08 Apr 19 @ 14:33

The European Commission (EC) is considering implementing new regulations to support and accelerate the adoption of the TARGET Instant Payments Settlement System (TIPS) in an effort to challenge the dominance... read more

08 Apr 19 @ 13:11

Successive waves of Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals are “sunsetting” – no longer receiving software updates – leading to significant upgrade or replacement costs for retailers. Meanwhile, non-POS methods of payment are... read more

06 Feb 19 @ 05:58

The number of merchant outlets accepting card payments worldwide grew by 13 percent throughout 2017 to reach 69.2 million at the end of the year.  The two least-developed regions in... read more

03 Oct 18 @ 13:32

In recent years, interchange rates have come under increasing pressure from a variety of judicial reviews by the US Federal Reserve, the European Union and individual countries such as Canada,... read more

03 Oct 18 @ 12:41

The UK’s Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) has launched an investigation into card acquiring services and whether Britain’s big banks and payments specialists such as Worldpay and Wirecard have taken advantage... read more

09 Aug 18 @ 14:57

Cash is a capital-intensive business and nowhere more so than with ATMs. With cash usage generally declining and the fixed and unit costs of providing cash access rising, banks are... read more

09 Aug 18 @ 14:39

Amex has won an eight-year antitrust lawsuit over interchange fees. The Supreme Court ruling at the end of June found that the card company’s ‘anti-steering’ rules did not violate federal... read more

09 Apr 18 @ 13:39

The UK ATM network operator, LINK, is planning a phased 20 percent reduction in interchange fees over the next four years. This will start with a five percent cut to... read more

09 Apr 18 @ 13:32

Amazon is reported to be discussing a potential partnership to offer its customers bank accounts via JPMorgan Chase, in a deal that would marry America’s biggest e-commerce platform with the... read more

09 Apr 18 @ 12:58

A group of Canadian retailers are pushing for lower credit card fees from major payment networks amid a long-standing battle over what they claim are inflated rates. The two largest... read more

03 Aug 17 @ 06:24

It is now almost 18 months since the introduction of the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR). This covered a good deal more than the interchange fee caps and included substantial changes... read more

08 Jun 17 @ 12:30

The US Supreme Court declined to hear a bid by retailers to revive a $7.25 billion anti-trust settlement reached with Visa and Mastercard over claims that the networks fixed card... read more

05 Apr 17 @ 11:38

The merchant acquiring market in Europe is operating on solid grounds of continuous transaction growth, however the cost pressures in the industry increases are very high, primarily due to new... read more

03 Aug 16 @ 07:24

MASTERCARD IS FACING a multi-billion pound damages claim for imposing interchange fees that were ultimately borne by UK consumers. The claim, which could reach £19 billion, would be the biggest... read more

02 Feb 16 @ 10:44

Cards and card payment at the point of sale (POS) and online showed solid growth rates in most European countries in 2014, supported by the roll-out of contactless technology. The... read more

01 Feb 16 @ 16:02

09 December 2015 marked a significant date for interchange rates across Europe as all EU countries had to align their domestic rates, in accordance with the Interchange Fee Regulation (IFR).... read more

01 Oct 15 @ 07:38

New research by RBR shows that the number of payment cards in circulation worldwide increased by 11 percent in 2014 to reach 12 billion, largely driven by strong growth in... read more

30 Jul 15 @ 16:57

Contactless cards have been issued in Australia since 2006 but a major push on the acceptance side only started in the second-half of 2010. The technology is starting to gain... read more

30 Jul 15 @ 15:11

MasterCard faces formal antitrust investigations in Europe after the European Commission accused the card giant of “artificially raising the costs of card payments.” The Commission issued its statement of objections... read more

31 May 15 @ 09:05

PCM examines the extent to which European regulation will continue to drive major industry change by Robert Courtneidge and Joyrene Thomas European regulation, such as the original Payment Services Directive... read more