Chockstone Inc., a provider of customer loyalty marketing programs and stored-value solutions acquired Peppercoin Inc. for its card-processing and transaction-aggregation expertise, Chockstone’s top executive tells Digital Transactions News. The acquisition of Peppercoin, which will be merged into Chockstone, will allow the loyalty-marketing company to expand its offerings, says Jeff Lipp, …
Read More »HSBC’s New Rewards Program Could Spark Growth for Tempo
Tempo Payments Inc.'s alliance with HSBC Retail Services appears to be bearing fruit. HSBC's new OptiPay loyalty-rewards PIN-payment program, announced earlier this week, will be the first outside card program to run on Tempo's network. Positioned as a low-cost alternative to the major payment card networks, San Mateo, Calif.-based Tempo …
Read More »A Startup Pitches Revenue from Receipt Ads to Merchants
DreamPlayVentures, a Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based startup, is talking to transaction processors and retailers about a product that would let merchants generate revenue by selling advertising space on credit and debit card receipts. The firm this week reported that its parent, DreamPlay LLC, has filed a patent application describing its underlying …
Read More »Mobile-Game Sales Rising, But New Content Threatens Growth
Digital games are ringing up solid increases in sales on mobile phones in the U.S., but face rising competition from emerging content like video and full-track music, according to a report released on Monday. Games sold on mobile operators' portals reached $151 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of …
Read More »Some Small Towns Loom Large in Latest ID Fraud Research
Merchants, card issuers, utilities, e-commerce operators, and other businesses looking to guard against identity fraud may want to take a closer look at applications coming from Floral Park, Queens, a part of New York City. They may also need to scrutinize new customers from Faulkton, S.D., population 800. That's because …
Read More »Security Issues Are Eroding Trust in Online Banking, Survey Shows
Security fears created by such trends as the rise of phishing frauds are eroding consumer confidence in online banking, a recent survey reveals. Consumers also say banks should offer some form of strong authentication going beyond standard user name and password, though they are somewhat split on the specific technology …
Read More »In Its Latest Offer for Checkout, Google Entices New Users With Bonus
Google Inc. is paying new customers of its Google Checkout $10 to sign up for the service under a promotion launched this month and scheduled to run through Feb. 15. The promotion represents the latest in a number of marketing efforts for both merchants and consumers the Mountain View, Calif.-based …
Read More »PayPal Says Monster Signing Sets Stage for ’07 Site Recruitment
PayPal Inc., the online payment service of online auction firm eBay Inc., has signed another big company in its quest to expand beyond eBay users, and the processor says more such clients are coming next year. This week, Monster, the leading online job-search and recruitment service, said it has begun …
Read More »Can Twelve More Months of Free Processing Make Checkout Click?
Google Inc.'s decision to extend Checkout's offer of free processing to the end of 2007, which it announced Wednesday, could help the 6-month-old online payments service attract more merchants at a time when it's not only up against heavy-duty competition, but also facing skepticism from some online sellers. The new …
Read More »MODASolutions Joins the Incentive Parade for Online Payments
First came PayPal Inc., then Google Inc.'s Checkout service. Now MODASolutions, an Ottawa-based company that lets consumers pay e-retailers as if they were paying any other online bill, is offering incentives tied to the holiday-shopping season to promote alternative ways to pay online. But in MODASolutions' case, its SECURE-eBill service …
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