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NewsBriefs

This article contains excerpts from news stories recently posted under time was right to break the strangle-
Breaking Industry News on our homepage. For links to these and other hold the big three had over this sec-
full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/breakingnews. tor," Carter said in a Dec. 23, 2021,
php. statement. "And that's what we're do-
ing. The ethos behind lopay is simple:
Tap-and-go donations make holiday season debut everyone should have more control

During the 2021 holiday season, the Salvation Army's over the money they earn and ac-
iconic Red Kettles in select cities accepted contactless donations. Visa piloted cess the rates they deserve." Carter
claimed the instant app, just launched
a program with the Salvation Army to tap-and-go enable 2,000 Red Kettle sta-
tions across the East and West Coasts. Visa is also working with tiptap, a Ca- in the United Kingdom, will shake up
the industry with "ground-breaking
nadian firm that builds NFC-enabled wireless devices for contactless giving
applications. Contactless payments—using contactless cards and mobile de- transaction rates," while giving par-
ticipating merchants more control
vices—have rapidly grown over the past 20 months, propelled by the Covid-19
pandemic. over when and how they get paid.
Fed IDs shifts in consumer payment preferences Mastercard finds 8.5 percent
bump in holiday spend
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have been using credit,
debit and prepaid cards less frequently, but when they do pay with cards they 2021 retail holiday sales exceeded
tend to spend more. They also have been using low-contact payment methods, analyst expectations by a margin
like ecommerce, digital wallets and the automated clearing house (ACH), a lot of 8.5 percent, according to Master-
more. These are key findings contained in a report released by the Federal Re- card SpendingPulse, a monthly report
serve Board released on Dec. 23, 2021. featuring visually enhanced met-
rics highlighting emerging trends.
Fintech startup lopay challenges 'big three' Designed to help business owners
identify emerging trends, the reports
Fintech startup lopay entered the payments scene with a message from its CEO, cover numerous sectors, including
Richard Carter, to industry leading SumUp, Zettle and Square. 'We knew the restaurants, lodging and total retail,
Mastercard stated. Steve

Sadove, senior advisor for Master-
card, observed that holiday shop-
ping began early and sustained
momentum throughout the season.
"Shoppers were eager to secure their
gifts ahead of the retail rush, with
conversations surrounding supply
chain and labor supply issues send-
ing consumers online and to stores in
droves," he said.
Crypto gains traction
with mobile wallets
New research indicates 67 percent of
consumers who own cryptocurren-
cies are willing to make mobile wal-
let purchases using their crypto as-
sets. Cryptocurrencies have emerged
from the shadows, as the value of
some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin
and Ether, have skyrocketed. This
has prompted consumers to join the
wave. A November 2021 survey by
the Pew Research Center found that
nine in 10 adult Americans had heard
about cryptocurrency. Sixteen per-
cent of adults have invested in, traded
or otherwise used at least one crypto-
currency, Pew found.

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