Tablet-based point-of-sale provider ShopKeep Inc. announced it is introducing an Android version of its ShopKeep Register app, which up to now has been available only for Apple Inc.’s iOS operating system. The app will be available first on Clover devices from First Data Corp., which launched it for Clover Mini earlier …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Here’s How the Big Card Networks Can Make Their Common Buy Button a Winner
The digital payments innovators used to be Mastercard and Visa, but with the rise of PayPal, it’s been a new game. Then along came Alipay and Apple Pay and many other local or specialized payment methods, making the playing field even more competitive for these card payment platforms. Visa Checkout …
Read More »However It Will Work, the Common Buy Button Isn’t Going to Appear Any Time Soon
With each week that passes, the so-called unified buy button concept introduced by the major card networks last month takes on more definition, but despite all the discussion, the idea of an online checkout shared by multiple payment networks remains too vague—and too futuristic—to suit some expert observers. “I keep …
Read More »Now That Real-Time Is on the Horizon, Fee-Weary Merchants Look for Card Displacement
Financial institutions have been pushing real-time payments because they are supposed to be not only faster but also more cost-efficient. But now results of a global survey released Monday indicate merchants not only expect faster payments to be less expensive to accept, but also to displace the payment cards banks …
Read More »Cardlytics Prepares for a Potential Tripling of Its Active User Base by 2019’s End
Cardlytics Inc. is building its infrastructure to support as many as 200 million monthly active users of its merchant-funded rewards program by the end of 2019, more than three times the 60 million it currently has, company executives said Thursday. The big expansion comes as Cardlytics’ grows its business with …
Read More »Wells Fargo’s Mobile App Moves Payments to Center Stage, Even Before the Log-in
Ever since banks, merchants, and tech companies first introduced mobile services, they’ve looked for ways to entice more usage by streamlining the way consumers interact with little screens. Now Wells Fargo & Co. has decided to put frequently used payments services on the home screen of its mobile app, before …
Read More »Rambus Debuts Tokenization Service and other Digital Transactions New briefs from 5/9/18
Visa Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. have extended to Canada an agreement they made in 2016 that gives PayPal access to Visa’s tokenization engine in return for promoting Visa products for PayPal account funding. In related news, Visa said it is expanding its Visa Direct service in Canada, with processor …
Read More »An Airline Group Is Developing a Payment System That Would Bypass the Card Networks
An airline trade group has teamed up with Germany’s Deutsche Bank to develop a payment system that would bypass the credit card networks, potentially saving users billions in interchange. The proposal comes from the International Air Transport Association, which says it has 280 members representing 83% of air traffic. The …
Read More »Square Reports Advances With Larger Merchants And Double-Digit Growth in Key Metrics
Square Inc. reported a strong first quarter late Wednesday, but you wouldn’t know it on Wall Street, where its shares were trading down slightly Thursday morning at just over $47. It closed at $48.70 Wednesday. Despite double-digit increases year-over-year in gross payment volume and net and adjusted revenue, the San …
Read More »Cardholder Spending Lifts AmEx’s Discount Revenue Despite Declining Rates
Boosted by higher cardholder spending, American Express Co.’s discount revenue grew 9% in the first quarter despite a year-over-year decline in its average worldwide discount rate. AmEx reported late Wednesday that discount revenue hit $5.89 billion compared with $5.39 billion a year earlier. Discount revenue is by far AmEx’s largest …
Read More »