Acquiring

Point-of-sale terminal maker and payment-services provider Ingenico Group said it completed its acquisition of New Zealand’s Paymark payment network. Processor Bottomline Technologies Inc. said it has added The Access Bank UK Ltd. to the United Kingdom’s Faster Payments Scheme (FPS) via Bottomline’s Real Time Payments Service. Brex, a provider of corporate cards for startups, …

Payment processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) on Thursday unveiled a line of point-of-sale terminals and services for small and mid-size businesses, and took its Vital brand out of a 13-year retirement as the name for the new product suite. The cloud-based Vital POS has three major components: Vital Mobile, an …

Square Inc. released a software development kit to enable merchants and developers to use Square for their payments processing in apps. Announced Wednesday, the SDK marks a first for Square and creates a single platform for transactions made by Square merchants that also sell in stores. The SDK is available …

  Will Graylin, a payments entrepreneur and former Samsung Pay executive, launched OV Loop, which includes two voice-activated messaging products, OV App and OV Pro. OV App includes OV Pay, a single-tap payment application under development with financial institutions. Online merchants that don’t process local currencies fail to consummate 6% …

CannaTrac, a cashless-payment service for the cannabis industry, released the CannaCard App, a mobile-payment service that enables users to upload funds from a checking account, debit card, or cash at select partner locations. A 95-cent fee applies to each funds loading. The app, available for Android and iOS devices, is …

Merchant plaintiffs and the state of New York filed motions Tuesday in a federal appellate court to dismiss the merchants’ challenge to New York’s law banning credit card surcharges. As a result, surcharges will be allowed when the merchant posts total prices for credit card purchases in dollars and cents. …

Paya Inc. said on Tuesday is has acquired First Billing Services, a Dayton, Ohio-based billing processor for municipalities, utilities, and multifamily housing units. The $57.5 million deal, which Paya chief executive Jeff Hack says was consummated minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve, represents the Reston, Va.-based payments provider’s second …

Phillips 66 Co., which has long been a leading player among petroleum companies in digital payments, has taken a step into in-car commerce in a tie-up with Honda Motor Co. Inc. that will allow customers to find the nearest station, claim a pump, and pay for gas from the infotainment …

Payments provider BlueSnap said it has integrated Google Pay into its platform for payments from online, mobile checkout, marketplaces, invoices, and virtual terminals. In related news, cross-border payments provider Flow also announced it is adopting Google Pay as payment option. Mobile-parking app provider ParkWhiz Inc. has rebranded itself as Arrive Inc. FICO said it has been awarded five …

The financial news has been full of dire stories about the beating tech stocks have been taking lately, but less well publicized is the action in private equity—specifically the creation of new payments-related unicorns. According to data from New York City-based CB Insights, which tracks private valuations, at least half …