Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
For e-commerce merchants, the screen is getting smaller very quickly, according to the latest quarterly report from payments company Adyen. Some 17.5% of all e-commerce transactions on Adyen’s platform in the fourth quarter were made with a smart phone, compared to 16% with a tablet, the Netherlands-based company said late …
Read More »AmEx Plans $1 Billion in Cost Cuts As Part of an Effort to Rebound From a Sub-Par 2015
In 2015, American Express Co. had a bad year. Hit hard by competitive pressures on merchant fees and cobrand-card returns, as well as swooning gasoline prices, the big card network on Thursday reported a 4% decline in revenue net of interest expense for the year to $32.8 billion, its first …
Read More »Flywire’s Deal to Buy Canada’s ScholarFX Adds to Its Growing Niche in Tuition Payments
It’s often neglected in the payments business, but one of the fastest-growing markets is processing cross-border transactions for college and post-graduate students studying abroad. The business is dominated by wire transfers, but a startup called Flywire, which has served the market for more than four years, is enjoying fast growth. …
Read More »Eye on the POS: VeriFone Snags AJB, Ingenico’s U.S. Growth, HP’s Retail Thrust
With the National Retail Federation’s annual trade show kicking off Monday in New York City, a number of payments companies tried to get a head start on the show by releasing news over the weekend. Much of it concerns developments for the physical point of sale. Here’s a wrap-up of …
Read More »First Data Unveils Clover Go, an EMV-Capable Card Reader for Smart Phones, Tablets
First Data Corp. on Friday said it is joining the market for card readers that plug into mobile phones. Its latest entry in its Clover line of point-of-sale technology is Clover Go, a credit and debit card reader that connects to smart phones and tablets via the mobile device’s headphone …
Read More »Eye on In-Store Commerce: Adyen Comes to the POS; Diebold Eyes Mobile Checkout
E-commerce processor Adyen Inc. announced on Thursday it is now offering payments capability for physical stores in the United States, a move that follows the company’s success in providing a payments gateway for a number of prominent digital clients, including Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix. Also on Thursday, ATM maker …
Read More »Sweden’s Klarna Racks up Some Big Gains in the Early Going of Its U.S. Debut
Sweden’s online-payments firm Klarna started operations in the United States only four months ago, but already it is making itself felt in the highly competitive business of serving U.S. e-commerce merchants. Nearly 20 retailers have signed up for the company’s streamlined checkout service, including big sellers Overstock.com and Shoes.com. That’s …
Read More »The In-App Channel Is Vital For Apple Pay, But Activity Overall Remains Weak
The crucial role in-app payment plays in mobile-wallet usage emerged in high relief Monday in a report showing that almost one-third of all Apple Pay credit card transactions made in the last five months by surveyed consumers occurred within a merchant app rather than in a store. Over the same …
Read More »After a Boffo Year, Will Payments Startups Reap Another Big Funding Harvest in 2016?
It may have been a so-so year for initial public offerings in payments, but 2015 was a boffo year for private financing of payments startups. And early indications are that 2016 may be just as good. Through Nov. 10, there were 235 funding deals for payments companies worldwide, with investments …
Read More »Digital Versions Will Help Propel a Strong Holiday Season for Closed-Loop Gift Cards
By John Stewart Market signals may be mixed, but on balance the 2015 holiday season will be a merry one for plastic and digital gift cards, according to Mercator Advisory Group. The Maynard, Mass.-based research firm’s annual forecast for November and December estimates loads on closed-loop U.S. gift cards will …
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