Competitive Strategies

As real-time payments cements itself as a payments fixture, bank processors are enthusiastically signing new clients to provide the speedy payment service. Financial-institution processor Jack Henry & Associates Inc., in particular, has been enrolling merchants at a rapid pace in The Clearing House Payment Co. LLC’s Real Time Payments network. …

An ambitious payments startup clinched a big funding round on Tuesday and said its sights are now set on the U.S. market as well as other countries. London-based Payhawk Ltd. secured $112 million in a Series B round led by San Francisco-based Greenoaks, valuing the 3-year-old company at $570 million. …

Consumer concerns about slow deliveries and worldwide inventory issues means some 45% of holiday-season spending this year will go to gift cards, according to survey results from consumers in 10 countries gathered by Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. That represents a 27% increase in gift card spending from last year’s holidays, Blackhawk says. …

E-commerce merchants can expect another strong holiday-shopping season this year as online transactions are projected to outpace those in the same period last year, according to ACI Worldwide Inc. In the United States, the biggest surge in volume is expected between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, with e-commerce sales projected to …

It’s well-known by now that e-commerce activity is on a sharp upswing, but the underside of that trend is that fraud is rising fast, as well. Phishing attacks, for example, hit a record high in July, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, which on Monday released its report for the …

Parking-payments app provider ParkMobile LLC announced it has added more than 100 new markets, including cities and universities, through its integration with Google Maps and Google Pay. The two companies announced the integration a year ago.KeyBank National Association said it has acquired XUP Payments, a digital payments platform focused on business-to-business transactions. Terms …

As part of its efforts to expand real-time payments globally, financial-service technology provider Nium Pte. Ltd., has partnered with Roxe, a global payment network that uses blockchain technology to settle transactions. The partnership will allow Roxe to leverage the reach of Nium’s network to initiate cross-border payouts, including those from …

A survey from bill-payment provider doxo Inc. indicates U.S. households spend $380 billion annually on utility bills, with utility costs across the doxo platform up 4% in October compared to the same month last year.Mobile parking-payments app provider PayByPhone Technologies Inc. launched PayByPhone Business, an app for fleet-parking management.Robert Blair is joining payments platform Fintainium as president. …

Shift4 Payments Inc. denied what it called “media reports” that it is pursuing an acquisition of EVO Payments Inc. Shift4 is “focused on supporting … new growth verticals” instead, the company said.Microsoft Corp. is testing buy now, pay later capability in its Edge browser. In conjunction with Zip Co. Ltd., the BNPL service is at the …

With consumers flocking to e-commerce sites, elements such as photos, logos, and artwork are taking on greater importance in helping to generate clicks and transactions. Recognizing that online retailers posting product pictures sell more than those that don’t, Square Inc. late Wednesday introduced Square Photo Studio, an app that enables …