Competitive Strategies

By Kevin Woodward@DTPaymentNews Consumers will use Apple Pay and Alphabet Inc.’s Android Pay online and in-app to make $8 billion in payments for digital and physical goods by 2018, almost 15 times more than the $540 million forecast for 2016, according to Juniper Research, a U.K.-based research firm. Juniper released …

• Shift4 Corp. announced it is among the first payment gateways to introduce a software update to support the various quick-chip solutions from the major payment brands for faster EMV chip card transactions. • Uber and Visa Inc. launched Uber Local Offers, a program that enables Uber riders to earn …

By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews Mobile wallets eventually will get the contactless terminals and other infrastructure they need to attract consumers, according to an executive with Alphabet Inc.’s Android Pay. Their ultimate success, however, will depend on the value they offer merchants and consumers. “It’s still all about value creation,” Jack Connors, …

By John Stewart @DTPaymentNews Traffic on the nation’s automated clearing house network has perked up over the last couple of years, and the latest statistics show no slacking off in that trend. Second-quarter transaction volume on the ACH grew 5.6% in the quarter ended June 30, down from the first …

• The ATM Industry Association issued an updated position paper in support of variable surcharges, or so-called “convenience fees,” for ATM transactions; the trade group says global network policies effectively force ATM deployers to assess uniform surcharges despite differences in network interchange rates and fees, and that the coming of …

By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews Dollars loaded onto closed-loop gift cards fell 9% in 2015, according to new research from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. But one major prepaid card issuer, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., franchisor of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores, reports that its DD Perks loyalty program now has more …

• VeriFone Systems Inc. released an updated version of the EMV application for point-of-sale terminals used on processor Total System Services Inc.’s network that now includes EMV tip adjust among other functions. • ClickBid, a provider of mobile-bidding technology, says it is using hosted fields from Braintree, a unit of PayPal …

• The clearXchange peer-to-peer payments network will be renamed Zelle, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The service is operated by Early Warning Services LLC, which is owned by some of the nation’s biggest banks. • Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. marked the first anniversary of its Samsung …

• Paytronix Systems Inc., a provider of loyalty solutions to restaurants and retailers, announced it has added a mobile pay-at-table capability for eateries that includes the ability to redeem rewards. • In related news, terminal maker Ingenico Group teamed with middleware vendor Datacap Systems to install a pay-at-table system based …

By Kevin Woodward@DTPaymentNews Retailers considering or starting a digital gift card program may do well to study the programs offered by Sephora USA Inc., Starbucks Corp., The Home Depot Inc., Dunkin’ Donuts, and Amazon.com Inc. Their digital gift card programs ranked at the top of a roster of 100 retailers …