Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
One implication of the breakup of PayPal Inc. and its parent company eBay Inc., announced by eBay earlier this week and planned for next year, is that eBay will likely be free to add a slew of alternative-payment methods for sellers to accept on its online marketplaces. For years, eBay …
Read More »In an About Face, eBay Announces It Will Spin off PayPal Next Year
Somewhere, Carl Icahn is smiling. Ebay Inc.’s top management announced early Tuesday that the online auction pioneer is beginning preparations to spin off its PayPal Inc. unit some time in the second half of next year in a transaction that will result in eBay and PayPal operating as two independent, …
Read More »Now the Top Phishing Target, Apple Could Draw More Cyber Crooks with Apple Pay
Apple Inc. is selling a ton of its new iPhone 6 smart phones, but before launching the device earlier this month it had already attracted a much less desirable crowd of devotees: phishers. Among all brands targeted by these cybercriminals, Apple is now tops, and the company’s expected introduction next …
Read More »How Smoothie King’s King-Size iPad Play Could Open the Gates for Tablet POS
In what appears to be the largest tablet-based point-of-sale deployment yet, the entire 700-store Smoothie King Franchises Inc. chain will convert to a system from San Francisco-based Revel Systems Inc. The Covington, La.-based chain, which sells blended drinks, snacks, and supplements, is replacing existing checkout registers with Apple iPads linked …
Read More »Cobrin Steps Aside As AnywhereCommerce CEO to Focus on a New Cloud-Based Gateway
Mitch Cobrin, who has run AnywhereCommerce Inc. as chief executive for the last four-and-a-half years, has stepped aside for a new chief executive but will continue at the company in the role of founder, board member, and “chief catalyst,” he tells Digital Transactions News. The management change comes as the …
Read More »Huge Softcard Coup with Subway Poses No Threat to Startup Paydiant, Top Exec Says
The telco-controlled mobile-wallet provider Softcard scored a major coup on Tuesday with the announcement that the massive Subway sandwich chain will start accepting its wallet Oct. 1 at its more than 26,000 U.S. locations. When complete, it will be the largest restaurant deployment yet for payments via near-field communication (NFC) …
Read More »Capital Prepaid Looks to Extend Prepaid Program Management to Scores of Small Issuers
The general-purpose prepaid card market is hot, but most smaller financial institutions find it a daunting task to start and run a prepaid program. To fill that gap, Capital Prepaid Services on Monday launched a prepaid Visa card with two small banks as part of a campaign to make prepaid …
Read More »Apple Pay Looks To Be a Boost for NFC, But Creates a Question Mark for HCE
Apple Inc.’s new mobile-payment system may be a long-awaited shot in the arm for near-field communication (NFC), but it could also cool off an NFC variant that has caught fire since it emerged only 10 months ago. Apple Pay, which the iconic computer giant unveiled to enthusiastic applause Tuesday, will …
Read More »Accepting Only Digital Money, Bitcoin Shop Overhauls Its Online Marketplace
Bitcoin Shop Inc. runs an e-commerce marketplace offering about 140,000 products, which on the face of it isn’t all that remarkable. What sets the 1-year-old site apart, though, is that it accepts only digital currency. No cards or bank-account transfers, please, just Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin. But Arlington, Va.-based Bitcoin …
Read More »Often Linked to Mobile Payments, Location-Based Rewards Aren’t Rewarding for Everyone
Mobile-payments providers have looked to offers and rewards as a means of engaging with consumers and merchants and boosting payments activity. Indeed, most mobile strategists value the technology’s ability to deliver rewards at the moment consumers are in the store, if not necessarily in front of the relevant merchandise. But …
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