Competitive Strategies

Consumers motoring in their Dodge Challengers and Ram pickup trucks are now able to pay for fuel at participating Shell Oil Co. gas stations from inside their vehicles using the vehicles’ infotainment systems. Shell announced Fiat Chrysler automobiles with Uconnect Market enabled will have access to the Shell Pay & Save …

The National Retail Federation reported 2019’s holiday retail sales grew 4.1% over the same period in 2018 to $730.2 billion. Online and other non-store sales rose 14.6% to $167.8 billion and are included in the totalE-commerce services and payments provider Shopify Inc. is offering new businesses what it calls “starter loans” of $200 through …

When Facebook Inc. last year floated the idea of a digital currency called Libra, the notion of a currency backed by a powerful corporation with global reach stimulated some experts to begin thinking about digital money that could be issued not by private companies but by central banks. On Thursday, …

Insurer and financial-services provider United Services Automobile Association on Wednesday asked a federal court to dismiss a request by mobile remote deposit capture technology developer Mitek Systems Inc. for a declaratory judgment that Mitek’s technology does not infringe on four USAA patents. San Antonio, Texas-based USAA’s dismissal request came less …

The newly-signed trade agreement between the United States and China, the number-one and number-two global economies, respectively, finally provides an avenue for U.S. payments firms to operate independently in China. Joint payments ventures with a local Chinese partner have long been the norm, but the new U.S.-China trade agreement—signed Jan. …

J. Christopher Giancarlo, former chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is working with other individuals and with the consulting firm Accenture to develop a United States Central Bank Digital Currency, known as the “digital dollar.” The development will take place under the auspices of a new organization called the Digital …

U.S. Bancorp, owner of the big merchant acquirer Elavon Inc., reported Wednesday that its fourth-quarter 2019 merchant volume rose 10.5% year-over-year on a nearly 14% increase in transactions. And U.S. Bancorp rival Bank of America Corp. said its volume for the Zelle person-to-person payments service jumped 76%. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp …

Acquirers are jumping into 2020 with major rebranding and PCI-compliance programs. First up is National Payment Systems. The Portland, Ore.-based company has a new name—Boom Commerce—and has expanded its executive team, the payments provider announced.  Helping to propel this shift is a credit facility with Acrewood Holdings LLC, a Bryn …

Data-security provider Very Good Security (VGS) announced an investment by Visa Inc. The amount of the investment was not disclosed.In related news, Visa announced it has met its goal to use 100% renewable electricity by 2020 across its worldwide operations. Visa set the goal in 2018.Google said it acquired Pointy, a company that helps local retailers …

Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have made it plain in recent years they’re interested in something much bigger than card payments. On Monday afternoon, Visa underscored its own determination to be the network for the world’s payments economy by announcing it will lay out fully $5.3 billion to buy Plaid …