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Agents with independent sales organizations or even large merchant processors trying to sell prospective merchants on new point-of-sale technology can get the attention of decision makers, but only if they anticipate how a smart merchant will make a complex buying decision, a senior executive with the nation's largest restaurant chain …
Read More »A Slumping Economy Hits AmEx’s Merchant-Acquiring Machine
With the economy losing steam, American Express Co.'s lucrative merchant business is slowing down. U.S. card-billed business grew only 4% to $120.3 billion in the third quarter from $115.2 billion a year earlier, and many of the other numbers related to AmEx's U.S. merchant-acquiring business showed little growth. AmEx's core …
Read More »Time Is Short, But Revolution Money Sticks to Million-Merchant Goal
Revolution Money Inc., the upstart that bills itself as merchants' low-cost alternative to the established card brands, this week announced that Murphy Oil USA Inc. is now accepting its RevolutionCard. It's a notable win for Revolution Money as Murphy has nearly 1,000 gas stations in 20 states, most located in …
Read More »More Big Merchants Comply, But PCI Likely Still Foreign to Small Fry
New data from Visa Inc. show more of the largest merchants now meet the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI. But the level of validated PCI compliance among small merchants?the overwhelming majority of businesses that accept credit and debit cards?likely remains much lower. Visa's latest figures show 81% of …
Read More »Bill Me Later Extends eBay’s Payments Reach to Top Web Retailers
In praising online credit payment system Bill Me Later Inc. Monday morning, PayPal Inc. President Scott Thompson called Bill Me Later a “disruptive business” in the positive sense, and he credited PayPal for also being a disruptive payments player. And disruption of the status quo is quite possible with today's …
Read More »Reputation, Products, Free Terminals Rank High in ISO Selection
Not all merchants choose independent sales organizations and acquirers the same way, and when they do, they do so for widely disparate reasons, says a research report released this week by Aite Group LLC, Boston. Yet “ISOs and acquirers are not differentiating among merchants” with respect to direct marketing and …
Read More »ISOs Are Bullish About Pay-at-Table Market Despite Sour Economy
Although observers report the economic downturn has soured many restaurants on so-called pay-at-table technology for the time being, some independent sales organizations see opportunity in the market and are moving ahead with plans to exploit it. Alpine Payment Systems, an ISO in Vancouver, Wash., that processes payments for about 100 …
Read More »Moneris Fills a Gap With Its Pending Humboldt Acquisition
Merchant acquirer Moneris Solutions Inc. reported on Thursday that it has an agreement with the federal government to buy the assets of Humboldt Merchant Services, a Eureka, Calif.-based acquirer with nearly $2.5 billion in annualized charge volume, 18,000 merchants concentrated in California and other western states, and a strong network …
Read More »BOC Will Remain a Minor League E-Check, Expert Says
In the 18 months since NACHA introduced an electronic payment method that lets merchants convert bundles of checks in a central location, it's become clear that the method?known as back-office conversion (BOC)?isn't likely to have a big impact on retailers' paper-check volumes. That's according to Bob Meara, a senior analyst …
Read More »Canadian Business Group Warns of Higher POS Debit Pricing
A big change may be in the offing for Canada's point-of-sale debit market that could bring American-style percentage-based interchange to a system whose pricing currently is based on flat fees. The change could possibly even bring Visa and MasterCard debit cards to the country for the first time. The result, …
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