Constantine LLP Payments Blog

Payments News Update – January 9, 2026

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: How Payments Will Evolve: 6 Industry Trends to Watch in 2026 Payments Dive – January 6, 2026 The payments industry has been evolving at a dizzying pace in recent years, and that’s not expected to let up this year. Industry change is likely to revolve around regulatory dynamics in 2026. On the federal front, regulators will assert new authority in creating a...

Payments News Update – December 26, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Fed Report Shows Visa, Mastercard Shift More Debit Card Fraud Onto Merchants CPA Practice Advisor – December 22, 2025 A new report from the Federal Reserve shows that Visa and Mastercard shifted more of the burden of debit card fraud onto the merchants, while easing responsibility for banks. The updated figures for 2023 show that merchants paid for 49.9% of debit...

Payments News Update – December 19, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Walmart, Other Retailers Object to Visa and Mastercard Settlement Reuters – December 15, 2025 Major retailers and trade groups are urging a federal judge in Brooklyn to reject a proposed antitrust settlement with Visa and Mastercard, saying the deal lets the card giants keep charging merchants excessive fees for credit card transactions and offers them few...

Payments News Update – December 12, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Amex Inks Deal After $12M Antisteering Rule Verdict in NY Law360 – December 9, 2025 (subscription required) American Express Co. has reached a settlement with consumers who claim the credit card company's so-called antisteering rules cause non-Amex cardholders to pay higher charges, signaling a potential end to a class action suit after a New York federal jury...

Payments News Update – December 5, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Digital Wallet Use Outpaces Regulators Payments Dive – December 3, 2025 Back in 1999, eight years before Apple’s first iPhone release, a Silicon Valley software startup named Confinity introduced what it called a new “killer app.” It was dubbed PayPal.com. The service allowed the “beaming” of funds between users, with only an email address. “Beaming...

Payments News Update – November 28, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Visa Finds Even $200 Billion Can’t Resolve Battle With Merchants Bloomberg – November 21, 2025 (subscription may be required) Nine years ago, the $5.7 billion sticker price to settle one of the biggest class-action lawsuits ever was rejected. Last year, it climbed to $30 billion, just to be thrown out again. Now, it’s north of $200 billion, and there’s...

Payments News Update – November 21, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: ‘Not the Final Chapter:’ Questions Arise About the Latest Interchange Settlement Digital Transactions News – November 14, 2025 As the dust settles around the latest settlement agreement in Visa Inc.’s and Mastercard Inc.’s long running legal battle with merchants over card-acceptance fees, how the offer will impact the payments industry is coming into...

Payments News Update – November 14, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Visa, Mastercard Reach Legal Pact With Merchants Payments Dive – November 10, 2025 Visa and Mastercard have agreed to end their longstanding “honor all cards” rule and temporarily lower interchange fees as part of a settlement agreement announced Monday that could conclude 20 years of litigation over how much merchants pay the card networks and banks. Under...

Payments News Update – November 7, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Wells Fargo, PNC Push Fintechs to Use Bank-Backed Data Firm Bloomberg Law – November 4, 2025 (subscription may be required) Wells Fargo & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. are trying to force data aggregators and fintechs to use a bank-backed firm that charges fees to access customer data, the latest salvo in a fight between traditional lenders and...

Payments News Update – October 31, 2025

Legal and Regulatory Developments SPOTLIGHT: Senator Urges CFPB to Finalize New Open-Banking Rules ‘As Soon as Possible’ Competition Policy International – October 24, 2025 (subscription may be required) The chair of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) wrote to Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Russell Vought to urge the agency to...