation on Interchange Fees Threatens Digital Payments Nationwide

By: Mike Senecal, 12/18/2024

Merchant-acquiring banks pay interchange fees to credit card issuers to fund payment network operations and innovations. New research from Julian Morris, Senior Scholar at the International Center for Law and Economics, shows how pending legislation in Illinois to exempt sales taxes and tips from interchange fees threatens the incentives consumers and merchants have to use and accept cards. As a 2025 court battle looms and other states contemplate taking similar action,... read more »

A Payment Solution With Loyalty Programs That Help Merchants Turn Transactions Into Engagement Tools

By: Mike Senecal, 12/18/2024

There's no turning back the trend that has customers everywhere clamoring for more and better ways to pay without cash. Thanks to Nayax, the current revolution in cashless and contactless payments comes with built-in loyalty capabilities, including dynamic pricing and management tools for real-time transaction visibility and data insights. With Nayax handling payments, merchants of all sizes gain a flexible, scalable payment solution that works everywhere. Nayax turns... read more »

Streamline Business Procurement With an AI-Enhanced Purchasing and Payment Solution

By: Mike Senecal, 11/26/2024

Once you grow your brick-and-mortar business beyond the embryonic stage, you need to keep your eye on the financial ball at all times. AI-enhanced Order.co helps by centralizing and automating procurement, finding savings among thousands of partner vendors, and meshing the results with a payment platform and virtual credit cards to significantly boost cash flow flexibility. Order.co gets everyone who purchases goods and services on behalf of your company on the same page... read more »

With Embedded Finance, Online Businesses Can Put Payments, Compliance, and Loyalty on Autopilot

By: Andrew Allen, 12/13/2024

In the world of eCommerce, businesses use any advantage they can to gain an edge on their competitors. The embedded finance services ConnectPay provides equip businesses to increase revenue and promote loyalty among their customers. ConnectPay’s solutions integrate into a business’s platforms to provide a seamless user experience. Inventions can be exciting when they introduce us to new ideas and gadgets that can make our lives easier or more fun. But some... read more »

New Aeropay CCO Sarah Stapp Sees Big Potential in U.S. Account-to-Account Payments Market

By: Andrew Allen, 11/19/2024

Account-to-account payments are poised for a breakthrough in the U.S. in the very near future. With the hiring of payments industry veteran Sarah Stapp as its Chief Commercial Officer, Aeropay figures to feature prominently in driving adoption of the payment method with its innovative and easy-to-use solutions. Stapp’s expertise and foresight further position Aeropay as a force in the digital payments space. In the uber-competitive payments space, a company has to... read more »

What is a Credit Card Processor? A Guide to the Networks That Power Transactions

By: Eric Bank, 11/19/2024

I figure it’s one of those things most folks don’t give a second thought to — how credit cards really work. You swipe it, wait a tick, and bam! Transaction approved. Truth be told, there’s a whole lot going on behind the curtains that you probably don’t know anything about — including credit card processors. A credit card processor is the intermediary that handles and routes payment information between your bank, the merchant, and the card network to complete a... read more »

What is an Outstanding Balance? A Guide to What You Owe on Your Credit Card

By: Eric Bank, 10/8/2024

When I was young, I always thought outstanding only meant something great — like my mom’s famous meatloaf surprise. You know, the best. But it wasn’t until I got into the wonderful world of finance that I realized it had a meaning that wasn’t as fantastic as my mom’s meatloaf. In the world of credit cards, an outstanding balance is the amount of money you owe, including what you spend on purchases, balance transfers, and cash advances, plus all the interest and fees. To... read more »

What is a Minimum Payment on a Credit Card?

By: Eric Bank, 10/3/2024

I wouldn’t advise only making minimum payments on your credit cards, but it can make sense in certain situations. Most of the time, you’ll want to steer clear of minimum payments because they lead to interest charges and debt piling up fast. But if you are in a financial pinch or using the snowball or avalanche methods (don’t worry, I’ll cover them later), making minimum payments could actually be helpful. A minimum payment is the least amount you must pay by the due date to... read more »

How Stored Value Wallets Drive Deeper Loyalty and Connection Between Merchants and Customers

By: Mike Senecal, 10/3/2024

Many enterprise retailers like Starbucks have the muscle to build promotions and incentives into their payment apps from scratch. That leaves others, including midmarket chain competitors, in the lurch because they lack the resources to out-innovate and outcompete. Ansa steps in to help coffee shops, quick-serve restaurants, and a growing collection of businesses in other verticals go up against their established competitors. With Ansa Anywhere, Ansa brings mobile... read more »

Merchants Using No-Code Payment Technology Have More Time and Resources for Business

By: Mike Senecal, 1/28/2025

The payment industry is a mishmash of overlapping roles, competing technologies, and conflicting business models. PayJunction has a track record of more than two decades as a payment provider that can cut through the clutter and deliver a delightful customer experience. PayJunction works with software vendors and developers to take 100% ownership of their payment operations. It also appeals directly to thousands of merchants interested in its intuitive no-code... read more »

Empower Your eCommerce Business with a Full Suite of Payment & Verification Solutions from SeamlessChex

By: Andrew Allen, 8/22/2024

Businesses rely on payment processors to help them maintain positive cash flow. SeamlessChex provides innovative payment solutions that can help merchants send and receive payments quickly. The company works with merchants across various industries to minimize chargebacks and position them for success. SeamlessChex offers competitive pricing and personalized customer service to help merchants overcome challenges. If you've ever dreamed of owning your own business,... read more »

What Are Contactless Payments? A Guide to Convenient and Secure Transactions

By: Eric Bank, 8/14/2024

If there’s one thing credit companies are great at, it’s making it easier for you to spend money. Whenever I tap my credit card to make a payment at the grocery store, all I think about is how simple that was, not the hundreds of dollars I just dropped on weekly necessities — except for that Milky Way candy bar. Tapping your credit card to pay is a form of contactless payment, which means you don’t have to insert your card or enter a personal identification number... read more »

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All articles tagged Payments (187)