Monday , November 25, 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.

Smart Phones in Hand, Consumers Prep for a Busy Holiday Shopping Season

Expect more consumers to wield their smart phones for their holiday shopping this year. Fully 70% of consumers in the Deloitte 2019 Holiday Retail Survey plan to make a holiday purchase using a smart phone. That’s up from 67% in 2018 and from 59% in 2017. A separate Visa Inc. …

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Stepping Further into E-Commerce, PayPal Pays $4 Billion for Honey Shopping Assistant

PayPal Holdings Inc. is betting big on its strategy of boosting its e-commerce presence with its approximately $4 billion acquisition of Honey Science Corp., a technology platform that helps consumers find offers and deals on popular e-commerce sites. Announced Wednesday afternoon, the deal envisions Honey tapping into the more than …

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Eye on Acquiring: Repay’s Card Volume up 40%, and Usio and Net Element Report Earnings

In its first full quarter as a public company, Repay Holdings Corp. said its card-payment volume of $2.6 billion was a 40% increase over the 2018 third quarter. Payments providers Usio Inc. and Net Element Inc. also reported their earnings results. Atlanta-based Repay, which acquired APS Payments and TriSource Solutions …

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Facebook Pay Could Dominate Facebook’s Apps, But That’s Not Likely to Stymie Rival Wallets

With Facebook Inc.’s launch Tuesday of Facebook Pay, the social-media giant may feel somewhat assured that many of its 1.6 billion daily users will at least try the new wallet when making purchases in one of the company’s social networks. But that does not mean the rest of the payments …

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U.S. Holiday Sales Could Top $1 Trillion, With Mobile Payments Growing 32%

Research firm eMarketer Inc. forecasted that 2019 U.S. holiday sales will surpass $1 trillion in value for the first time. Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving, is expected to be the biggest online shopping day and could approach $10 billion in sales. With Thanksgiving falling on the last Thursday of …

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In a New Marketing Push, Green Dot Enlists Ellen DeGeneres

Prepaid-program manager Green Dot Corp. will launch a marketing campaign with talk-show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. DeGeneres’s celebrity will be used to promote Green Dot Bank, Steve Streit, Green Dot founder and chief executive, said during a conference call with analysts Thursday. DeGeneres is host of the popular TV …

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Grocer Save A Lot Adds In-Store Cash Acceptance for Amazon PayCode Purchases

Consumers that want to pay cash for their Amazon.com Inc. purchases now have another option in the St. Louis area. Save A Lot launched the ability for consumers to use Amazon PayCode, the e-retailer’s cash-payment service, at several Save A Lot locations in the grocer’s hometown. It expects to expand …

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Consumer Loyalty to Using Credit Cards May Be Swayed by Digital Alternatives

Digital wallets and other forms of digitized payments may be poised to take over the most-favored position for some consumers. Sixty-six percent of consumers, if offered rewards, discounts, and cash-back incentives similar to those offered by credit cards, would switch to alternative ways to pay, finds the 2019 edition of …

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Green Dot Extends Pact With Walmart, And Both Firms Will Collaborate on a Fintech Lab

Walmart Inc. and Green Dot Corp. reported Tuesday they have extended the prepaid program manager’s agreement with the giant retailer for another seven years, assuring that Green Dot will continue to serve as the issuing bank and manager for the Walmart MoneyCard program. Walmart says the new contract begins Jan. …

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UPDATED: Eye on Amazon: Alexa Will Pay Your Bills

Amazon.com Inc.’s payments ambitions continue to manifest themselves with Monday’s announcement that Paymentus Corp. will enable bill payment and management via Amazon’s voice-controlled Alexa devices. Charlotte, N.C.-based Paymentus said billers on the Paymentus Instant Payment Network will be able to offer consumers a way to link their utility accounts to …

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