A number of U.S. payments providers have expanded overseas in recent years, and now more may have an incentive to do so if recent research showing robust growth in merchant acceptance is any indication. The number of physical stores or outlets accepting payment cards worldwide reached 69.2 million last year, …
Read More »Government Releases Report on Campus Prepaid Card and Deposit-Account Fees
A report from the U.S. Department of Education shows that fees college students pay for campus-sponsored prepaid cards and deposit accounts can vary widely. The report was prepared by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the Education Department and completed in February, but not released until Friday. The release came …
Read More »With Convenience Stores in Mind, NRS Adds a Silent Alarm to Its POS System
Merchants using the point-of-sale system from National Retail Solutions Inc. soon will have the ability to use a potentially crime-thwarting value-add feature. The Newark, N.J.-based company is adding a silent alarm feature to its POS system. Expected to be available by the end of the first quarter, the feature involves …
Read More »European Merchants Would Pay 40% Less to Accept U.S.-Issued Cards Under Visa-Mastercard Proposals
European merchants could see their costs to accept Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. payment cards issued outside of Europe decline by 40% under separate proposals submitted by the two leading card networks to settle competition concerns raised by European Union antitrust authorities. The European Commission, the administrative arm of the …
Read More »Gearfire Payments Targets Shooting-Sports Industry and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/30/18
Independent sales organization Gearfire Payments announced new plans to focus on reducing payment costs for the shooting-sports industry. Atom Tickets, a mobile-ticketing service for the movie industry, said it integrated SMG Access, a loyalty program from Studio Movie Grill, an operator of movie theaters featuring in-theater dining. Target Corp. may …
Read More »Can Amazon Pay Win in Stores? It May Depend on Processing Costs And the Right Incentives
Amazon.com Inc.’s strategy to push its Amazon Pay wallet into physical stores could depend crucially on its ability to cut payment-processing costs and generate marketing advantages for merchants, including Groupon-like incentives, experts tell Digital Transactions News. The new strategy has been in the works at least since 2017 but reached …
Read More »Bitcoin’s Renewed Volatility Casts a Spotlight on Its Shrinking Merchant Volume
Bitcoin’s return to volatility in recent days isn’t the only issue the digital currency confronts as it seeks to establish a toehold in the world of payments. As it turns out, its use in actual payment transactions is shrinking fast, according to numbers compiled by Chainalysis Inc., a New York …
Read More »Fuel Dispenser Vendor Offers Chevron, Texaco Dealers EMV Update Program
Chevron and Texaco fuel retailers have another option when considering EMV upgrades at the pump with the debut of a Gilbarco Veeder-Root program. Launched this week, the program enables these convenience-store operators to trade in their current non-EMV-compliant equipment from their pumps for the Passport POS service from Greensboro, N.C.-based …
Read More »The Race for the Top Slot in Smart Terminals Is on With an Entry From North American Bancard
The era of the smart point-of-sale terminal has already dawned, and now the race is on for dominance. North American Bancard Holdings LLC on Thursday launched its PayAnywhere smart terminal, which runs on NAB’s PayAnywhere mobile-payment software. The move follows news earlier this week that terminal startup Poynt Co. is …
Read More »SignaPay’s Cash Discount App for Agents and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/16/18
Payments provider SignaPay released a mobile app for Apple and Android devices called PayLo Mobile Sales to help sales agents selling the PayLo Cash Discount product. Installment-payments provider Sezzle said it raised $100 million in funding from Bastion Capital. Since launching the service more than a year ago, Sezzle says …
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