Transaction Processing

Point-of-sale technology vendor ScanSource Inc. has agreed to acquire POS Portal, a supplier of payment devices and services, for $144.9 million in cash plus an earn-out payment up to $13.2 million contingent on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization for the 12 months leading up to Nov. 30. The deal is expected …

Checks currently account for almost half of business-to-business payments, but their share will decline to 34% by 2020 as automated clearing house payments surge from 32% of B2B payments today to 45% in three years. Those are some of the key results from a first-quarter survey by the Credit Research Foundation, …

The two biggest cryptocurrencies are experiencing growing pains that could change their character and decide their fundamental purpose in the years to come. Bitcoin, the largest digital currency at a market capitalization of $42.6 billion as of Wednesday mid-morning, remains a volatile investment at the same time its users contend …

Independent sales organization Bluefin Payment Systems said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the company two patents for data decryption; both patents encompass Bluefin’s Decryptx platform and online P2PE Manager System. Terminal maker Ingenico Group announced it has increased by 200% over the past year its integrations with integrated software vendors, acquirers, electronic …

Discover Financial Services said it has enabled Samsung Pay on the latest Samsung Galaxy smart phones and wearables for its cards in the United States. Discover announced in 2015 that it would support Samsung Pay. Cross-border payments provider Veem, formerly known as Align Commerce, announced an integration with QuickBooks Online, used by small …

Visa Inc. is investing in Klarna, a Sweden-based payment processor that offers retail credit options for merchants, the card brand announced Tuesday. The intent, Visa says, is to develop a “future strategic partnership,” which appears to focus on Europe, though Klarna also operates in North America. Visa says the deal …

U.S.-based cross-border payments provider dLocal said it has added three major Chinese payment systems—WeChat Pay, AliPay, and UnionPay—to its platform. The three account for more than 70% of the Chinese market, according to dLocal. In related news, Flywire Corp., which recently expanded its cross-border payments business to include business-to business transfers, announced it has added …

As the nation’s automated clearing house network introduces faster payments, it’s also racking up steady increases in transaction volume. The system processed approximately 5.35 billion payments in the first quarter, notching nearly 7% growth over the first quarter of last year and rebounding smartly from a tepid 3.7% growth rate …

A recent report from the U.S. Department of The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) shows a sizable increase in the number of banks and credit unions providing financial services to legal marijuana businesses. The numbers might not tell the whole story, however. FinCEN’s latest Marijuana Banking Update, for the …

• The National Retail Federation announced that senior vice president and general counsel Mallory Duncan plans to retire at the end of August. Duncan joined the trade group in 1994 as general counsel and is a staunch advocate for merchants’ interests on payments issues. He plans to consult on payments and …