Point-of-sale

July, 2020

• 21 July

  Synchrony’s Retailers Suffer a Blow to Purchase Volume

  

  The hits merchants are taking from the Covid-19 pandemic were apparent in the second-quarter financial results the big retail and cobranded card issuer Synchrony Financial reported Tuesday, results which include a 19% year-over-year drop in purchase volume. Stamford, Conn.-based Synchrony posted purchase volume of $31.2 billion versus $38.3 billion in …
• 21 July

  Eye on POS Systems: Revel Lands Moe’s Southwest Grill And a Grocer Begins NCR Emerald Installs

  

  Cloud-based point-of-sale systems continue to gain share among merchants. In the latest news, Revel Systems said Moe’s Southwest Grill will install its cloud-based point-of-sale system in its more than 700 restaurants, and NCR Corp. said the Bashas Family of Stores grocery chain is rolling out NCR Emerald at all of …
• 21 July

  Starbucks Expands Reward-Eligible Payment Methods and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/21/20

  

  Coffee king Starbucks Corp. announced new options beginning this fall for earning loyalty points, or stars, in the Starbucks Rewards program without paying with a registered Starbucks physical card or card loaded into the Starbucks mobile app. The options to be available at company-owned stores in the United States and Canada will …
• 20 July

  The Card Networks and Open Banking; Crypto Platform Joins Mastercard Network and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/20/20

  

  Cryptocurrency platform Wirex has become the first such entity to obtain a principal membership in the Mastercard network. The move comes as Mastercard Inc. announced an expansion of its cryptocurrency program, which aims to make it easier for crypto card companies to market their products. Wirex also announced recently it has hired long-time …
• 17 July

  COMMENTARY: Covid-19 Changed Demand for Cashless Payments. Are Small Businesses Ready?

  

  The month of June gave Google Pay an extended moment. Early in the month, the tech press started circulating rumors that Google planned to add merchant buttons inside the app. This feature would allow both digital and brick-and-mortar businesses to accept customer payments within Google Pay.  But users in India …
• 14 July

  Big Banks See Credit Card Purchases Plunge by More Than 20% in the Second Quarter

  

  Three of the nation’s largest banks reported Tuesday that their credit card purchase volumes fell by more than 20% in the second quarter as the Covid-19 pandemic slammed the brakes on the economy, though things were better on the debit card side. New York City-based JPMorgan Chase & Co., the …
• 14 July

  COMMENTARY: How 3-D Secure 2.0 Will Change the Payments Industry

  

  With the massive increase in e-commerce this year, and new merchants moving to an online model out of necessity, combating card-not-present fraud is incredibly important. EMV 3-D Secure 1.0 (or 3DS1) has been continually upgraded as technology and consumer habits changed; however, from its first iteration it has always had …
• 14 July

  Visa’s Installment-Payment Test and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/14/20

  

  Visa Inc. announced it is working on U.S. pilots for a new installment-payment service. TSYS, part of Global Payments Inc., will be the first issuer technology partner, with Commerce Bank as the first U.S. bank partner. 42nd Street Photos, Tire Agent, and The Room Place are among the first merchants to offer …
• 13 July

  As Contactless Gains, Will QR Codes Win Over NFC Adherents?

  

  With consumer and merchant preferences shifting towards contactless payment methods in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, payments activated by Quick Response codes are gaining more attention. That’s because they are a low-cost way for merchants without NFC (near-field communication)-based applications, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, to add …
• 13 July

  Eye on the Point of Sale: Behind the Coin Shortage; The Decline in ATM Cash Withdrawals Slows

  

  Consumers have been spending considerably less in most stores over the past four months, but that hasn’t prevented a shortage of coins from developing. But in one sign of a nascent revival of cash usage, the number ATM cash withdrawals by credit union members has finally broken a 15-week streak …