News

eCommerce
Airwallex and Woo Team to Simplify Cross-Border eCommerce
December 13, 2023

Payments platform Airwallex has launched a partnership with eCommerce platform Woo. The collaboration makes Airwallex an official payment extension of Woo, letting the platform’s 3.5 million stores accept cross-border payments via cards, digital wallets and local payment methods within minutes, the companies said in Wednesday (Dec. 13) press release. “Cross-border...

Artificial Intelligence
Is the EU’s AI Act Historic or Prehistoric?
December 13, 2023

The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act officially reached provisional status Friday (Dec. 8). It took three days and 36 hours of political back-and-forth, but the 27-member nation bloc agreed on world-leading rules for policing the technical innovation that is generative AI. Now comes the hard...

Investments
Procurement Tool Provider Pivot Raises $21.6 Million to Expand in Europe
December 13, 2023

Procurement tool provider Pivot has secured 20 million euros (about $21.6 million) in Series A funding. This funding round comes six months after the firm’s creation and two months after its 5 million euro (about $5.4 million) pre-seed round, Pivot said in a Wednesday (Dec....

B2B Payments
Is B2B Ready for a Real-Time Payments Overhaul?
December 13, 2023

Real-time payments have the potential, and the promise, to overhaul all corners of commerce. The recent introduction of the FedNow® System is only the latest entrant in the instant payments realm, and the new rails take their place alongside the six-year-old RTP System offered by...

Regulation
British Payment Regulator Calls for Cross-Border Card Fee Cap
December 13, 2023

Visa and Mastercard are under pressure to cap cross-border merchant fees in the U.K. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) on Wednesday (Dec. 13) published an update to its review of cross-border interchange fees on transactions between U.K. businesses and the European Economic Area (EEA) and is proposing a cap to protect merchants...

Retail
Brands Capitalize on FSA Spending to Boost Holiday Sales 
December 13, 2023

Although consumers are making purchases, the reluctance to spend remains prevalent. As such, brands and retailers are trying new ways to entice consumers to shop while also offering methods to facilitate refunds. The most recent approach involves the utilization of Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs).  While...

Security & Fraud
Visa’s Provisioning Intelligence Service Wages War Against $450 Million in Token Fraud 
December 13, 2023

The value of tokenization — where sensitive information is replaced by unique algorithmically generated numbers and letters — has gained wide acknowledgement in commerce. James Mirfin, Visa’s global head of risk and identity solutions, told PYMNTS that fraudsters are perking up to tokenization’s potential to...

Payment Methods
Upgrade Offers Secured Card With Rewards and Fraud Protection
December 13, 2023

FinTech company Upgrade has launched a secured version of its Upgrade OneCard. The new Secured OneCard is designed for consumers who have little or no credit history, the company said in a Wednesday (Dec. 13) press release emailed to PYMNTS. “We believe Secured OneCard is...

eCommerce
EBay Rolls Out Branded Buses to Promote Consignment Service
December 12, 2023

Online marketplace eBay is rolling out a limited-time mobile consignment concierge that will promote the selling experience offered by the recently launched eBay consignment service. A branded bus called the Luxe Line will visit locations in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, offering people a physical place...