Competitive Strategies

In partnership with Xsolla, a provider of videogame-commerce platforms, Affirm Inc. has agreed to offer its payments options through online-game developers. Square, a unit of Block Inc. released its Square Handheld device in the United Kingdom. Square launched the device in May in the United States. Stablecoin-card issuer Rain said it will work with Toku, a …

Building on its three-year partnership with the big entertainment promoter Live Nation in Canada, Block Inc.’s Square unit said Wednesday it will roll out point-of-sale payments at the new Rogers Stadium in Toronto, starting June 29. Rogers Stadium stands to become a major new seasonal transaction source for Square, which …

Xero Ltd., an accounting and payments firm, announced it will acquire the payments platform Melio Inc. for $2.5 billion upfront, with another $500 million in payments tied to performance targets. The commerce platform NuOrder by Lightspeed launched Order Trends, a compilation of statistics aimed at informing merchants’ buying decisions. Canada-based fintech Nuvei Corp. said …

Stablecoins are the talk of the payments town, and some observers are questioning whether these new digital alternatives could undercut the core network businesses of Mastercard and Visa. Now, Mastercard Inc. has announced several initiatives it says will keep it in the thick of the growing stablecoin market. In a …

The commerce platform NuOrder by Lightspeed said it will work with Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman as part of an expanded agreement with Saks Global. In related news, Lightspeed Commerce Inc. said it will integrate reservations software from Whoosh for golf and club clients using Lightspeed’s payments platform. Shift4 Payments Inc. said it has yet …

In a major expansion of its business south of the equator, merchant acquirer Shift4 Payments Inc. on Sunday announced it has struck a deal to acquire Smartpay Holdings Ltd., an Auckland, New Zealand-based processor with a growing presence in Australia. Smartpay has 40,000 merchants in the region. Center Valley, Pa.-based …

Fiserv Inc. and Circle Internet Group Inc. early Monday announced they will collaborate to build products based on stablecoins for banks and merchants in Fiserv’s client base. The announcement came at the same time Fiserv said it plans to launch its own stablecoin, FIUSD, by year’s end. Simultaneously, Fiserv said …

Payments provider Payroc said it will support payments programs for business clients of Republic Bank of Chicago. The collaboration will include smart point-of-sale technology, contactless payments, and real-time analytics. DNA Payments said it will work with retail point-of-sale technology provider MWC Partners to launch what they say will be a series of payment …

Michigan consumers enrolled in Meijer Inc.’s mPerks rewards program saved nearly $200 million the past year, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based supermarket chain announced late Thursday. To encourage consumers enrolled in mPerks to shop more often this summer, Meijer is offering customers the opportunity to earn 30 points on every gallon …

With rules governing stablecoins under development in the U.S. Congress, there are now at least 14 countries and regions worldwide that have established or are considering regulations for the digital currency. The need for regulations in jurisdictions around the globe comes as stablecoins grow in awareness and usage and pose …