Industry News

NMI, a global provider of embedded payments, has introduced NMI Customer Token Vault as an extension of its NMI Gateway. It stores and protects dynamic tokens issued and managed by card networks along with sensitive card data for processor agnostic provider tokens. Tokenization helps lower interchange fees, increase acceptance rates, and minimize chargebacks while reducing the risk of data breaches and simplifying PCI DSS compliance.

U.S. Bank Avvance, a provider of real-time lending via point-of-sale terminals, will make its installment loan service available on a lending-as-a-service platform operated by Florida-based Magwitch. Magwitch is used by 1,100 merchants directly and by 2,000+ indirectly through its white label technology services in the United States.

BMO has partnered with Porter Airlines and Mastercard to introduce BMO VIPorter Mastercard with travel benefits for Canadians, available in spring 2025.

Arab Financial Services, a provider of digital payment services in the Middle East and Africa, has expanded into the United Arab Emirates after securing a Retail Payment Services License – Category II from the Central Bank of the UAE.

Consulting IQ, an AI-powered digital business platform, has partnered with Mastercard Easy Savings Specials for offers to micro, small and midsized enterprises worldwide. Mastercard Business cardholders will gain access to Consulting IQ's library of 4,500+ preloaded business prompts, KPIs, a business owners' forum, a marketplace, masterclasses and personalized advice.

Velera, a payments provider for credit unions formerly known as PSCU/Co-op Solutions, has introduced its Card on File service allowing cardholders to update payment methods with 115+ merchants. Credit unions using Velera’s DX Online and DX Mobile platforms can manage updates or additions to a member's stored account credentials used to execute purchases with authorized merchants, often for recurring or subscription payments.

X is teaming up with Visa to create a service for real-time payments in line with owner Elon Musk's intent to create an “everything app” similar to China's WeChat. X Money Account involves an in-platform digital wallet and peer-to-peer payments connected to users’ debit cards, with an option to transfer funds to a bank account. Services will be powered by Visa Direct and will be available to X Money Account users in the US.

GasBuddy, a fuel-savings platform for North American drivers, has launched a Masstercard-branded Pay with GasBuddy credit card that includes the following rewards for fuel purchases: 3¢/gal for every fill-up, 5¢/gal at select stations, up to 30¢/gal with an activated Deal Alert, and 3¢/gal for every $25 spent on non-fuel purchases inside convenience stores. Corpay handles account processing and related services. Fifth Third is the card issuer.

Infineon Technologies, Germany's largest manufacturer of semiconductors, partnered with Sweden-based Fingerprint Cards, a provider of biometric technology, to create the Secure Pay Bio payment card, which was recently certified by Visa. It had previously been certified by Mastercard. Cards integrate Fingerprints’ FPC1323 sensor for fingerprint recognition.

Mollie, a provider of online and in-person payment support services, has enabled Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhone for its customers in Austria, Italy and the UK. In November of last year, Mollie launched the service for its 250,000 customers in the Netherlands, France and Germany, allowing merchants of all sizes to accept contactless payments, including contactless credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, and other digital wallets, using only an iPhone and the Mollie app.

Net Affinity, a Dublin-based company that handles direct bookings for independent, resort and group hotels, has partnered with PXP, a global payment platform, to create a system that handles both reservations and payments. PXP processes over $45 billion annually using fraud detection tools.

AMP Bank, a mobile-first digital bank in Australia, will provide its micro and small business customers with the country’s first Mastercard debit cards without any visible identifying numbers. Removing numbers fights fraud and scams. Card details are available in the AMP Bank app when required to make a payment.

Nayax, a global specialist in cashless payment and management systems, has established a long-term partnership with Seco, a technology provider for industrial digitalization. Nayax-powered payments will be embedded within Seco products starting with a payment-enabled smart screen to be used for vending machines, micro markets, smart coolers and automated self-service retail machines.

Visa has partnered with DealMe, a South Korean-based fintech, to provide real-time installment loan offers to Visa cardholders from Vietnam for purchases they make from select merchants in South Korea. Travelers from Vietnam will also be able to shop at South Korean duty-free shops, department stores and medical institutions. Visa’s data indicates that 18% of surveyed Vietnamese consumers plan to travel to South Korea.

New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris has announced that PayPal will pay a $2 million penalty to New York State for violations of DFS’s Cybersecurity Regulation. An investigation determined PayPal failed to use qualified personnel to manage key cybersecurity functions and failed to provide adequate training to address cybersecurity risks. These failures led to sensitive customer information, including social security numbers (SSNs), being left unredacted and easily accessible to cybercriminals.

NMI, a global provider of embedded payments, has added Bill Connect for use on the NMI Payment Gateway. Bill Connect handles billing and payment acceptance for small and midsized merchants. It is powered by Biller Genie, and is designed to integrate with accounting software such as QuickBooks Online, Quickbooks Desktop and Xero. It handles billing and payment acceptance for small and midsized businesses.

Synchrony, the tenth largest issuers of general purpose credit cards in the US, has signed a multi-year extension of its 30-year credit card relationship with Sam's Club, meaning Synchrony will continue to be the issuer of Mastercard consumer, business and commercial credit cards for Sam's Club at the retailer's 600 locations across the US and Puerto Rico. Cards are also accepted through SamsClub.com and in the Sam's Club mobile app.

Moniepoint, a business payments and banking platform that processes over 1 billion transactions a month valued at $22 billion, has secured an investment from Visa. The companies aim to advance financial inclusion and digital payments while fostering SME growth across Africa. Services offered by Moniepoint include digital payments, bank accounts, credit and management tools. The platform processes over 1 billion transactions monthly, with total payments volume exceeding $22 billion.

Ramp, which provides Visa brand commercial and corporate card products to US companies, has introduced Ramp Treasury, which enables businesses to hold cash in an account that earns 2.5% , or in an investment account with the potential of even higher yields. The company has 30,000 customers. Ramp cards are issued by Sutton Bank and Celtic Bank.

Self Financial has launched a secured Visa credit card that requires a $100 minimum deposit. The card is designed for people who are either new to credit or are trying to get their scores back on track. It does not require a hard credit pull. Self Financial reports all payment activity to the top three credit bureaus. It uses Lead Bank, Century Bank, South State Bank and Sunrise Banks to issue its secured cards.

Deluxe, which provides check printing, digital payment processing support and marketing services, has launched dlxPay, a mobile app that gives merchants access to payment processing including real-time transaction management, security, and customizable notifications. It integrates with Ingenico’s Moby 5500 device for contactless mobile payments along with Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV)-chip card acceptance.

JetBlue has become the first airline to accept payment via Venmo when US customers book flights directly with JetBlue online. Currently available on jetblue.com and rolling out on the JetBlue mobile app in the coming months, payments can draw from a Venmo balance or linked bank accounts, debit cards or credit cards.

Wix, an ecommerce platform, will partner with Worldline, Europe’s sixth largest merchant acquirer and the seventh largest worldwide. Small and midsized customers of Wix in Europe and Asia Pacific gain access to Worldline’s local payment and banking services. Existing Worldline customers in these regions gain access Wix’s resources for building and managing their online stores including product catalog management, order fulfillment, inventory and invoice management, marketing tools and bookings management.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined Equifax for ignoring consumer documents and evidence submitted with disputes, and for allowing previously deleted inaccuracies to be reinserted into credit reports and other errors. Equifax must pay a $15 million civil money penalty, which will be deposited into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

American Express has entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, and has agreed to pay more than $138 million for engaging in sales practices that provided inaccurate tax advice to customers and potential customers of Amex for two wire products, Payroll Rewards and Premium Wire. Separately, Amex has entered a civil settlement with the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Fraud Section related to the tax-avoidance scheme. Acting Attorney Judy Philips said that American Express had misled their customers by touting tax breaks that simply didn’t exist.