Five At Five: India Moves Toward Sophisticated Payments

Welcome to Five at Five, your late look at some of the freshest payments news of the day. Today’s stories include a discussion about how India could go from credit card laggard to having one of the most sophisticated payments systems in the world, the outlook for initial coin offerings (ICOs), a development in augmented reality (AR) retail and news about growth in ACH debit and credit transactions.

How India Will Leapfrog Plastic Payments

The number of credit cards used by consumers in one of the world’s most populous countries has remained miniscule and has shown no growth for more than a generation. But India could leapfrog plastic-based payments altogether and gain one of the most sophisticated payments systems in the world.

ICOs On US Lawmakers’ Radar, As Ban Mulled

Initial coin offerings, or ICOs, have been on the receiving end of much criticism and a growing amount of regulatory scrutiny. Now the trend may be broadening in the United States, where the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking what it has called a “balanced approach” in that arena.

PayPal Revives Augmented Reality Glasses Shopping Patent

PayPal is reviving an old patent that focuses on augmented reality shopping in which virtual information would appear over real products in stores. The reviving of the patent comes at a time when PayPal is in partnering mode, striking alliances with all kinds of companies.

First Data 1Q Report Beats Street Amid Traction in GBS, Clover Efforts

First Data reported results on Monday that topped Wall Street expectations, powered by organic growth and what looks to be a continued turnaround in its North American operations. The headline numbers disclosed earnings of $0.29 a share, three pennies better than expected.

ACH Debit, Credit Transactions Hit 5.7B In Q1

The strong uptick in transactions during the first quarter demonstrates the widespread use of ACH payments as well as the increased use of Same Day ACH transactions, according to NACHA. About 3.3 billion debit and 2.4 billion credit transactions were made in the first quarter of this year.