Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
More evidence emerged Monday that, for all of its horrors, the coronavirus has been a boon for mobile wallets and for contactless payments generally. Wallets, which struggled to win consumer adoption in the United States even with backing from popular tech firms like Apple Inc. and Google, are increasingly turning …
August, 2020
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17 August
COMMENTARY: How Coronavirus Will Shape the Future of Self-Service Banking
Self-service banking has long had a strong reputation as a safe, trusted, and convenient channel. This is a key part of its value proposition to both financial institutions and their customers. While Covid-19 has temporarily reduced cash use and impacted transaction volumes based on the many restrictions large parts of …
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17 August
AmEx To Acquire Kabbage and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/17/20
American Express Co. announced it has agreed to acquire digital lender Kabbage Inc. in a deal expected to close later this year. Kabbage’s existing loan portfolio is not included in the transaction, for which terms were not announced. Eleven-year-old Kabbage entered the payment processing business in 2018.Restaurants and other businesses in Pasadena, Calif., …
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14 August
InComm Is Expanding in Canada With a Payments Deal With the Metro Grocery Chain
Prepaid payments specialist InComm Inc. announced a big step in the Canadian market this week with a deal to expand its services this summer to some 704 grocery stores in Ontario and Quebec using the Metro banner or affiliated brands owned by Metro Inc. InComm says it will offer Metro …
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14 August
Movie Chain Promotes Contactless Payments as It Reopens and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/14/20
Movie theater chain Cinemark Holdings Inc. announced it is encouraging consumers to use contactless payments when it reopens its locations beginning Friday.Curb, a mobile platform for taxi-ride hailing and payments, said the city of Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection is the first client for a new service aimed at …
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14 August
COMMENTARY: How a Shift to Online Explains the Square-Merchant Dustup
There’s been a lot of buzz around recent reports—notably one in The New York Times—that Square has been withholding money from merchants. Apparently, with little to no warning, the company has been holding back up to 30% of merchant sales in some cases. The merchants affected, obviously, aren’t pleased. With …
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13 August
The USDA’s Online EBT Program Gets a Covid Kick, According to New Fiserv Data
A program launched last year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to let holders of electronic benefit transfer cards spend their benefits online has quickly expanded to 42 states and the District of Columbia, up from just seven states as recently as March, according to Fiserv Inc., which is working …
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13 August
Kallpod’s Kontactless Services Debuts and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 8/13/20
Kallpod LLC announced its Kontactless Quick Response code-based payment service is now available at select Hyatt, Courtyard Marriott, and Hilton locations. Consumers can place orders for food, beverages, and merchandise to be delivered where the user is sitting. They scan a QR code at a table or seat, which opens a …
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13 August
Standard Cognition Argues It Has a Better Alternative to Amazon Go. Will Circle K Prove It?
Standard Cognition Corp., a San Francisco-based provider of autonomous checkout systems based on artificial intelligence, expects to have the first of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s Circle K convenience stores retrofitted and up and running in early 2021, with potentially dozens more to follow. The first store to adopt the technology will be in …
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12 August
E-Commerce Sales See Gains in July, But So Does Fraud, Says ACI Worldwide
The Covid-19 pandemic in July fueled a sharp rise in e-commerce but also in fraud, according to the latest figures from ACI Worldwide Inc. Global e-commerce transactions rose 19% in July over the same period a year earlier. Fraudulent transactions by value rose 4.4%, up from a 3.7% increase in …