Contactless spending limits are inching ever higher in Europe, according to new guidance published Jan. 27, 2021, by the Financial Conduct Authority. The UK-based regulator, which oversees nearly 60,000 financial institutions and 49,000 private sector firms, may once again raise the limit on tap-and-go transactions in response to changing consumer behaviors.

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Fintechs and financial service organizations petitioned the Federal Reserve in hopes of participating in its FedNow pilot, which went live Jan. 25, 2021. Designed to make payments faster, safer and more convenient, the initiative and its pilot program will support development, testing and adoption of the FedNow Service, FedNow program managers stated.

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Mastercard and Visa want to make contactless payment acceptance a no-brainer for businesses, particularly small merchants wary of the customary cost and hassle of new POS devices and software. Mastercard is launching a first-ever U.S. deployment of Cloud Tap on Phone, a cloud-based platform that turns any NFC-enabled Android smartphone or tablet into a contactless payment acceptance device.

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Holiday eGift spend rose 40 percent in 2020, according to Blackhawk Network's BrandedPay Post-Holiday Spending Report, published Jan. 21, 2021. Theresa McEndree, global head of marketing and corporate brand at Blackhawk, stated she expects digital sales to remain strong, especially in the first quarter of 2021, as shoppers take advantage of online sales.

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Wnet recently hired its first chief executive officer, Wendy Holliday, M.Ed., CAE, to support and expand the organization's mission for creating leadership positions for talented fintech and payments industry women and their male advocates.

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Visa Inc. scuttled plans to acquire fintech Plaid under pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ is characterizing the move as a win for consumers and businesses. Not surprisingly, Visa and Plaid put a different spin on the decision.

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The Electronic Transactions Association welcomed its incoming class of 2021 ETA Young Payments Professionals Scholars (YPP) on Jan. 13, 2021. Sponsored by Discover Global Network and entering its fifth year, the year-long program is designed to prepare young payments professionals for leading roles at the ETA and throughout the payments industry, ETA representatives stated.

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As CEOs from numerous industries respond to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Capitol Hill, payments and security leaders noted that security breaches are not limited to the digital world. In a Jan. 11, 2020, interview with The Green Sheet, Jodie Kelley, CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association, reflected on the current state of affairs at the U.S. Capitol, where the ETA is headquartered.

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A federal judge in Washington, D.C., gave payment processing giant PayPal a win in its efforts to deep six rules established by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for prepaid cards and digital wallets

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MPC: The Digital Commerce Event opened its annual call for speakers on Jan. 4, 2021, in preparation for its 11th annual symposium. MPC conference committee members will review prospective presenters' applications postmarked on or before Jan. 22. The exclusive event will be held in August 2021, according to Marla Ellerman, executive director at MPC.

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After months of wrangling, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law a new COVID-19 relief package that will deliver much-needed financial help to ISOs, merchant level salespeople (MLSs) and their merchants.

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