Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Some 12,000 restaurants in 100 countries already use Toronto-based TouchBistro Inc.’s iPad-based point-of-sale software, but a new agreement with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s WePay subsidiary could put TouchBistro in touch with many more U.S. eateries. TouchBistro and Chase on Tuesday unveiled TouchBistro Payments Powered by WePay, which will launch this …

Payments provider Paysafe is the first reseller of VeriFone System Inc.’s Verifone Connect service among independent sales organizations, VeriFone announced Tuesday. Verifone Connect is a suite of point-of-sale services, such as payment acceptance, point-of-sale terminal management, and business-management tools, that works with VeriFone’s Carbon and Engage devices. London-based Paysafe is …

The cryptocurrency world often gets feverish upon news that an established power in payments or financial services has turned its attention to matters of Bitcoin or its cohorts. Such was the case Monday when reports surfaced that PayPal Holdings Inc. had applied for a patent for a so-called “expedited virtual …

Amazon.com Inc.’s interest in launching a checking-account-like product, reported Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal, could have deep roots in its strategy both for payments in general and for Amazon Pay, the payment wallet it operates for non-Amazon sites, expert observers say. Talks between the Seattle-based retailing colossus and banks …

Point-of-sale software maker GiftLogic said its product now supports the Ingenico iCMP wireless POS terminal with Vantiv Integrated Payments. Prepaid and gift-card specialist Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. said it will supply the gift card products for Wells Fargo’s Go Far Rewards program. Blackhawk is managing the gift card reward element …

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business announced Monday an agreement with JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chase Merchant Services that the trade group of small and medium-sized merchants says could bring cuts of nearly 50% for accepting American Express Co. cards to its 110,000 members. The Toronto-based CFIB said Chase, its …

As the emergence of smart phones and online services make cross-border remittances easier and less costly for users, companies have emerged to serve that fast-growing market. The latest move comes from WorldRemit, an 8-year-old firm that last week expanded into the state of New York, home to 4.5 million immigrants. …

Network Merchants LLC, a technology provider for independent sales organizations, acquirers, and independent software vendors, closed its previously announced acquisition of gateway and EMV technology provider Creditcall for an undisclosed price. Digital cross-border person-to-person remittances will total $300 billion by 2021, up from an estimated $225 billion this year, according …

Automated clearing house governing body NACHA and the Interactive Financial eXchange Forum Inc. (IFX) this week announced they intend to combine their operations. Founded in 1997, the Wakefield, Mass.-based IFX Forum is an international non-profit that developed and promotes the IFX business message specification as an open, interoperable for standard …

More than two years after the U.S. migration to EMV chip cards accelerated, evidence of the success of the effort continues to emerge. Merchant acquirer Square Inc. says nearly 92% of the transactions it processed as of December were made with EMV-enabled credit and debit cards. While the advent of …

The Federal Reserve announced Thursday it is shutting down its Secure Payments Task Force this month. The Fed invited its more than 200 members, made up of payments executives from across the financial-services industry, to work with its FedPayments Improvement Community. Members may also participate in “new collaborative industry work …

Equifax Inc. said it expects costs from its massive 2017 data breach to hit $275 million this year, offset by $75 million in insurance proceeds, Reuters reported. The credit-reporting agency also disclosed that another 2.4 million people were affected by the cyber attack in addition to the more than 145 …

Point-of-sale equipment maker Ingenico Group announced a PIN-on-glass product suite that includes a secure card reader and a back-end verification service. Payments provider SignaPay Ltd. announced two new products, the PayHub Plus Payment Gateway and the PayLo Mynt POS System, which offers a variety of customized point-of-sale software packages. In …

Interest among mainstream financial institutions and payments providers in the potential for cryptocurrency is heating up just as the top U.S. financial regulator is reportedly eyeing a crackdown on so-called initial coin offerings, or token sales used by digital-currency startups to raise capital. In the latest sign that processors and …

Sweden’s Klarna Bank AB enjoyed a good year in 2017, as documented by results the privately held online-checkout and financing specialist released on Wednesday. The firm, which was founded in 2005 and has operated a U.S. unit, Klarna Inc., since 2015, had already achieved distinction by ranking third among so-called …

The merger of payment processors Vantiv Inc. and London-based Worldpay Group plc was completed Jan. 16, and up next for leaders of the combined company is integration of operational platforms, selling products to a wider customer base, and achieving their goal of $200 million in cost savings in three years. …

ZipfWorks Inc., owner of online coupon code site Dealspotr.com, released the results of a mobile-payments survey that found that 15% of consumers between 18 and 35 years old used Apple Pay while shopping online. Ten percent of this age group used Apple Pay in a store. It also found that …

  Did you know that the typical business will only hear from around 4 percent of their unsatisfied customers? That leaves the remaining 96 percent with the potential to file a chargeback against a merchant’s business, negatively impacting their bottom line. The ability to maintain positive cash flow is one …

Square Inc. on Tuesday pulled back the curtain, at least a little bit, on its Cash App and the related Cash Card, a Visa-branded debit card. The app has 7 million active users, and cardholders spent $90 million using the card in December, good for annualized volume of $1 billion, …

Many merchants—98%—are looking to make investments in their checkout systems this year, finds the Merchant Credit Survey from Vyze Inc., a consumer financing provider. Investing in financing programs ranked high, with 97% saying they anticipate focusing on financing and credit options. Most merchants—92%—plan to make mobile app and mobile Web …