Competitive Strategies

Lately, the cryptocurrency craze has raised any number of questions, but probably the most pressing one for the payments business is whether any of these hundreds of tokens can ever succeed as an actual payment device. But while fluctuating trading values plague all of the digital currencies, one stands out …

While mobile-payments growth has fallen short of expectations in the United States, worldwide mobile volume will grow at an average annual rate of 33.8% through 2023, reaching $4.57 trillion by that year, according to projections by Allied Market Research. Market drivers include consumer preference for digital and cashless payments, the firm …

NXT-ID Inc., a provider of authentication and contactless-payment technology, reported on Monday that its revenue tripled last year compared to 2016 while its adjusted earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes, and amortization swung positive. The Melbourne, Fla.-based company is best-known in the payments market for its Fit Pay Inc. unit, which …

Advent International, a private-equity firm with considerable experience in the payments space, announced Friday that it had acquired a majority stake in the big independent sales organization and payment processor Clearent LLC and merged it with FieldEdge, an independent software vendor serving home-services contractors. Advent had also bought FieldEdge. Financial …

The Request Network, a decentralized payment network built on the Ethereum digital currency, says it is now live on the main network used by Ethereum. This development enables requesting and sending cryptocurrency payments for goods, services, or as peer-to-peer payments, Request Network says. These initial digital-currency payments are available only …

Processor Payment Data Systems Inc., which acquired the independent sales organization Singular Payments LLC in September, reported revenues of $5.62 million in 2017’s fourth quarter, up 94% from $2.89 million a year earlier. Revenues for all of 2017 totaled $14.6 million, up 21%. Full-year credit card transaction and dollar volume …

As financial institutions move beyond mag-stripe payment cards, they face a crucial question: should we support mobile wallets, and if we do, should we also issue contactless cards? In the eyes of at least one observer, the answer is an unequivocal “yes” and “yes,” even though the former would seem …

The Federal Reserve announced Thursday that work began this month on a new study to measure fraud and associated costs to the U.S. payments system as well as identify fraud’s causes and contributing factors. After a competitive bidding process, the central bank hired Boston-based The Boston Consulting Group to do …

JetPay Corp. reported a 15% year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter 2017 revenues to $19.9 million. The payment and payroll processor posted a net loss of $3.9 million, including $2.87 million in accretion of convertible preferred stock. Shift4 Payments said more of its payments services are available to users of ResortSuite, a …

Glance Pay, a mobile-payment service that had only been available in Canada, is now available for U.S. consumers and merchants, Glance Technologies Inc. announced Wednesday. Vancouver, British Columbia-based Glance says Glance Pay is accepted at 14 merchant locations, ranging from restaurants and food trucks to salons and service providers, across …