Point-of-sale

March, 2020

• 26 March

  Lightspeed’s 3-Month Fee Pause and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/26/20

  

  Lightspeed POS Inc. said it is offering its Delivery, eCommerce, and Loyalty services free for the next three months because of the Covid-19 impact on merchants.Online fraud-prevention provider Signifyd released its Covid-19 Business Continuity Package that offers new clients free access to some Signifyd products.Payments provider Fattmerchant said it is now an official gateway partner …
• 25 March

  SMBs Expect Further Demand Drop and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/25/20

  

  A national survey of 850 small businesses found 69% have seen a “large drop” in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic, while 60% say they believe demand will drop further. The survey was conducted by America’s Small Business Development Centers and Thryv Inc., a software vendor specializing in small businesses.The U.S. Faster Payments …
• 24 March

  Square, Alliance Data Feel Merchants’ Covid-19 Pain

  

  Merchant processor and business-software provider Square Inc. says some of its sellers have seen declines of 45% in payment volume in recent days, and private-label and cobranded card issuer Alliance Data Systems Corp. says business at its client merchants is softening.  Both companies held conference calls with analysts after the …
• 24 March

  In Response to Infection Concerns, the U.K. Raises Its Contactless Payment Cap by 50%

  

  With much of the world locked down in combatting the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial trade group in the United Kingdom said Tuesday the country would increase the spending limit on contactless transactions by 50% effective April 1. The move will allow consumers to pay without touching a keypad or …
• 23 March

  Bridge, Tollway Authorities Toss Cash Acceptance Overboard, But Canadian Central Bank Urges Otherwise

  

  Cash is fighting an uphill battle to remain a payment option during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Over the past week, a number of toll-highway and bridge authorities have ceased accepting cash to limit the spread of the highly infectious disease. According to local press reports, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Illinois …
• 23 March

  PayPal, Square Boost Hiring and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/23/20

  

  PayPal Holdings Inc. and Square Inc. are moving to increase hiring as consumers reportedly shift to mobile payments as a result of calls for social distancing.Arguing that “the [coronavirus] pandemic will pass, but the economic impact will last,” a collation of payroll processors and trade associations issued an open letter to President Donald …
• 20 March

  Contactless Payment Use Drops, But Not As Much As Chip And Magstripe, a Report Finds

  

  With students not in school, the closure of restaurants and bars, and work-from-home edicts in place, consumer spending is shifting. Witness that in the week of March 9-15, the payment volume made with dipped EMV cards fell 5.17% from the week prior and mag-stripe volume fell 13.07%, according to the …
• 20 March

  Chargeback Gurus Issues Coronavirus Chargeback Guidance and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/20/20

  

  Chargeback Gurus released guidance on the potential for chargebacks as consumers and merchants contend with the effects of the coronavirus infection.Email-security firm Armorblox Inc. said it will provide its services free to companies with between 100 and 2,000 employees until April 30 to help guard against social-engineering attacks exploiting the Covid-19 pandemic.A cryptocurrency …
• 19 March

  Electronics Payments Suspends Fees and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/19/20

  

  Electronic Payments Inc. said it will temporarily suspend the monthly support fees for its TableTurn and Exatouch Point of Sale products for three months.JPMorgan Chase & Co. is temporarily closing 1,000 of its bank branches, or 20% of its network, because of Covid-19, according to press reports. The remaining open branches will …
• 18 March

  Womply Data Show How the Coronavirus Has KO’d Many Merchants

  

  New findings from a software and business-services provider that examined what happened at thousands of small businesses last week show the damage the coronavirus, or Covid-19, is inflicting on merchants. San Francisco-based Oto Analytics Inc., which does business as Womply, looked at payment card data from its merchant-acquiring partners, data …