Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• Hotel operator Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants said its point-of-sale system at several of its properties was breached earlier this year, from Feb. 16 through July 7. Kimpton began its investigation after receiving a report on July 15 of unauthorized charges after consumers used their cards at the restaurant in one of its hotels. Malware—since removed—searched for track data read from the magnetic stripe of a payment card as it was routed through the affected server. Kimpton said the malware primarily captured the card number, expiration date, and internal verification code, but in a few instances, it may have gathered the cardholder name.
• Carrier-billing services provider Boku Inc. raised $13.75 million in new venture funding and has raised $91 million since its founding in 2009; Boku will use the new capital to expand its carrier connections around the world.
• Payments provider iPayment Holdings Inc. made a couple of executive appointments. Co-president O.B. Rawls IV was named interim chief executive and president. Greg Cohen, who also was co-president, was named chief operating officer.
• Prepaid card provider Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. said it has a definitive agreement to acquire U.K.-based Grass Roots Group Holdings Ltd., a provider of employee-recognition and customer-incentive services, for $118 million in cash.
• U.K.-based payment services provider Paysafe Group plc, whose brands include Neteller and Skrill, acquired Income Access Group, a Montreal-based marketing-services firm focused on the global gaming market, for C$40 million ($30 million).
• American Express Co. announced that Delta Private Jets, the charter-aircraft and aircraft-services subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc., is the exclusive provider for AmEx’s new Premium Private Jet program that offers AmEx Platinum cardholders a reduced fee when they buy a Delta Private Jets membership, and other perks.
