In a surprise move, the Supreme Court will decide whether Amex may bar merchants from steering customers to less expensive card networks. The card issuer will have to prove the consumer gain from its practices outweighs the merchant pain.
New entrants don’t pose a disruptive threat to the incumbent cohort of issuers, credit card networks and acquirers primarily because the incumbents — Visa, Mastercard and First Data — are prepared to compete in all segments of the market.
The Trump administration is stepping away from the government’s 7-year legal fight with Amex that centers on retailers’ right to encourage the use of particular cards. The decision is good news for issuers of credit and debit cards, though it is hardly the last word on the case.
Investors concerned about the impact on banking of climate change, the pay gap and ethics matters are pushing back against a coalition of the heads of the biggest U.S. banks and other public companies that wants to limit small investors’ access to proxy ballots.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Wednesday ordered Mastercard and the prepaid debit card company UniRush to pay $13 million in restitution and fines for a service breakdown in October 2015 that left thousands of customers without access to their accounts.
Kasisto, a provider of chatbots to banks, announced Thursday a $9.2 million Series A funding round led by Propel Venture Partners with participation from Mastercard and Commerce Ventures.
