Competitive Strategies

The merger of payment processors Vantiv Inc. and London-based Worldpay Group plc was completed Jan. 16, and up next for leaders of the combined company is integration of operational platforms, selling products to a wider customer base, and achieving their goal of $200 million in cost savings in three years. …

ZipfWorks Inc., owner of online coupon code site Dealspotr.com, released the results of a mobile-payments survey that found that 15% of consumers between 18 and 35 years old used Apple Pay while shopping online. Ten percent of this age group used Apple Pay in a store. It also found that …

Many merchants—98%—are looking to make investments in their checkout systems this year, finds the Merchant Credit Survey from Vyze Inc., a consumer financing provider. Investing in financing programs ranked high, with 97% saying they anticipate focusing on financing and credit options. Most merchants—92%—plan to make mobile app and mobile Web …

No other bidders emerged during a so-called go-shop period that expired earlier this month, so Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. reported Tuesday that its planned $3.5 billion buyout by two investment firms remains on track to close at mid-year. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based provider of gift cards and other prepaid card services …

Liberal members of the U.S. Supreme Court sharply questioned American Express Co.’s lawyer during oral arguments Monday for a major case involving a challenge to AmEx’s anti-steering rules for its merchants, Reuters reported. A group of 11 states led by Ohio alleges the rules violate antitrust laws and is challenging …

Discover Financial Services cardholders will be able to make point-of-sale contactless purchases with wearables and Internet of Things devices that use FitPay Inc.’s FitPay Payment Platform under an agreement announced Monday by the two companies. The new service will provision payment credentials using the Discover Digital Exchange, Riverwoods, Ill.-based Discover’s …

Point-of-sale equipment maker Ingenico Group said it has begun integrating Google Pay Smart Tap into its POS terminals in the United Kingdom, enabling Google Pay users to transmit their loyalty information, coupons, and offer redemptions in a single tap along with the payment. Ingenico said this is the first step …

As Apple Pay’s global user base climbs to an estimated 127 million individuals, a mystery about why even more consumers don’t use Apple Inc.’s mobile-payment service confounds one researcher. Loup Ventures, a Minneapolis-based venture-capital firm, on Thursday released its annual Apple Pay review. Among its findings is that the estimated …

Some 27% of executives with responsibility for their organization’s mobile devices said their firm had experienced a security incident in the past year involving the loss of data or system downtime in which mobile devices played a key role, according to new findings from Verizon Communications Inc. In addition, 32% …

Some 2.7 million merchant locations, or 59% of U.S. storefronts, were accepting EMV chip cards as of December, according to the latest update from Visa Inc., issued Friday. That’s up from 392,000 locations in September 2015, just before the major card networks began enforcing a mandate for chip card acceptance. …