• Merchant processor Elavon Inc. announced it has added online storefront technology from 3dcart for e-commerce merchants and online-ordering capability for the talech point-of-sale tablet. • Peer Ledger, a Canadian blockchain company, said a study it conducted shows digital identity can be tied to the blockchain, the technology underlying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. …

• Payment technology provider ACI Worldwide Inc. said it will make its UP Immediate Payments service available to financial institutions and credit unions of all sizes. • Merchant processor Global Payments Inc. renewed its contract with Caesars Entertainment Corp. • In a Mastercard Inc. promotion, consumers who use a Mastercard credit, debit, or prepaid card at a …

• Santander Bank N.A. announced it is now supporting Apple Pay for its Mastercard credit and debit cards. • Healthy Solutions for Pets, a pet-supplement company, has hired Orderhouse to build an e-commerce store. Orderhouse’s services include technology, fulfillment, and payments. • Vantiv Inc. will provide ATM and debit and credit card processing …

• Mastercard Inc. said it has completed testing of a biometric-enabled payment card in South Africa. The card contains fingerprint scanning technology. Cardholders enroll their fingerprints at their financial institutions, which are then stored as a digital template on the card. The card can be used in an EMV point-of-sale terminal. Mastercard …

• USA Technologies Inc. announced it will work with point-of-sale terminal maker Ingenico to make Ingenico contact-EMV hardware available to providers of vending machines and other unattended terminals that use USAT’s network for contactless payments. • In related news, Mastercard Inc. said it is making its Masterpass digital wallet available for purchases …

• Wireless payments specialist Apriva announced a new vending payment product for Canada that enables contactless payments and chip card transactions. • Point-of-sale equipment and services distributor POS Portal announced that it and processor Vantiv Inc. have simplified the equipment-distribution process for merchants, value-added resellers, and independent software vendors using the processor’s services. • Credit-union …

• In the wake of a rival bid from Euronet Worldwide Inc., Ant Financial Services Group increased its offer for MoneyGram International Inc. from $880 million to $1.2 billion, or from $13.25 per share to $18. Euronet offered $1 billion for MoneyGram after Ant made its original bid. A special MoneyGram …

• The National ATM Council, a trade group for independent ATM deployers, has issued an appeal to its members in Illinois to join in opposing a bill in the legislature that the group says would “eliminate virtually all of the state’s current ATM base” by capping ATM fees at $1 per …

• Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. announced it will work with data-science specialist Womply to offer Vantiv BizShield and Insights, a service for small and medium-sized merchants that offers real-time data, advanced analytics, online reputation management, and threat management. • Processor Global Payments Inc.’s Campus Solutions unit has introduced TouchNet OneCard VIP, which manages access to …

• Payments-technology provider VeriFone Systems Inc. said it created a 50-50 joint venture with Gas Station TV that will combine VeriFone’s Pump Media division with Gas Station TV; the venture will operate under the Gas Station TV brand and deliver 3.3 billion annual impressions through 18,000 locations in all 50 states by …