News

June, 2015

• 24 June

  COMMENTARY: Common Errors in Merchant Funding And How To Fix Them

  As I see it, there are three main areas of vulnerability for merchant cash-advance (MCA) providers: 1. Incorrectly assessing the risk. What systems do you have in place for being able to analyze and manage your risk? Many MCA funders come into the market with six months’ runway and then …
• 23 June

  Canadian Parliament Report Recommends a ‘Light Touch’ in Virtual-Currency Regulation

  As states and national governments consider regulations for virtual currencies, a new report from a Canadian Senate committee recommends a “light touch” lest regulation stifle a promising young industry. In considering any legislation, regulations or policies, the Canadian federal government should “create an environment that fosters innovation for digital currencies …
• 22 June

  Money Taps Are Turned on Full for Payments Startups As a Record Year Looms

  The gold rush in payments-startup financing that began about a year ago is likely to be even bigger in 2015, according to the latest report from CB Insights, a New York City-based investment-research firm. Last year set a record for startup funding, with $2.23 billion pouring into new payments companies. …
• 22 June

  Global Payments Set To Debut AmEx’s OptBlue Program for Its Canadian Merchants

  Processor Global Payments Inc. says it will offer American Express Co.’s OptBlue merchant-acceptance program to its Canadian merchants beginning June 24. Participation in OptBlue enables merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations to offer AmEx acceptance to small businesses and set the pricing through a one-stop-shopping option when they sell acceptance …
• 22 June

  Vantiv Wins the U.S. Postal Service’s Merchant-Processing Business

  Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. has won one of the biggest retail merchant-processing contracts out there—the U.S. Postal Service’s credit and debit card business, including its USPS.com online component. Counting post offices, branches and substations, the Postal Service has more than 35,000 retail outlets in all 50 states, U.S. territories and …
• 22 June

  Green Dot Forges a ‘More Certain Path Forward’ With Five-Year Wal-Mart MoneyCard Deal

  Green Dot Corp. late Monday removed a big source of uncertainty about its near-term future by announcing a five-year renewal of its contract with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to be both program manager and issuer of the Wal-Mart MoneyCard prepaid product. But while the deal secures a major source of revenue …
• 19 June

  Appellate Court’s Ruling Against AmEx Hands a Tool to Merchants—But Will They Use It?

  Now that a federal appeals court has refused to stay a lower court’s ruling, merchants are free to induce customers to use cards other than those of American Express Co. while the appeals court hears AmEx’s argument that the lower court erred. That means merchants, at least for now, have …
• 19 June

  Interest in Tap-And-Pay Payments Is Not as Strong as Awareness, a New Poll Says

  Contactless payments made by tapping a smart phone against a point-of-sale terminal are increasing, according to a Harris Poll survey released Thursday. The survey of more than 2,200 U.S. adults found that the proportion of the general population who either experienced or witnessed a contactless smart-phone payment increased from 17% …
• 18 June

  As EMV Deadline Nears, Chase Ups the Education Ante for Small Merchants

  With no exemptions for small merchants from the Oct. 1 liability shift for EMV transactions, efforts to educate them are well under way, with even the largest of banks instructing them on what EMV means for their businesses. “It’s more of an industry message,” says Deanna Karhuniemi, vice president of …
• 18 June

  MyCheck’s Mobile App Climbs in the Tech Race, Adds Twin Peaks as a User

  The MyCheck mobile app is gaining some ground in a crowded field of applications that enable consumers to order and pay restaurant tabs. New York City-based MyCheck LLC announced Thursday that the 68-location Twin Peaks restaurant chain will offer its iOS and Android white-label app to customers for payments and …