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With merchant acquirers on the lookout for new ways to manage and motivate sales agents in a difficult economy, processor United Bank Card has launched a program for independent sales organizations that furnishes qualified merchant leads and also sets up appointments with those merchants. The new program specifically supports an …
Read More »Apriva Launches a Pair of Merchant Apps for Smart Phones
The choices available for merchants eyeing mobile commerce expanded this week when wireless-payment technology provider Apriva Inc. unveiled two applications that turn smart phones into mobile-payment terminals. Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Apriva is differentiating itself in the booming m-commerce marketplace by claiming space as a full-service software and services provider for merchants …
Read More »Amazon’s PayPhrase Cuts Cart Abandonment for eFashionSolutions
It's too early to make a final judgment, but a Web-site design and hosting company serving 25 online fashion retailers says acceptance of Amazon.com Inc.'s new PayPhrase is doing one of the key things online retailers want a payment service to do?reduce shopping-cart abandonment. Secaucus, N.J.-based eFashionSolutions LLC is one …
Read More »Star Ushers in New Rates, with Interchange Spiffs for Some Issuers
Star, one of the nation's largest electronic funds transfer networks, on March 1 will implement changes in its interchange pricing for point-of-sale transactions that in some cases will include dramatic increases and an elimination of fee maximums. The network is also introducing on April 1 a new fee category that …
Read More »Best Buy Cuts off Visa Contactless with Little Risk to Sales
The struggling U.S. contactless card market took another blow late last year when leading consumer-electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. stopped accepting the Visa payWave contactless card, reportedly because it objected to paying Visa Inc.'s signature-debit interchange rates. Best Buy's action probably cost the retailer nothing in lost sales but …
Read More »Heartland Settles with Visa, Agrees to Pay Nearly $60 Million for Losses
Merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. cleared away probably the single biggest remaining matter from the huge data breach it disclosed a year ago by announcing a $60 million settlement with Visa Inc. on Friday. The settlement will cover losses Visa credit and debit card issuers incurred in the wake …
Read More »Discover Continues Its Zip Trial But Stays Mum About Any Rollout
A Discover Financial Services employee test of contactless payment stickers for mobile devices that started in April 2009 will continue, according to a Discover executive. But Discover is being coy about if and when it or its card-issuing partners will roll out Discover's Zip contactless brand on a wide scale. …
Read More »VeriFone Battles Heartland Publicly While the Two Talk in Private
Payment card terminal maker VeriFone Holdings Inc. on Monday issued a press release trumpeting its victory in a courtroom skirmish with merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. What VeriFone didn't mention, however, was that it is in settlement talks with Heartland that could end their multifront legal war. That war, …
Read More »Will Consumers’ Shift Away from Credit Cards Outlast the Recession?
Consumers have cut back their usage of credit cards in the past year, often on their own volition but also because suddenly risk-averse credit card issuers have closed millions of credit card accounts or reduced credit lines in their attempts to strengthen recession-racked balance sheets. Now the emerging question is …
Read More »VeriFone Sees Promise in Mobile Apps And Taxi Transactions
VeriFone Holdings Inc. swung to a welcome $3.69 million profit in its fourth fiscal 2009 quarter and sees evidence of recovery in its global markets, but the leading U.S. point-of-sale terminal provider isn't expecting a rebound in its North American business for a while. “It's still kind of a shaky …
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