“The suspects arrested during the operation were responsible for more than 20,000 fraudulent transactions with compromised credit cards, with an estimated value exceeding €8 million. The action was coordinated by the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) from Europol’s headquarters in The Hague. It received the direct assistance from merchants, logistic companies, and banks and payment card schemes. Europol also supported national authorities on-the-spot by providing analytical services in their investigations.”

“PayPal Holdings, Inc. announced today that it has agreed to acquire Hyperwallet, a leading global payout platform, for $400 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments. The acquisition of Hyperwallet enhances PayPal’s payout capabilities, improving the company’s ability to provide an integrated suite of payment solutions to ecommerce platforms and marketplaces around the world. According to Internet Retailer, marketplace sales accounted for more than 50% of global online retail sales in 2017.”

“The popularity of contactless payments among UK consumers is a key driver of debit card growth. In total, across both debit and credit cards, the number of contactless payments increased by 97 per cent during 2017 to 5.6 billion. Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of people in the UK now use contactless payments, and no age group or region falls below 50 per cent usage. An increasing acceptance of card payments by smaller businesses and people becoming ever-more comfortable and familiar with the speed, ease and security of making low-value payments has also made the use of debit cards more popular.”

“Despite some concerns over its adoption by scammers, new payment service Zelle is shaping up to overtake rival Venmo this year, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. The firm expects Zelle  to grow more than 73 percent in 2018, to reach 27.4 million users in the U.S., ahead of Venmo’s 22.9 million. Square Cash will trail with 9.5 million users. This growth isn’t necessarily chalked up to user preference, but rather, ubiquity.”

“Microsoft is reportedly working on technology that could be used to power check-out free retail stores. Reuters reports that the software giant has been talking to Walmart about using the tech, which will rival Amazon’s own Go initiative. Amazon first launched its cashier-free convenience store in the company’s hometown in Seattle last year. Shoppers can simply grab items and leave, as the store is fitted with multiple camera and sensors that use computer vision algorithms to detect what items you’re taking out of the store and charged to your account.”