Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
By Jim Daly Another sign that the U.S. EMV conversion has a long way to go emerged last week when a survey of more than 990 independent business owners by Newtek Business Services Inc. revealed that 71% of respondents were unaware of the so-called EMV liability shift coming on Oct. …
Read More »Costco’s Post-AmEx Credit Card Plans Include Visa but Exclude MasterCard
By Jim Daly The big warehouse retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. announced Monday an agreement with Citigroup Inc. to replace its current cobranded card from American Express Co. next April with a Citi-issued Visa credit card. But Costco also announced a companion agreement with Visa Inc. under which other Visa-branded credit …
Read More »A Rumor No More, Samsung Pay To Debut This Summer Using LoopPay Technology
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is joining the mobile-wallet and payments fray with its expected launch this summer of Samsung Pay, a service that uses near-field communication (NFC) and technology from LoopPay Inc. it recently acquired. Samsung Pay, available on the coming Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smart phones this summer, could …
Read More »Staples And Jack Henry Offerings Promise Yet Hotter Market for Small-Biz Funding
Funding for small businesses has been an increasingly important source of revenue for independent sales organizations and other merchant acquirers, but they’re not the only parties that have noticed the market’s lucrative potential. Now, banking-technology vendors and even large merchants are getting into the game. Jack Henry & Associates Inc., …
Read More »JPMorgan Chase says ChaseNet Rollout Is Exceeding Expectations
By Jim Daly JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported Tuesday that 60,000 merchants use its in-house ChaseNet merchant-processing venture and as of January they were generating annualized charge volume of $16 billion. Merchants in the venture include United Airlines, the Marriott hotel chain, DirecTV, 1-800 Flowers, Groupon, Zillow, and Barnes & …
Read More »While Many Decry Margin Compression, Report Paints Sunnier Picture of Acquirer Profit
Many merchant-services executives have complained for years about so-called margin compression, a relentless loss of profitability driven by competition on price per transaction. But now two researchers argue acquirer profitability, far from collapsing, is actually much better than widely thought. “There has been a lot of talk about margin compression, …
Read More »Heartland Begins a ‘Trusted Dealer Program’ to Bolster Multiple Product Sales
Heartland Payment Systems Inc. is building a point-of-sale system reseller network in hopes it will increase the number of multiple products sold to a single merchant. Announced Friday, the program is part of Heartland Commerce, and signals a shift in Heartland’s selling strategy. The company will no longer use a …
Read More »AmEx Vows Appeal After Federal Court Deals T&E Giant a Loss Over Its Anti-Steering Rules
By Jim Daly and John Stewart Continuing its recent string of setbacks, American Express Co. Thursday lost a crucial federal court fight in which it defended policies banning merchants from steering AmEx cardholders to cheaper forms of payment. The U.S. Department of Justice and 17 state attorneys general challenged the …
Read More »Heartland’s Decision to Wind Down Leaf Throws Spotlight on Tablet Software
Merchants using Leaf, a tablet-based point-of-sale system that its owner Heartland Payment Systems Inc. is winding down, will continue to be supported, but there will be no further sales of the system, Leaf president Sarah McCrary tells Digital Transactions News. The expense and complication of supporting hardware to accept chip …
Read More »With Its Dinerware and pcAmerica Deals, Heartland Lays out a New Direction for Leaf
Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has acquired point-of-sale system developers Dinerware Inc. and pcAmerica, both makers of restaurant point-of-sale systems, Heartland announced Friday. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisitions spurred Princeton, N.J.-based Heartland to create a dedicated business unit call Heartland Commerce, which includes Dinerware, pcAmercia, Xpient, Leaf, and Liquor POS. …
Read More »