Acquiring

Online-payments provider Stripe Inc. made good on its promise to offer its processing software to in-store merchants with the release Wednesday of a slew of software and two pre-certified devices. Founded in 2011 as an online payments company, San Francisco-based Stripe announced in September it would add in-store payment acceptance. At …

A common assumption among merchant acquirers and retailers is that merchants are the ones who ultimately are liable for network fines after a merchant’s data breach. But a recent decision by a federal appellate court that ruled against First Data Corp., the nation’s largest payment processor, sends a message that …

Groupon announced it will provide GasBuddy, a fuel-price reporting service, with food and drink offers from local merchants via card linking. Consumers will be able to load offers directly to an eligible payment card after completing an opt-in enrollment in the GasBuddy app. POSaBIT, a fintech supplier to the legal …

Private-equity firm Acuity Capital Partners LLC acquired specialty gift card manufacturer Sterling Card Solutions, according to Sterling’s financial advisor, the investment bank Capstone Headwaters. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Besides gift cards, Sterling makes hotel key cards, identification cards, phone cards, and other products. Half the world’s population, …

The news that the major payment card networks will implement a standardized buy button later this year may have stirred hopes among issuers, merchants, and acquirers that the longstanding problems of rising e-commerce fraud and inconsistent checkout flows will finally be addressed. But already cautionary notes are emerging to indicate …

Publix Super Markets Inc. is adding a payments feature to its mobile app, first with a version for iOS devices and later for Android devices, according to The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla. Publix has 1,218 grocery stores in the Southeast, including 800 in Florida. Amazon.com and Synchrony Financial launched the …

A standards body controlled by the major card networks released on Friday a long-awaited standard aimed at simplifying and securing consumer checkouts on the Web and in apps. By mid-morning, American Express Co., Discover Financial Services, and Mastercard Inc. had announced they intend to implement the spec later this year. …

Step Mobile Inc., a startup financial-services firm focusing on teens, raised $22.5 million in a Series A funding round led by payment processor Stripe Inc. Nearly 51% of retailers surveyed for the latest annual loss-prevention and security report from the National Retail Federation said risks and threats from return fraud, …

Merchant processor Square Inc. is making it easier for its restaurant clients to use third-party delivery services, while at the same time fortifying itself against bigger merchant acquirers slated to merge into even bigger ones. San Francisco-based Square, which has its own restaurant delivery, pick-up, and catering service called Caviar, …

With last week’s introduction of contactless card acceptance on New York City subway and bus systems, hopes are riding high on mass transit to at last stimulate contactless acceptance and usage in the United States. Now recent research indicates acceptance is picking up rapidly pretty much everywhere.  The number of …