The Green Sheet Online Edition
January 1, 2025 • 25:01:02
News Briefs
Consumers ring in holiday spending growth <- click to read full story
Preliminary data from Visa and Mastercard indicates robust holiday spending growth in 2024. Visa reported a 4.8 percent overall holiday spending increase, while Mastercard noted a 3.8 percent retail sales rise, excluding automotive. In-store shopping rebounded, with 77 percent of U.S. retail spending happening in physical stores, up 4.1 percent from last year. Online spending grew 7.1 percent, slower than 2023's 10.34 percent.
Electronics, clothing, and building materials saw notable sales gains, reflecting a focus on home comforts. Promotions during November and Black Friday drew shoppers seeking value, and online shopping surged in cities like Tampa and Phoenix.
Mastercard highlighted heightened demand for dining experiences and ecommerce options, with apparel leading online sales.
The holiday season affirmed consumer resilience amidst economic challenges. However, despite strong consumer activity, fraud attempts doubled compared to last year.
CFPB sues Walmart, fintech over gig worker pay access <- click to read full story
The CFPB filed a lawsuit against Walmart and Branch Messenger, accusing them of extracting over $10 million in "junk fees" from gig workers in Walmart's Spark Drive program.
The complaint alleges Walmart required drivers to use Branch for payments, often opening accounts without consent. Workers faced unauthorized deductions, misleading claims about same-day pay access and complex procedures to retrieve earnings.
Branch allegedly violated federal laws by mishandling consumer accounts and failing to provide required disclosures.
The CFPB aims to halt these practices, offer restitution and impose penalties. The lawsuit highlights broader concerns about fintech partnerships with banking-as-a-service providers.
Similar cases have targeted consumer protection violations, underscoring the CFPB's commitment to enforcing workplace financial rights under the Consumer Financial Protection Act and related laws.
X marks the spot <- click to read full story
X, formerly Twitter, will launch X Payments in 2025, integrating payments with the X-Cart ecommerce platform. X CEO Linda Yaccarino emphasized X's intent to transform into an "everything app" with services like X Money and X TV. X Payments aims to enhance security and support in-feed payment options, potentially rivaling PayPal and Venmo.
Elon Musk's vision includes cryptocurrency integration, possibly featuring Dogecoin. X is obtaining state money transmitter licenses, though key states like New York remain uninvolved. Legal and ethical concerns, including ties to Saudi Arabia, have raised scrutiny over X's fitness for licenses. Analysts suggested X could adopt TikTok's approach of embedding shopping within social content.
This strategy offers advertisers conversion data while potentially subsidizing payment fees. X's innovations could reshape ecommerce, pending resolution of licensing and other challenges.
RTP reports substantial growth <- click to read full story
The Clearing House's RTP network reported a 94 percent increase in transaction value to $246 billion in 2024, alongside a 38 percent rise in volume to 343 million transactions. Despite its smaller scale compared to the ACH network, RTP saw significant fourth-quarter activity with 98 million transactions worth $80 billion.
The average transaction value rose 40 percent to $719, driven by growing participation from financial institutions and businesses using RTP for payroll, supply chain and merchant payments.
By 2028, 70 to 80 percent of FIs are expected to receive instant payments, though fewer will send them due to cost barriers. RTP's transaction limit will increase to $10 million in 2025, supporting large-value payments like real estate.
Also the Faster Payments Council's research highlighted instant payment use cases, emphasizing payroll, emergency payments and supplier invoices.
CFPB research reveals growing BNPL usage by subprime borrowers <- click to read full story
The CFPB's recent study highlights rising BNPL loan use, particularly among subprime borrowers. In 2022, 21 percent of consumers used BNPL loans, with subprime borrowers comprising 63 percent of users.
Many held multiple loans, sometimes from different providers. BNPL originations per borrower rose to 9.5 annually, up from 8.5 in 2021.
Younger consumers (18-24) showed greater reliance on BNPL, with such loans accounting for 28 percent of their unsecured debt during usage months.
BNPL lenders promote these loans as safer than credit cards, offering quick approval and interest-free pay-down periods. However, researchers noted that BNPL borrowers often carry higher balances on other unsecured credit lines.
The CFPB has mandated BNPL lenders to uphold consumer protections akin to credit cards and continues monitoring the sector to ensure compliance and address emerging risks. 
This article contains excerpts from news stories recently posted under Breaking Industry News on our homepage. For links to these and other full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/breakingnews.php.
Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact information, links and other details may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
