Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

January, 2022

• 14 January

  Venmo Adds a Gift-Wrap Feature for Users Sending Money on Special Occasions

  

  Peer-to-peer money transfers have become a hyper-competitive market, driving even the best-known providers to seek out an edge. One such idea is to introduce a feature that lets senders add virtual gift-wrapping to payments they’re sending for special occasions, and on Thursday Venmo started rolling out just such a feature. …
• 14 January

  Payroc Acquires East Commerce Solutions and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/14/22

  

  Payroc WorldAccess LLC said it acquired East Commerce Solutions, a merchant service provider, which has more than $2 billion in annual processing volume. Terms were not disclosed.NCR Corp. said it has closed on its acquisition of LibertyX, a provider of software for cryptocurrency transactions at ATMs and on various payment-acceptance devices. LibertyX …
• 13 January

  Eye on the POS: Texas Roadhouse Selects Sparkfly for Offers; Merrco’s POS System Marks U.S. Entry

  

  Diners visiting Texas Roadhouse restaurants will soon be able to tap on digital offers in the Texas Roadhouse app thanks to a newly announced deal with Sparkfly, a retail services provider. In related point-of-sale news, Merrco Payments Inc. launched its expanded PayHQ service in the United States. Merrco specializes in …
• 13 January

  CBDCs Inch Closer to Wider Acceptance as the Global Card Networks Build Alliances

  

  It was probably only a matter of time before the two global card networks, which have already made overtures to blockchain technology, began venturing into support for central bank digital currencies. News of the latest development emerged very early Thursday with an announcement from Visa Inc. and blockchain software developer …
• 13 January

  Visa Acceptance Cloud Debuts and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/13/22

  

  Visa Inc. announced a new payment platform, Visa Acceptance Cloud, which will let acquirers, payment service providers, point-of-sale system makers, and Internet of Things developers, to move the payment processing software from the hardware device to the computing cloud. Tests of the new platform are happening in North America, South America, …
• 12 January

  A Survey Says Consumers Who Open Multiple BNPL Accounts Are Likely to Miss a Payment

  

  Buy now, pay later loans are extremely popular, especially among Millennials and Gen Zers, because the loans give them more purchasing power, and they can spread out the payments, usually without having to pay interest.  Yet, despite the immense popularity of BNPL loans, evidence is emerging that consumers with multiple …
• 12 January

  Eye on Crypto: BBTV Offers Crypto ‘at Scale’ to Content Creators; a Nuvei Paper Sizes up Crypto

  

  One of the most receptive markets for cryptocurrency could be that for content creators, most of whom are self-employed and looking for fast and reliable ways to get paid. That’s what BBTV Holdings Inc. figures, and on Wednesday the video platform launched Pay to Crypto to send payments to marketers on …
• 12 January

  82% of SMBs Anticipate Accepting Digital Payment and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/12/22

  

  Visa Inc.’s Back to Business study found 82% of small businesses plan to accept some form of digital payment in 2022, with 24% saying they plan to accept digital currencies like Bitcoin. The study canvassed 2,250 small-business owners and employees in nine countries, including the United States.Payments provider Lightspeed Commerce Inc. said its merchants …
• 11 January

  Improved Order Accuracy And More Upsells Drove Checkers To Install Automated Voice Ordering

  

  Having committed to rolling out automated voice ordering in drive-thru lanes at its corporate-owned restaurants, Checkers Drive-in Restaurants Inc. expects the new technology will improve order accuracy and significantly increase ticket sizes through more efficient upselling practices. Checkers’ commitment to automated voice ordering, which it announced Monday, comes at a time …
• 11 January

  Cash Still Looms Large for Merchants. Brink’s Is Signing Processors to Tackle the Issue

  

  Lost in much of the conversation about digital payments, particularly since the onset of the pandemic, is what to do about the cash merchants take in. The Brink’s Co., which has been hauling and securing cash since 1859, says it has an answer, and on Tuesday it announced it also …