This Week In Credit Card News: PayPal Launches Tap-To-Pay For Business; AI Tool Tackles Payment Scams

PayPal and Venmo Launch Tap to Pay for Small Businesses

PayPal has announced the introduction of Tap to Pay technology for Venmo and PayPal Zettle businesses in the United States. Small businesses can now accept contactless payments—including cards and digital wallets—directly on their mobile devices without the need for additional hardware or upfront costs. According PayPal, nearly 80% of buyers have used contactless payments for purchases. However, until now, small businesses had to invest in contactless point-of-sale systems, as well as manage card readers to accommodate consumers. [Payments Journal]

Mastercard AI Tool Helps UK Banks Take On Real-Time Payment Scams

Mastercard is tapping into its AI capabilities to help a host of UK banks predict and prevent real-time payment scams. The payments giant has launched its ‘Consumer Fraud Risk’ technology in the country, using large-scale payments data to help identify scams before funds leave a victim’s account. The tool builds on insights from Mastercard’s work with UK banks to follow the flow of money mule accounts over the last few years. Overlaying this information with specific analysis factors—such as account names, payment values, payer and payee history, and the payee’s links to accounts associated with scams—helps provides banks with the intelligence necessary to intervene in real time and stop a payment before funds are lost.  [Finextra]

Medical Credit Cards Under Scrutiny for Potential Regulation

The Biden administration is signaling that it could target credit cards and other loan products designed for medical bills with new regulations. The CFPB, the Health and Human Services Department and the Treasury Department said Friday that they launched a request for information on medical credit cards and installment loans. As part of the broad inquiry, regulators will look into interest rates, fees and collection practices associated with medical credit cards, as well as any incentives offered to healthcare providers that promote such products. [The Wall Street Journal]

Credit Card Market Share Statistics

At the end of 2021, Visa market share was the largest, at about 48%, based on the number of credit cards in circulation (753 million), followed by Mastercard market share, at roughly 36%. Discover and American Express market share together accounted for about 16% of the credit card market (at about 8% and 7.5% respectively). The top 10 card issuers hold about 82 percent of credit card balances outstanding in 2021, according to the Federal Reserve’s Profitability of Credit Card Operations of Depository. Chase had the highest market share on this basis (17.9%), followed by Amex (13.3%) and Citi (12.4%) and Capital One (11.4%). [Bankrate]

CFPB Report Shows Late Fees Are Not a Top Complaint for a Reason

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s report on consumer complaints made little mention of credit card late fees as a leading consumer concern, and some experts say that could be because banks often forgive first-time late fees if customers ask for it. That dynamic could change if the bureau’s proposal to slash late fees to $8 goes into effect, experts warn. CFPB Director Rohit Chopra is staking his tenure at the agency on a radical plan to wipe out $9 billion a year in consumer costs by cutting credit card late fees to just $8, down from the current first-time maximum of $30. [American Banker]

The New Power Couple Taking On Wall Street: J.D. Vance and Elizabeth Warren

Sen. J.D. Vance, the Trump-backing former venture capitalist, is trying to lead Republicans in a new cause: cracking down on big banks. The Ohio lawmaker is using a seat on the Banking Committee to flex his populist bona fides, teaming up with Democrats including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Dick Durbin of Illinois on bills that the industry’s biggest players despise, while championing legislation that protects smaller banks. He’s taking a lead role in advancing bipartisan proposals that would penalize bank executives when their companies fail, make it harder for giant lenders to get bigger by acquiring other banks and rein in credit card fees. Along the way, he’s had some success in recruiting fellow Republicans to the cause, creating fresh headaches for big bank lobbyists, who are gearing up to fight the Vance-backed policies. [Politico]

Affirm to Shutter Returnly

Buy now, pay later provider Affirm said Thursday that it will divest its Returnly unit, a returns payment platform it acquired two years ago. The “sunsetting” of that platform will occur by early October. Affirm purchased Returnly for $300 million in June 2021. An Affirm spokesperson said the company did not sell Returnly and declined to comment on whether Affirm will be writing off the business. Alternatively, Affirm is now increasing its work with another returns management company, entering a strategic partnership with Loop Returns. [Payments Dive]

Mobile Banking Skyrockets with Brazil Transactions Nearly 80% Digital

Fueled by a surge in mobile operations, 77% of all banking transactions carried out in Brazil last year were via digital channels such as smartphones or PCs, according to new survey. The transactions include financial ones such as paying bills and non-financial ones such as checking a balance. Cellphones were responsible for 66% of all transactions last year, according to the survey. [bnamericas]

Citi Refreshes Its Citi Diamond Preferred Card

Citi has mainly enhanced its offers platform called My Deals, previously Citi Easy Deals. Citi Diamond Preferred cardmembers can now access My Deals on the Citi mobile app and Citi Online for national and local coupons and discounts across different experiences, offered according to the cardmember’s locations. Citi Online is the bank’s online portal for customer accounts, where cardmembers can go to make their monthly payments, redeem rewards, and monitor all their Citi accounts in one place. Savings Spotlight, a tracker that enables Citi Diamond Preferred cardmembers to see their total savings from interest rate promotions and My Deals offers, is also available on the Citi mobile app and Citi Online in the new upgrade. [Tearsheet]

Three Out of Four Mobile Gamers Make In-App Purchases Within Two Weeks

In app purchases have become a mainstay of the mobile gaming market because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up generating far more income than might have been the case otherwise. It turns out that as many as 77% of users that play mobile games on a regular basis make an in-app purchase within just two weeks of downloading the app in question. If a user has not already made a purchase after two weeks have passed by, chances are that they won’t make a purchase in the long run. [Digital Information World]

Here’s How to Score a $5 Amazon Credit for Free Ahead of Prime Day

From now through July 10th, Prime members can score a $5 bonus Amazon credit when purchasing a physical Amazon gift card or an Amazon eGift card worth at least $50. This $5 credit has one stipulation: it must be spent during Amazon’s Prime Day Sale from July 11th – 12th, or else you’ll lose your “free” Amazon money. [Yahoo Finance]