Sunday , November 24, 2024

Kevin Woodward

Kevin's role at Digital Transactions is to write news and features stories for publication on the Web site and in the magazine. He also oversees the digital editorial aspect of the site and the Digital Transactions News daily newsletter.

One More Thing? Apple Pay Later’s Debut Is Still Pending

Apple Inc.’s latest financial product, a buy now, pay later service called Apple Pay Later, has yet to arrive, though the iPhone operating system it was expected to require launched Sept. 12. Why is that? One Bloomberg columnist suggests Apple Pay Later, which was announced in June, may not arrive …

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Eye on BNPL: Square’s Afterpay Marks Canada Debut; Allegiant Taps Uplift

Square, the payment-processing unit of Block Inc., is integrating its Afterpay buy now, pay later service into its e-commerce products across Canada. Meanwhile, airline Allegiant introduced Allegiant Pay Powered by Uplift for flights, hotels, and car-rental bookings made by its customers. Uplift is a travel-specific buy now, pay later provider. …

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Four Trends Are Affecting U.S. Retail, a Checkout.com Report Finds

Everybody knows the U.S. retail arena is changing, but a new report from Checkout.com reveals that four trends, among them the growth in digital payments, currently are most affecting it. Rising prices, consumers seeking new shopping channels, and increased competitiveness are the other three trends altering the retail landscape. United …

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Looking to Upgrade Their Skills, Consumers Take BNPL to School

As consumers look to improve their education and gain new skills, many are turning to buy now, pay later services to finance these efforts. On Wednesday, the Atlanta-based BNPL provider Splitit USA Inc. said its merchant sales volume in digital education and professional development ballooned 350% from 2019 to 2022. …

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The CFPB’s Buy Now, Pay Later Report Offers a Regulatory Outline, But No Sweeping Overhaul

Long anticipated, a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers suggestions on how regulation might aid the buy now, pay later industry, but doesn’t recommend a wholesale review of its practices. Among the risks outlined in the “Buy Now, Pay Later: Market trends and consumer impacts” report, released Thursday, are …

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POPcodes And Arcum Take on ISO Attrition Rates with Targeted Messaging

Having made a sale, independent sales organizations and merchant acquirers are loath to lose merchants to a competitor but they must contend with this turnover, called attrition, every day. POPcodes Inc., a smart point-of-sale terminal service provider, and Arcum Partners, an artificial intelligence firm, say they are working on reducing …

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Merchants United Picks AI Service for Statement Analysis

In a move to automate much of the task of analyzing merchant statements, Merchants United LLC said it will use nRoad Inc.’s platform, which analyzes unstructured data in an effort to extract useful information from it. Charleston, S.C.-based Merchants United said the technology will help its bottom line because it …

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Usio Forges Its Own Point-of-Sale Credit Service for Merchants

Usio Inc. is jumping into the point-of-sale credit arena with its own service, which enables businesses to offer instant credit to customers without the risk of consumer lending. Announced Tuesday, the service enables merchants to offer POS financing without integration issues or credit concerns, Usio says. “Any business that deals …

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Retailers Are Getting Better at Managing Gift Card Programs, a Report Finds

Grocers and home-improvement retailers may have something to take pride in. These two merchant categories are among the most improved in terms of managing their gift card programs. That’s the insight from the fifth 2022 Merchant Gift Card Omnicommerce Evaluation–U.S. Edition released by Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. The rankings of …

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Eye on ATMs: Bitcoin Depot Eyes Going Public and DataStream Gets Interac OK

The ATM world is about to get another publicly held company. Bitcoin Depot, a Bitcoin ATM operator with more than 7,000 machines in the United States and Canada, intends to go public in a merger with GSR II Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.  Announced Thursday, the proposed deal …

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