Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
By John Stewart Just 45 days to go until the Oct. 1 deadline for EMV in the United States, and among the issues over which merchants are still wrangling with banks is whether EMV chip cards should be universally issued with PINs—credit cards as well as debit. Merchant groups have …
Read More »Spinoff Ranks PayPal as a Solid No. 4 Among Payments Companies by Market Cap
Many news accounts of PayPal Holdings Inc.’s spinoff from parent company eBay Inc. noted that PayPal’s market capitalization was in the $50 billion range, but few provided context on where that placed the company among its publicly traded peers. Turns out, PayPal instantly became the fourth-largest payments player, trailing only …
Read More »Instant Deposit Could Be a Hit With Sellers, But How Long Before Copycats Arrive?
By John Stewart A new service from Square Inc. that accelerates merchants’ access to their funds in return for a 1% fee is likely to gain popularity among the small sellers that primarily use Square for transaction processing, according to some observers. That may hand Square a key advantage in …
Read More »With Global Potential Rising for Carrier Billing, Boku Acquires mobileview Italia
By Kevin Woodward San Francisco-based carrier-billing specialist Boku Inc. has bought mobile-payments provider mobileview Italia, Boku announced Thursday. The deal means Boku will provide carrier billing to more than 87 million mobile-carrier subscribers in Italy. Globally, Boku says its service, which enables consumers to make digital purchases using their wireless …
Read More »Samsung Pay Sets U.S. Debut for Sept. 28, With a One-Month Trial Starting Aug. 25
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says its Samsung Pay mobile-payment service, which uses near-field communication and a radio-frequency version of magnetic-stripe data, will debut Sept. 28 in the United States. Some consumers with some Samsung smart-phone and tablet models will be able to participate in a test set to begin Aug. …
Read More »Infinite Peripherals Rides the mPOS Wave With Add-on Devices for Larger Retailers
By John Stewart At Infinite Peripherals Inc., there’s nothing peripheral about the mobile point of sale. The Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based company, whose stock in trade is not the mobile device but just about anything that can be connected to it, is growing rapidly in tandem with the soaring popularity …
Read More »Checkout Startup SelfPay Eyes Expansion With Outside Funding Injection
By Kevin Woodward With more $1 million (Canadian) in new funding, self-checkout app SelfPay looks to expand its reach within retail stores. Toronto-based Digital Retail Apps says the funding, which is approximately $764,402 in U.S. currency, also will be used to secure more patents. Dallas-based Texas Ventures led the funding, …
Read More »COMMENTARY: A Five-Point Checklist for Merchants Trying To Beat the EMV Clock
Credit card fraud in the United States is at epidemic levels. Last year, the U.S. accounted for more fraud than the rest of the world combined. And the fraud rates are accelerating. EMV technology, which has shown to greatly reduce in-store fraud in Europe, is finally being rolled out in the …
Read More »DTN Readers Are More Skeptical Than Experts on Benefits of First Data IPO
By John Stewart When First Data Corp. last month formally let the world know it intends to make an initial public offering of stock, the massive processor said it plans to use the IPO’s proceeds to reduce its big debt load. Some experts said this could free up capital so …
Read More »Apple Pay Could Reap a Volume Bonanza as It Includes AmEx Corporate Cards
Corporate card stalwart American Express Co. says corporate cards it issues on behalf of U.S. employers now can be used with Apple Pay. AmEx says its portfolio is the first major corporate card file to be activated for Apple Inc.’s mobile-payment service. Apple Pay’s potential for additional spend with corporate …
Read More »