Acquiring

• The National ATM Council, a trade group for independent ATM deployers, has issued an appeal to its members in Illinois to join in opposing a bill in the legislature that the group says would “eliminate virtually all of the state’s current ATM base” by capping ATM fees at $1 per …

• Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. announced it will work with data-science specialist Womply to offer Vantiv BizShield and Insights, a service for small and medium-sized merchants that offers real-time data, advanced analytics, online reputation management, and threat management. • Processor Global Payments Inc.’s Campus Solutions unit has introduced TouchNet OneCard VIP, which manages access to …

• Payments-technology provider VeriFone Systems Inc. said it created a 50-50 joint venture with Gas Station TV that will combine VeriFone’s Pump Media division with Gas Station TV; the venture will operate under the Gas Station TV brand and deliver 3.3 billion annual impressions through 18,000 locations in all 50 states by …

Bank card merchant acquirers participating in American Express Co.’s OptBlue program signed 1 million small businesses for AmEx acceptance last year, an AmEx executive tells Digital Transactions News. The push came as New York City-based AmEx drives toward chief executive Kenneth I. Chenault’s goal of having AmEx’s merchant base reach …

• Mastercard Inc. said it will move to close its acquisition of VocaLink Holdings Ltd.“within the next few weeks” now that the transaction has been cleared by the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority. • USA Technologies Inc. said it is providing its contactless ePort Connect payment device for entertainment kiosks from Sneaker …

• Merchant processor CardConnect Corp. is paying $39 million for its previously announced acquisition of MertzCo Inc. consisting of $12 million in cash and 1.98 million shares of CardConnect stock valued at $27 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from CardConnect. • Visa Inc. has begun allowing issuers of Visa-branded commercial cards …

• Attorneys general from 18 states and the District of Columbia sent a letter this week to Congressional leaders urging them to oppose three pending joint resolutions that would overturn the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s controversial prepaid account rule. Consumer groups generally favor the rule, but business interests and many Republicans …

• Diebold Nixdorf Inc. claims to be the first ATM manufacturer to support Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 10 operating system. Microsoft will end support of Windows 7, widely used in ATMs, in January 2020. The company also introduced Essence, an ATM user interface that includes a touchscreen, an encrypted touchscreen PIN pad, …

Jamie Walker’s growth mission as the newly anointed chief executive at Elavon Inc., the acquiring arm of U.S. Bancorp, is squarely focused on e-commerce and furthering the company’s partnerships. That isn’t to set aside its other distribution channels, such as independent sales organizations or its direct-sales efforts, Walker tells Digital …

For a company looking to grow via acquisitions, the increasing complexity of the payments business can be an advantage. That’s what Atlanta-based Avangate Inc. is banking on. On Friday, the online processor for digital goods clinched a deal to acquire 18-year-old e-commerce gateway 2Checkout.com Inc., and its appetite is hardly …