Page 44 - Pso Feature News Today

Though the retailer's threat to drop Visa in the U.K. appears to have subsided, companies like Clik2pay, Affirm and Curve have seized on an opportunity to advance account-to-account transactions, buy now/pay later and cryptocurrency.

The issuer says it can offer installment loans without jeopardizing the kind of growth in credit card volume that it reported for the fourth quarter.

Valuations for payment technology companies skyrocketed over the past year, pushed by a wave of public listings and record venture capital investments. Some potential acquirers are waiting for prices to cool.

It has also taken a stake in Rêv Worldwide, developer of the bank's cross-border traveler account that supports currencies including the U.S. dollar, the euro and the Mexican peso.

The automaker plans to overhaul its online car-shopping portal, while also developing an in-car system for purchasing fuel, parking and other goods and services.

The startup PointCard's new charge card ignores applicants' credit scores, instead weighing their cryptocurrency holdings and other investments to determine ability to repay.

The card brands are pursuing partnerships with banks, government agencies and merchants, with a goal of building networks and services to accommodate the rise of central bank digital currencies.

If the payments company moves ahead with a digital currency rollout, its network of merchants and consumers as well as its retail-payments focus could give it the upper hand over banks, whose products are limited to cryptocurrency exchanges, wholesale payments and other specific uses.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's investigation calls some installment lenders' collection practices into question, but also highlights the ease of access that has made their loans so popular.

The debut of new mobile wallets ahead of the Winter Olympics in Beijing is an impetus for the Federal Reserve to bring its own central bank digital currency project up to speed.