Competitive Strategies

With each week that passes, the so-called unified buy button concept introduced by the major card networks last month takes on more definition, but despite all the discussion, the idea of an online checkout shared by multiple payment networks remains too vague—and too futuristic—to suit some expert observers. “I keep …

The struggling merchant processor Spindle Inc. canceled its planned acquisition of independent sales organization and gateway provider VyaPay, but reported Wednesday that it plans to form a so-called strategic alliance with VyaPay, and VyaPay’s chief executive will provide day-to-day management of Spindle. Mesa, Ariz.-based Spindle, whose shares trade over the …

The movie-ticketing app Atom Tickets has struck a deal with Landmark Theatres, said to be the country’s largest exhibitor of independent films, to add the company’s 53 theaters and 255 screens in 27 markets across the country. The deal will boost Atom Tickets’ coverage that includes more than 20,000 screens …

Payroll giant ADP LLC launched its Wisely Pay service Monday, which combines digital accounts and a Visa-branded chip card as ways to pay individuals and for them to access these funds. Wisely Pay is the first product resulting from Roseland, N.J.-based ADP’s October 2017 acquisition of Global Cash Card, a …

Financial institutions have been pushing real-time payments because they are supposed to be not only faster but also more cost-efficient. But now results of a global survey released Monday indicate merchants not only expect faster payments to be less expensive to accept, but also to displace the payment cards banks …

Fraud-mitigation specialist Verifi released its “The Chargeback Triangle” report, completed by Javelin Strategy & Research, that found consumer disputes and chargebacks created $31 billion in financial losses in 2017, with merchants taking on almost $19 billion and issuing banks $12 billion. It also found that for every dollar in a …

Apple Inc.’s move to create a new Apple Pay credit card with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. may or may not help boost usage of the mobile-payments service, but one thing it is likely to do is cement Apple’s ties with the thousands of banks that support the service, observers say. …

Blockchain provider Ripple Labs Inc. reported results on a number of pilots it is running for its XRapid cross-border payments network. Participants in the pilots have realized cost savings ranging from 40% to 70% compared to conventional fees. The average XRapid transaction took a little over two minutes, compared to two to …

Ever since banks, merchants, and tech companies first introduced mobile services, they’ve looked for ways to entice more usage by streamlining the way consumers interact with little screens. Now Wells Fargo & Co. has decided to put frequently used payments services on the home screen of its mobile app, before …

Worldpay Inc. reported Thursday that the integration of its predecessor companies, U.S.-based Vantiv Inc. and United Kingdom-based Worldpay Group plc, continued apace in the first quarter, and that revenues on a combined basis grew 12% year-over-year. The 115,000 merchants served by pre-merger Worldpay’s Atlanta-based U.S. operation are moving to Vantiv’s …