News

June, 2020

• 19 June

  Splitit Adds Mastercard to Its Growing List of Payments Partners

  

  Splitit Payments Ltd. announced Thursday that it had signed a multiyear agreement with Mastercard Inc. intended to accelerate adoption of its installment-payment service for online merchants. The distribution agreement opens the possibility of Mastercard-accepting merchants offering Splitit as a financing option to their customers. New York City-based Splitit also has …
• 19 June

  COMMENTARY: Digital Fiat Currencies Should Come From the Private—Not Public—Sector (Part One)

  

  Digital fiat currencies are coming. Bitcoin and the more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies it inspired have ignited the interest of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the Peoples Bank of China, as well as that of private-sector players like Visa and Facebook, in digital currencies tied to dollars, euros, …
• 18 June

  Rewards Tailored for Quarantined Cardholders Are Keeping Travel-Related Cards Aloft

  

  Merchants that cobrand rewards cards to build business are often connected one way or another to the travel industry, but they may not have much to worry about even though the Covid-19 pandemic has kept consumers close to home. Twenty-three percent of these cardholders think they’re getting more value from …
• 18 June

  Private-Label Debit Provider ZipLine Sold to PDI

  

  ZipLine, the provider of private-label debit payment services for convenience stores like Cumberland Farms, has been acquired by Professional Datasolutions Inc., a c-store software developer and services company. Announced Thursday, the deal will enable Alpharetta, Ga.-based PDI to bundle ZipLine’s private-label debit and mobile-payment app with its Marketing Cloud Platform. …
• 18 June

  May E-Commerce Spending up 93% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/18/20

  

  E-commerce spending in the United States surged 93% in May, compared to May 2019, according to Mastercard Inc.’s SpendingPulse data service.Installment-payment technology provider Splitit Payments Ltd. said it signed a multiyear deal with Mastercard Inc. to provide access to Splitit’s installment options through Mastercard’s merchant network. Split and Mastercard also plan to jointly …
• 17 June

  With a Loss Before Britain’s High Court, Visa And Mastercard Face an Interchange Reckoning

  

  Merchants in the United Kingdom won an important battle against interchange fees on Wednesday but it remains uncertain just how much that will mean to them in terms of remuneration from Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. The case also could have ramifications for similar action in the U.S. market, some …
• 17 June

  Synchrony Unveils Small-Business Aid Effort That Includes Digital Payment Tools

  

  Store card provider Synchrony Financial on Wednesday launched a program that offers small businesses grants through community organizations and includes access to digital payment tools and consulting services. The initiative comes as many small businesses struggle with the economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as closures and damage …
• 17 June

  Amazon To Use Mastercard Tokenization and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/17/20

  

  Mastercard Inc. announced Amazon.com Inc. will start using tokens to replace actual customer card data throughout 2020. Tokenization replaces actual card data with data strings that are meaningless to outside parties. The process also permits automatic credential updating when cards expire.Payments card standards body EMVCo made it official—consumer-facing online-payment checkout options based on …
• 16 June

  Eye on POS Systems: Lightspeed Adds E-Commerce Features and Revel Augments Online Ordering and Other Features

  

  In the wake of Covid-19, merchants continue to see more features added to cloud-based point-of-sale systems. In the latest updates, Lightspeed POS Inc. introduced on Tuesday new e-commerce services, including shipping, curbside pick-up, and appointment setting. And Revel Systems Inc. has refined its online ordering and order-pickup management. First up, …
• 16 June

  Square’s PPP Lending and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/16/20

  

  Merchant processor Square Inc. said that as of June 10 its Square Capital service had facilitated more than $820 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans to 76,000 small businesses since April 29. PPP loans are part of the federal government’s stimulus program to combat the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.In …