Competitive Strategies

Few payments technologies have gained headwinds from Covid fears as much as contactless parking, and now drivers have an option to locate, reserve, and pay for a space from their in-car touchscreen. Xevo Inc., a developer of connected-car technology, announced Thursday it is enabling the parking feature with Reef Technology, …

Ingenico Group S.A. said the European Commission approved Worldline S.A.’s $8.6 billion deal to acquire the point-of-sale terminal maker. Ingenico also said the French financial markets authority set Oct. 15 as the closing date for the tender offer for Ingenico securities. If successful, the acquisition could close Oct. 28, Worldline said.In related news, Ingenico …

As more consumer and business activity, let alone shopping, migrates to digital channels, the potential for additional risk increases. A new white paper from Giact Systems LLC outlines where some of the risk may be emerging. The Allen, Texas-based payments and identity-fraud prevention firm said undetected fraud can erode consumer …

Square Inc.’s announcement Tuesday of its new QR code service for restaurants helps bring the contactless technology into the limelight, but it’s only the latest in a string of moves payments providers have made in recent months to position the barcode as a payments enabler. In Square’s scenario, eateries that …

Blackhawk Network launched its Issuance and Program Management Solution, a service that enables companies to outsource their gift card and digital gift programs through Blackhawk. The new service is enabled by the company’s recent acquisition of SVM, a provider of open- and closed-loop gift card technology.Payroc LLC said its affiliate invested $2.6 …

Paying sales tax is part of doing business for restaurants, but not all restaurants are adept at collecting it. With this in mind, Davo Technologies, a provider of an automated sales tax collection application, has integrated its app into Heartland Payment Systems Inc.’s POS platform for restaurants. The Davo app …

Amazon.com Inc.’s venture in letting consumers pay with the palm of their hand officially launched Tuesday at two Amazon Go stores. But the retailing giant’s latest payment technology could face an uncertain future even as stores struggle with how to introduce contactless methods in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. …

Nuvei Corp. said it received a sports betting vendor license in Colorado, enabling it to process payments there for regulated sports betting sites and apps.Mastercard Inc. and ACI Worldwide Inc. said they will collaborate to support real-time payments capabilities, initially for central banks, payments networks, financial institutions, and payments providers.To help businesses …

Despite the slowdown in manufacturing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, shipments of wearable devices, which are often fitted for payments, are forecast to hit 396 million units in 2020, a 14.5% increase from 2019, says International Data Corp.  During the first half of 2020, 38% of all wearable …

Real-time payments are gaining momentum in the United States, but research released Monday indicates the U.S. market remains a laggard. The total value of so-called instant payments will reach $18 trillion in 2025, but the U.S. share of that market will total just 8%, or $1.4 trillion, according to a …