Thursday , March 28, 2024

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Sabre Acquires Gift Card Platform And Other Digital Transactions News briefs from 7/6/23

Travel-technology provider Sabre Corp. announced it has acquired Techsembly, a gift card and e-commerce platform for hotels. The U.S. Payments Forum published a white paper outlining the impact of the Federal Reserve’s clarification that debit card issuers must enable a choice of two unaffiliated networks for all transactions, including card-not-present payments. The clarification took effect …

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Eye on Acquiring: FreedomPay Lands IHG Properties and Helcim Adds a Surcharging Option

IHG Hotels & Resorts, with close to 4,000 properties, will use FreedomPay Inc.’s payment technology, the payments provider said. Meanwhile, Helcim launched its Helcim Fee Saver surcharge program. Philadelphia-based FreedomPay says its FreedomPay Commerce Platform will provide the payments functionality for multiple IHG brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton, …

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Toast Tests a New Online Customer Fee, But Will It Stick?

Toast Inc., provider of popular payment and business-management systems for restaurants, is testing a 99-cent fee for online orders of $10 and above that the company could roll out nationwide next month. The test is generating criticism from restaurateurs on social media and debate in the merchant-acquiring industry about pricing …

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A No-Contract Smart POS Terminal from Helcim Debuts

Helcim Inc., a Calgary, Alberta-based payments provider, launched its Helcim Smart Terminal, which it says carries no contract or monthly fees. The device, which uses the Android operating system, is priced at $349 (C$429) and will be available this summer. Among its technical capabilities is a built-in printer, a large …

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Eye on E-Commerce: Online Prices Fall to a New Low; Stripe Joins the MACH Alliance

The leveling off of e-commerce activity continues as online prices, as measured by the Adobe Digital Price Index, fell 2.3% in May from a year ago. This is the ninth consecutive year-over-year decrease in online prices, Adobe Inc. says. Of the 18 categories tracked by Adobe, prices fell in 11 …

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80% Use a P2P Payment App And Other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/6/23

Some 80% of U.S. consumers say they have used a peer-to-peer payment service at least once, while two-thirds report having used a mobile wallet in the past year, according to the 2023 State of Payments report from card-issuing platform Marqeta Inc. The study surveyed 4,091 consumers in February, including 2,013 in the …

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Eschewing Card Payments, Startup Sway Money Exceeds Its Funding Goal

Sparing merchants card-acceptance fees is the fuel that has propelled alternative payments options, such as account-to-account transactions. One startup benefitting from this trend is London-based Sway Money Ltd., which enables merchants to accept account-to-account payments using a QR code and an off-the-shelf mobile device. Sway, which was incorporated in December …

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COMMENTARY: Five Ways Global Payment Orchestration Is Key to Payment ROI

Payment orchestration has entered a new phase, evolving from a gateway or regional solution to include sophisticated global capabilities and services. This unlocks a set of powerful capabilities that allow businesses to customize on a global scale, turning on and off services by region, product, and sales channel, increasing authorization …

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Lower Interchange Deal Struck in Canada

Small businesses in Canada will reap lower interchange rates in that country, the Department of Finance Canada announced Thursday. The deal suggests a similar reduction is possible in the United States, the Merchant Payments Coalition quickly responded. Both Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc. agreed to lower the domestic consumer credit …

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Fifth Third Closes on Big Data Deal And Other Digital Transactions News briefs from 5/15/23

Fifth Third Bancorp said it has closed on its acquisition of Big Data LLC, a technology platform for health-care payments. Terms were not disclosed Mark Barnett, president of Mastercard Inc. for Europe, said card interchange “represents incredibly good value” with respect to “sharing the costs and benefits of the payment system.” The remarks …

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Digital Transactions