Competitive Strategies

A San Francisco-based startup that claims to have a better mousetrap for e-commerce checkouts has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by a prominent online merchant acquirer, Stripe Inc. Fast AF Inc. said it will use the funding to accelerate the global rollout of its upcoming …

Lightspeed POS Inc. said it is offering its Delivery, eCommerce, and Loyalty services free for the next three months because of the Covid-19 impact on merchants.Online fraud-prevention provider Signifyd released its Covid-19 Business Continuity Package that offers new clients free access to some Signifyd products.Payments provider Fattmerchant said it is now an official gateway partner …

After what it calls a “comprehensive search process,” prepaid-payments and banking-services provider Green Dot Corp. has found a new chief executive to replace founder and long-time CEO Steven Streit. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company said Wednesday payments veteran Daniel Henry is taking over from interim CEO William Jacobs, who has served …

A national survey of 850 small businesses found 69% have seen a “large drop” in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic, while 60% say they believe demand will drop further. The survey was conducted by America’s Small Business Development Centers and Thryv Inc., a software vendor specializing in small businesses.The U.S. Faster Payments …

With much of the world locked down in combatting the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial trade group in the United Kingdom said Tuesday the country would increase the spending limit on contactless transactions by 50% effective April 1. The move will allow consumers to pay without touching a keypad or …

E-commerce payments provider BlueSnap Inc. said it is enhancing its Payments for Marketplaces product, which allows online merchants to launch and operate global e-commerce marketplaces. New services include auto-onboarding, split payments, and cross-border payment capabilities.Square Inc. will have an investor conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday to discuss how it is …

Cash is fighting an uphill battle to remain a payment option during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Over the past week, a number of toll-highway and bridge authorities have ceased accepting cash to limit the spread of the highly infectious disease. According to local press reports, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Illinois …

Often overlooked in the market for digital bill payments is the need for immigrants, expats, and other persons living in one country to pay bills to service providers based in another country. To make that connection, international remittance service WorldRemit Ltd. said on Monday it is working with bill-payment platform Paykii …

PayPal Holdings Inc. and Square Inc. are moving to increase hiring as consumers reportedly shift to mobile payments as a result of calls for social distancing.Arguing that “the [coronavirus] pandemic will pass, but the economic impact will last,” a collation of payroll processors and trade associations issued an open letter to President Donald …

With students not in school, the closure of restaurants and bars, and work-from-home edicts in place, consumer spending is shifting. Witness that in the week of March 9-15, the payment volume made with dipped EMV cards fell 5.17% from the week prior and mag-stripe volume fell 13.07%, according to the …