Competitive Strategies

The newest market for payments may one day lie inside a more than 100-year-old machine: the car. Just as payments is evolving to incorporate watches and fitness trackers, so too are futurists looking at how payments might make the move to cars. Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fidelity National Information Services Inc. is …

By Jim Daly A new mobile app from an Atlanta startup that uses remote-capture software provider Mitek Systems Inc.’s imaging technology aims to have workers automatically time the payment of routine bills with their pay days, thereby helping consumers escape the pitfalls of living paycheck to paycheck. “That’s exactly what …

Independent sales organization CoCard Anderson and bill-payment software company Systems East Inc. are targeting insurance, government, and utilities merchants in a new program announced Tuesday. Merchant processing is not as widely adopted in these merchant categories as in retail, making them attractive prospects, CoCard says. In the deal, Systems East, …

Bitcoin had a rough first quarter, leaving open questions about its ability to break into the mainstream of global payments. But that didn’t stop investment cash, which poured into startups supporting the digital currency at a record rate. That’s according to a quarterly report released Friday by Coindesk Research, which …

Up against determined competition from big technology companies, financial institutions have always reassured themselves that they still have an edge in payments when it comes to consumer trust. Now, that edge appears to be eroding fast. On the question of consumer trust, banks and financial institutions are losing ground to …

Debit-rewards programs offered by banks appear to be rebounding a little, with younger consumers more motivated than other age groups to use them. That’s according to a new report from payments-research firm Mercator Advisory Group Inc. Debit rewards programs fell out of favor with banks following passage of the Durbin …

Facing increasing competition from digital money-transfer upstarts, wire-service giant Western Union Co. is making alliances to add value to its traditional money-movement product. This week, it announced a deal with Skype, the video-calling service, which allows Skype users to top up their accounts by handing over cash at Western Union …

  Chicago-based Trustwave Holdings Inc. has a new owner. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. is buying privately-held Trustwave for $810 million, Singtel announced Tuesday. Singtel placed an $850 million value on Trustwave. It will buy 98% of the firm with Trustwave chairman and chief executive Robert J. McCullen retaining 2%. Trustwave, which …

  Card-linked offers appear to be gaining consumer favor, according to results of a survey from the CardLinx Association, a Burlingame, Calif.-based trade group. Over the past 12 months, consumer use of card-linked offers increased 92%, the association said. It surveyed more than 50 companies. Other survey results show 95% …

Microsoft Corp. may bring impressive technical chops as it enters the mobile-payments race, but if ever there were a David up against Goliaths, it’s now the Redmond, Wash.-based computing giant. News broke last week that Microsoft has used a company called Microsoft Payments Inc. to apply for money-transmission licenses with …