Bitcoin’s return to volatility in recent days isn’t the only issue the digital currency confronts as it seeks to establish a toehold in the world of payments. As it turns out, its use in actual payment transactions is shrinking fast, according to numbers compiled by Chainalysis Inc., a New York …
Read More »A Fraud Spike at Venmo Vexed PayPal Just As the Company Sought Venmo Revenue
PayPal Holdings Inc. has been trying to make money off of its highly popular but free peer-to-peer payments service, Venmo, but over the weekend a report emerged indicating a surge in fraud could have complicated that effort. Venmo sustained a transaction loss rate of 0.40% in March, up from 0.25% …
Read More »Not All Financial Institutions Are on Board the Mobile-Banking Train
Payments experts may think mobile technology is crucial for banks and other financial-service providers, but it turns out a significant chunk of financial institutions don’t agree. Fourteen percent of respondents in a survey this summer of banks and credit unions said they not only don’t offer mobile payments and other …
Read More »With Chinese Tourism Rising, 7-Eleven Starts Accepting Alipay And WeChat Pay in Canada
As Chinese tourists pour into the United States and Canada, merchants are preparing for them by outfitting their checkouts to accept WeChat Pay and Alipay, the two leading Chinese mobile-payments services. The latest is 7-Eleven Inc., which said Tuesday it is enabling acceptance of the two wallets at 35 stores …
Read More »The Race for the Top Slot in Smart Terminals Is on With an Entry From North American Bancard
The era of the smart point-of-sale terminal has already dawned, and now the race is on for dominance. North American Bancard Holdings LLC on Thursday launched its PayAnywhere smart terminal, which runs on NAB’s PayAnywhere mobile-payment software. The move follows news earlier this week that terminal startup Poynt Co. is …
Read More »If Mobile Wallets Functioned More Like Leather Wallets, Usage Might Get a Lift, Research Says
Ever since mobile payments first captured the public imagination four years ago with the launch of Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay, experts have debated why usage of the iOS and Android wallets has fallen short of the original, lofty expectations. Some speculate that usage would rise markedly if the mobile wallets …
Read More »BigCommerce Gives a Lift to Venmo’s Commerce Strategy As It Adds the P2P Service And Masterpass
The e-commerce platform BigCommerce Pty Ltd. on Wednesday announced two new supported payment methods, including PayPal Holdings Inc.’s Venmo service. With the addition of Venmo, Austin-based BigCommerce gave a big lift to PayPal’s strategy to find revenue for what has been a fast-growing but free peer-to-peer payment service, though merchant pricing …
Read More »Fresh From a $100-Million Funding Round, Poynt Sets a Goal To Be the Common OS for Smart POS Terminals
Poynt Co., a startup supplier of intelligent payment devices, argues so-called smart terminals should have a common operating system like smart phones do. And in announcing a $100 million funding round on Tuesday, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company also argued it should be the one to provide that OS. Investors …
Read More »AmEx Scores a Breakthrough in China With a License to Process Domestic Payments
The major U.S. payment card networks have been trying to set up shop to process domestic transactions in mainland China for years, only to encounter government resistance. But American Express Co. announced a breakthrough Friday with a deal to become the first overseas network to win an OK to operate …
Read More »Dorsey Sees Square’s New Terminal Displacing ‘Dinosaur’ Devices on Merchant Countertops
Square Inc. on Wednesday played up its recent launch of an important new hardware product and celebrated what it called its first quarter of profitability under generally accepted accounting principles. While executives did not discuss sales numbers for Square Terminal, a $399 touchscreen-equipped handheld device the San Francisco-based company released …
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