Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
n With an over-the-air update, users of the Nexus S 4G smart phone on the Sprint Nextel network are now able to use the Google Wallet to make purchases at any of the 144,000 U.S. merchant locations that accept contactless payments. For the time being, the Google application can …
September, 2011
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16 September
The New IRS Reporting Rule Could Have a Silver Lining for Acquirers
The new federal regulation requiring processors and acquirers to report merchant electronic payment transactions to the Internal Revenue Service is proving to be a major challenge for the industry, but at the same time could turn into a revenue generator for acquirers, according to a researcher. The requirements originated with …
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15 September
Private-Equity Player GTCR Swoops in to Snatch Fundtech from S1’s Grasp
In yet another twist in the ongoing corporate drama involving payments-software firms S1 Corp., Fundtech Ltd., and ACI Worldwide Inc., news emerged early on Thursday that Fundtech is spurning S1 in favor of what it views as a better offer from GTCR, a Chicago-based private-equity firm with a history of …
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14 September
Openbucks’ Network Links Gift Cards to an Array of Online Merchants
A startup called Openbucks this week introduced a service that lets consumers use merchants’ gift cards to buy goods online from other merchants. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company, which has been working for five months with gift cards issued by the Subway sandwich-shop chain, claims its “gift card payment …
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14 September
Retailers Should Brace for More Fraud After a Lull in Losses, Study Says
The good news: merchants’ total losses from fraudulent transactions are down. The bad news: losses are likely to rise. More bad news: fraudsters are taking a liking to alternative and mobile payments. Those are some of the key findings from the third annual “LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud” study …
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12 September
Buoyed by Gift Cards, Closed-Loop Prepaid Grew Faster Than Expected in 2010
Closed-loop prepaid cards held their own in 2010, growing by 13% in loads to $261.2 billion from $230.3 billion in 2009, according to Mercator Advisory Group Inc.’s newly released industry study. In fact, the closed-loop market, which while bigger in loads but slower growing than the newer, general-purpose or …
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12 September
Two Founders Bolt CoCard to Start a New ISO with Shareholder Equity And Deal Focus
Two executives who helped found CoCard Marketing Group LLC have left the Nashville, Tenn.-based independent sales organization to start their own ISO with what appears to be a unique ownership structure based on shareholding for participating offices. “Our company is going to be based on shares of stock,” says …
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8 September
U.S. Treasury Electronic-Benefit Campaign Gears up As Checks Dwindle
Nearly nine months after introducing a rule requiring recipients of Social Security and certain other benefits to switch from checks to electronic deposit, the U.S. Treasury Department says the number of check recipients has dipped below 9 million for the first time in decades. The agency is now in …