What’s the measure of a well-performing payment gateway? Time. Or, rather a lack of time. Gateways, which route online transactions to one of multiple payment processors, are judged on their speediness and reliability. That’s why The Strawhecker Group, an Omaha, Neb.-based payments consultancy, started its Gateway Enterprise Metrics platform. The …
Read More »As July 4 Looms, Fireworks Stores Get Set for Hordes of Customers Armed With EMV Cards
As Independence Day nears with all its festivities, fireworks stores are preparing for their largest selling season of the year with EMV chip card acceptance. It evoked a sigh of relief from Bill Weimer, vice president and general counsel of Phantom Fireworks, when the company’s point-of-sale system achieved EMV compliance. …
Read More »A Weekend Promotion Yields 30% of Transactions Made With Apple Pay at Square Sellers
Apple Inc.’s “Lose your wallet” Apple Pay promotion apparently paid off handsomely for Square Inc. The promotion, which ran June 23-25, saw 36 local merchants in two San Francisco neighborhoods offer discounts or free items with a purchase when consumers paid for the purchase with Apple Pay, the brand’s mobile-payment …
Read More »FIS Expands Cardless Cash to Thousands of U.S. Cardtronics ATMs
Cardless cash access at ATMs is expanding. ATM operator Cardtronics plc, which owns or operates more than 233,000 ATMs globally, is adding FIS Cardless Cash access to its U.S. machines, Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) announced Thursday. Launched in 2015, FIS Cardless Cash enables consumers to stage cash withdrawals using …
Read More »NanoPay Debuts a Payment Service for Its Digital Currency, MintChip
Canadian merchants now have a self-service tool to accept digital cash in stores via the MintChip Retail Payment Platform announced Wednesday by nanoPay Corp. NanoPay purchased MintChip, a digital currency developed by the Royal Canadian Mint, in 2016. “Since acquiring MintChip from the Royal Canadian Mint, we have focused on enhancing …
Read More »Eye on Visa: A Klarna Stake, And Checkout for Payscout’s VR Commerce App
Visa Inc. is investing in Klarna, a Sweden-based payment processor that offers retail credit options for merchants, the card brand announced Tuesday. The intent, Visa says, is to develop a “future strategic partnership,” which appears to focus on Europe, though Klarna also operates in North America. Visa says the deal …
Read More »Punchh’s Loyalty Program, Coupled With Apple Pay, Comes to Three Eatery Chains
Apple Pay users visiting restaurants that are part of Punchh Inc.’s restaurant-loyalty service will be able to earn and redeem points when using the mobile-payment service, Punchh announced Thursday. Smashburger, Quiznos, and MOD Pizza will offer the Apple Pay/Punchh service later this year, Mountain View, Calif.-based Punchhsays. Apple Pay users …
Read More »Despite Advances, Security Woes Darken Consumer Attitudes About E-Commerce
A new survey from American Express Co. finds that 37% of consumers abandoned an online purchase because they have concerns about the security of the transaction. The 2017 American Express Digital Payments Survey, released Tuesday, also finds that, despite these concerns, 47% of consumers increased their e-commerce purchasing frequency in …
Read More »Visa, Mastercard Reach Surcharging Settlement in Canada
Canadian merchants that accept Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. credit cards soon will be able to add a surcharge to some transactions following a settlement reached this week. The settlement, which stems from a 2011 class-action lawsuit against Visa, Mastercard, and a number of card-issuing banks alleging excessive fees, calls …
Read More »How Involuntary Churn Threatens the Growing Subscription Payments Model
The allure of subscription payments has captured the fancy of merchants and payments companies alike, but churn—the loss of a paying customer—may not only affect revenue, but hamper innovation, finds “The Art and Science of Reducing Involuntary Subscriber Churn” report released Wednesday by Digital River Inc. The report, which canvassed …
Read More »