In an update, eBay Inc. said it will expand its managed-payments platform later this year to Australia and Canada. The platform, which funnels payments to a variety of processors through a gateway provided by Adyen, has processed more than $2 billion so far for more than 25,000 sellers in the United States, …
Read More »Yiftee Adds Facebook And Instagram Promotion to Support Digital Gift Cards for Local Merchants
Among payment devices, gift cards are unique in that they can promote a business as well as enable payments at the store or online. That’s an edge at a time of a pandemic, and now technology platforms that support digital gift cards are leveraging that advantage. Yiftee Inc. late on …
Read More »FreedomPay Adds Google Pay Support and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/17/20
Payments provider FreedomPay has added support for Google Pay, enabling Google Pay users to make e-commerce payments in Android apps and in Web browsers. This can be done on a merchant’s Web site regardless of browser or operating system or within an Android app, with FreedomPay securely integrating to the Google Payments …
Read More »Moderation in Sales Trends Emerges in E-Commerce and Among Small Businesses
Two reports analyzing sales at e-commerce merchants and small businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic indicate moderation in some categories may be happening. Many categories among e-commerce merchants moved a few percentage points for the week of April 7-13, according to the Covid-19 Weekly Pulse Report for E-commerce from San Jose, …
Read More »Stripe Raises $600 Million and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/16/20
Saying the Covid-19 pandemic “is pushing the economy online,” e-commerce payment processor Stripe Inc. announced it has raised another $600 million through an extension of its Series G funding round. Stripe said it will use the funding “to step up product development, global expansion, and strategic initiatives.”Payments provider Clearent launched Clearent EDU, a free …
Read More »BofA Reports Booming Zelle Numbers as America Copes With Stay-at-Home Policies
If the first quarter of the year is any indication, person-to-person payments might be getting a big lift as stay-at-home consumers look for safe ways to pay in the face of the Covid-19 outbreak. Bank of America Corp. reported Wednesday transactions on its Zelle platform shot up 76% compared to …
Read More »Pandemic Hits U.S. Bancorp’s Merchant Revenues and Raises T&E-Related Expenses
U.S. Bancorp’s big payments operation that includes merchant acquirer Elavon Inc. is usually a reliable revenue generator, but the bank-holding company’s exposure to the big downturn in travel-and-entertainment and business spending because of the Covid-19 pandemic became evident in the first quarter. Merchant payment volume declined 4.8% to $104.7 billion …
Read More »March Retail Sales Fall 8.7% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/15/20
U.S. retail sales for March decreased 8.7% from February, according to figures released by the Census Bureau. One bright spot was a 28% increase in sales at food and beverage stores from March 2019. Clothing and clothing accessories store sales were down 50.7%.Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) said it is supporting …
Read More »Chase’s Merchant Volume Rose 5% Despite a ‘Tale of Two Cities’ First Quarter
JPMorgan Chase & Co., parent company of the nation’s biggest bank-owned merchant acquirer, managed to pull off a 5% increase in processing volume in the first quarter despite the restrictions on economic activity that took force in many states in the second half of March to control the Covid-19 pandemic. …
Read More »Eye on Online Ordering: Smaller Tech Players Aim at Smaller Eateries Impacted by Covid-19
With restaurants in most major markets across the country forced to shut down on-premise dining because of the Covid-19 outbreak, online ordering, takeout, and delivery services are suddenly in the spotlight as local restaurants and other small, independent establishments grasp at technology to stay alive. That’s an immediate opportunity for …
Read More »