• The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC selected IBM Corp.’s Power8 system for its real-time payments service, expected to go live next year. The IBM system will run software from VocaLink Holdings Ltd., which TCH selected last year as a vendor for its project. VocaLink is being acquired by MasterCard Inc. TCH says its real-time system will be capable of processing thousands of simultaneous transactions per second.
• Frost Bank, a unit of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc., announced it joined Early Warning Services LLC’s clearXchange person-to-person payments network. Frost Bank now can offer P2P payments via its online and mobile-banking portals. Early Warning is in the midst of changing the clearXchange name to Zelle.
• Digital Check Corp., an image-capture and payments-processing technology company, acquired some assets from Burroughs Inc., including its SmartSource check-scanning technology. Terms were not disclosed. The products will be rebranded with the Digital Check name.
• Merchant processor Harbortouch Payments LLC launched its VIP Account program designed to make it easier for large restaurants and retailers to use Harbortouch’s point-of-sale products. The program includes priority service, custom POS and third-party integrations, and a 60-day trial period instead of 30 days.
• Payment-services provider ACI Worldwide Inc. said it is offering cloud-based connectivity to SWIFT, the global payments-messaging network, through ACI’s Money Transfer System.
• Cloud-based payments provider Shopify Inc. entered into an agreement with Export Development Canada, a Crown corporation that is Canada’s trade-finance agency, to insure merchant cash advances offered by Shopify Capital.
• Payments provider PreCash Inc. officially changed its name to Noventis, though it will keep the PreCash name for its retail payments business.
• The vacation-rental marketplace Vacatia said it is accepting Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay to book reservations from visitors using Apple’s iPhone, iPad, or Mac.