Transaction Processing

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 …

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 …

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 …

Free of the restraints of a legal agreement with PayPal Holdings Inc., eBay Inc. said early Monday it will now start on a global expansion of its 2-year-old managed-payments program. The program has already delivered $4.7 billion in total payment volume in the United States and Germany, the company said, …

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 …

The global retail-payment networks Mastercard and Visa are on a tear, acquiring and investing in adjacent payment-opportunity space in networks that can leverage and reinforce their existing franchises.  Their traditional payment schemes are dominant worldwide and near indestructible. While for the foreseeable future they could grow on autopilot, to their …

With its core ride-hailing business ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, Uber Technologies Inc. has been looking to move further into adjacent transportation markets, including mass-transit ticketing and payments. This week, the company said it had bought Routematch Software, a 20-year-old, Atlanta-based developer of systems that manage trip booking and ticketing, …

Thanks to federal programs to deliver stimulus funds to businesses and individuals, the second-quarter slowdown automated clearing house governing body Nacha expected due to Covid-19 didn’t happen. In fact, the massive ACH network saw year-over-year growth in the April-through-June quarter of 7.9%, Nacha reported late Wednesday. The second quarter’s growth …

With the expiration of a major agreement with PayPal Holdings Inc. just a few days away, eBay Inc. is charting a new course in payments. But at least some merchants are hoping the e-commerce giant will address outstanding questions about how payments will be handled in the new era. According …

With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing merchants to beef up or add an e-commerce channel to service customers disinclined to enter a physical store, processors that have partnered with or acquired independent software vendors (ISVs) specializing in the online sales channel are well-positioned for growth, according to The Strawhecker Group. Since …