News

August, 2012

• 8 August

  Square Enters Big-Time Acquiring with Its Cube-Less Starbucks Deal

  The announcement late on Tuesday that Square Inc. struck a deal with coffee giant Starbucks Corp. for the first time puts Square, a specialist in bringing mobile-payment acceptance to small businesses and consumers, into the role of a more traditional card processor for a large national merchant. And at least …
• 7 August

  ViVOtech Sells Hardware Unit To Concentrate on NFC Software

  ViVOtech Inc., a pioneer in contactless payments and near-field communication (NFC) technology, disclosed Monday that it sold its card-reader business to ID Tech, a manufacturer of smart card readers and point-of-sale hardware and identity-verification products. The subject of reports last week that it was laying off people and possibly going …
• 7 August

  Durbin Decries Credit Card Interchange Settlement, Hints at Small-Ticket Debit Fix

  The chief sponsor of the Durbin Amendment that regulates debit card interchange is calling the proposed settlement in a big credit card interchange court fight “a stunning giveaway” and “a capitulation to the Wall Street banks and credit card giants.” In addition, U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., wants to fix …
• 6 August

  Eye on Mobile: Nearly Half of Smart Phone Users Access Shopping Apps

  Nearly half of U.S. smart-phone users, or more than 45 million people, tapped a shopping application in June, according to data released on Monday. The leading app was that of eBay Inc., which attracted almost 13.2 million unique users, according to the data from New York City-based researcher The Nielsen …
• 3 August

  A $9 Million Infusion Has Mobile Payments Startup LevelUp Thinking Big

  Armed with $9 million in new funding, mobile-payments startup LevelUp plans to use the capital infusion to expand its sales force and build out new solutions to improve the merchant experience. Boston-based LevelUp is launching a remote sales team that will sign and service merchants outside the company’s 10 primary …
• 2 August

  Aiming to Boost Conversions, Zappli Brings Two-Click Checkout to M-Commerce

  With the influence of smart phones on in-store sales outpacing their influence on online sales, San Francisco-based Zappli Inc. is seeking to remedy that disparity through the introduction of InstaBuy, a mobile-checkout application that enables consumers to make a purchase through their smart phone in two clicks. Merchants can deploy …
• 2 August

  Google Wallet 2.0: Now Open to All Cards, But Can It Attract Users?

  Google Inc. on Wednesday announced an overhaul of its struggling mobile wallet product that the online search giant hopes will make the product more attractive to consumers and banks alike. Indeed, a key feature of the new Google Wallet is that is now open to any credit or debit card …
• 1 August

  MasterCard Reports Gains from Durbin Rules, Comments on Interchange Settlement

  MasterCard Inc. reported second-quarter results on Wednesday that indicate continuing gains in its debit card business, and in PIN debit in particular, in the wake of federal debit regulations that forced issuers to add new networks to the cards they issue. MasterCard’s gains in debit come in the wake of …
• 1 August

  Residual-Based Lending Emerges As Funding Alternative for ISOs

  A recent string of deals with processors to offer funding to their independent sales organizations has expanded Arlington, Va.-based startup Super G Funding LLC’s reach as a lender. Super G, which was founded in 2009 and has made loans totaling $10 million to about 80 ISOs, is one of only …

July, 2012

• 26 July

  Virtual Gift Card Player Giftango Looks to Enter Broader Open-Loop Market

  Giftango Corp., a major behind-the-scenes player in electronic gift cards, is preparing to move into the fast-growing world of open-loop prepaid cards. n A first step along that road was reached this week when Portland, Ore.-based Giftango achieved so-called Level 1 certification under the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI). …