Competitive Strategies

  American Express Co. cardholders for the first time can use their rewards points at the point of sale when they pay for rides in New York City taxis that use VeriFone Systems Inc. taxi point-of-sale services, AmEx said Monday. Cardholders can use their points in more than 7,000 New …

  Ideally, merchants that use payment card acceptance services would know which merchant acquirers they work with. But in a recent report from research firm Aite Group LLC, the most common response when merchants were asked to name their acquirers was “Don’t know.” Of the 491 U.S. merchants surveyed for …

By Jim Daly In a move that apparently signals its intention to become a more diversified financial-services provider, Square Inc. on Tuesday introduced a person-to-person payments service called Square Cash. The service, which works through email or mobile apps, has no fees for either the sender or recipient and only …

  Recurring revenue from transaction-processing fees has been a staple of independent sales organizations and acquirers for decades. But amid a host of new competitors, the payment-processing industry finds itself wondering what its next steps may be. ISOs are squeezed on one side by large players, like First Data Corp. …

Taking a cue from its Bluebird prepaid card for customers of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., American Express Co. today relaunched its Serve prepaid card with new features, more reload locations, and new retailer partners along with no reload fees at 14,000 7-Eleven and CVS/pharmacy locations, and a $1 monthly fee that …

The deployment, which is expected to start later this year, is being characterized by both companies as a national rollout rather than a pilot. Paydiant’s Chris Gardner, a co-founder of the Wellesley, Mass.-based company, refers deployment questions to Subway, which refuses to comment beyond the companies’ joint press release. The …

The average ATM surcharge rose 4% over the last year, but the average foreign fee fell 2.5%, according to new data from research firm Bankrate Inc. Findings from Bankrate’s latest annual survey of checking-account fees, including ATM and overdraft charges, shows overall price increases have slowed, a possible indication that …

At first glance, it looks like a lopsided collaboration between competitors, but the agreement by which mobile point-of-sale upstart Square Inc. will integrate Intuit Inc.’s popular QuickBooks accounting software may end up benefiting both parties equally, some observers say. Under the deal, announced on Tuesday, users of the Square Register …

VeriFone Systems Inc. on Monday named Citigroup executive Paul Galant as its chief executive, ending a six-month quest for a permanent top executive. Galant replaces interim chief executive Richard McGinn, who assumed that role in March when long-time chief executive Douglas G. Bergeron left the San Jose, Calif.-based point-of-sale terminal …

By Jim Daly In its second major Google Wallet announcement of the week, search-engine giant Google Inc. today said it is bringing the digital wallet for the first time to Apple Inc.’s iPhone, a move that opens the wallet to tens of millions of potential new users. And like Tuesday’s …