Merchant Warehouse Inc. has bought gift and loyalty provider Opticard and has plans to offer its services as part of bundled transaction services to merchants. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Opticard, which will continue to operate independently, sells gift and loyalty card services to small businesses. Merchants can use Opticard programs to …
Read More »Banks Sue Trustwave, Target’s PCI Services Provider Before the Retailer’s Data Breach
Trustwave Holdings Inc., the leading provider of Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI) services to merchants, on Monday became the target of a lawsuit arising from the massive data breach at Target Corp. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago by two banks, claims negligence on the part …
Read More »Smucker’s Hacked E-Commerce Site To Reopen Soon; Sally Beauty Confirms Breach
The J.M. Smucker Co.’s online store is expected to reopen next week, nearly a month after the jam-and-jelly producer closed it after discovering that hackers had broken into its computer system and stolen payment card data and other personal information on up to 23,000 customers. In other data-security news, beauty …
Read More »2Checkout Ditches ‘Archaic, Slow’ System for a Speedier Merchant-Approval Process
Patience is not an online virtue for consumers, and, it appears, for merchants waiting for online approval of their payment-processing account applications. At least that’s the assessment of Tom Dailey, chief executive of 2Checkout, a Columbus, Ohio-based e-commerce payment-services company, which announced this week it has revised its underwriting …
Read More »Chirpify Reports Upbeat Results for Its New Action Tags for TV Commercials And Arenas
Consumers are responding enthusiastically to a new service that lets them buy goods from and otherwise interact with brands via social media in sports stadiums, through TV ads, and other venues, according to results released Monday by Chirpify, the Portland, Ore.-based company that announced the service in September. The service …
Read More »The Feds Give a Cautious OK to Financial Services for Legal Marijuana Sellers
The gradual lowering of barriers that have kept legal marijuana merchants outside of the financial mainstream gained momentum Friday in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced new guidelines that signal federal approval for banks to serve legal marijuana …
Read More »As Key Chip Deadline Looms, Doubts Emerge About Small Merchants’ Readiness
With Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. digging in their heels on a key chip card deadline, payments executives are expressing doubts that all U.S. small businesses will be ready. “The short answer is no,” says Henry Helgeson, chief executive of Merchant Warehouse, a Boston-based merchant processor. “We still have a …
Read More »Square Snags Seven Whole Foods Stores in Another Move Up Market, Updates Square Cash
Consumers shopping at seven Whole Foods Market locations in Austin, Texas, New York City, Florida, and the San Francisco Bay area now can use their Square Wallet apps to pay for merchandise inside the stores. Whole Foods and Square Inc. are installing Square Register-equipped iPads on Square Stands inside these …
Read More »ISOs Hone Their Tablet-based Point-of-Sale Products
Up Solutions, the cloud-based point-of-sale division of United Merchant Services Inc., has set its Up Tab restaurant POS system at zero cost for resellers, the company announced today. Separately, Harbortouch has updated its POS Sales Center iPad app with new functions. Comprising an Android-based tablet, stand, printer, card reader, and …
Read More »As EMV Comes to the U.S. Market, Canada’s NBS Buys Terminal Maker Equinox
Equinox Payments LLC has a new owner. In a bid to strengthen its hand in the market for EMV gear in the United States, NBS Payment Solutions Inc. announced late Thursday it bought the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based payment-terminal maker for an undisclosed amount from the private-equity investment firm Gores Group LLC. …
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