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MasterCard Inc. said Monday it is taking a two-pronged approach to developing interactive payment cards with an investment in Dynamics Inc., a maker of interactive payment cards, and a deal to commercialize the devices. Pittsburgh-based Dynamics makes payment cards that have features such as buttons, display and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Consumers can …
Read More »Parking Garage Operator Says Card Readers at 17 Locations Were Hacked
Parking-garage operator SP Plus Corp. says card readers at 17 garages it operates were hacked this fall, with one breach extending back to April. Chicago-based SP Plus says the company that provides and maintains the payment card systems in the 17 garages—10 are in Chicago, three in Evanston, Ill., …
Read More »Cyber Monday Online Sales up Nearly 9% As Apple Continues to Outpace Android
Well into the annual Cyber Monday shopping frenzy, online sales are up nearly 9% compared to last year, while mobile devices are driving more traffic and sales, continuing a trend established on Thanksgiving and on Black Friday. That’s according to IBM Corp.’s Digital Analytics service, which is reporting periodically on …
Read More »Gift Cards Top Holiday Wish Lists, With Total Spending Estimated at $31.74 Billion
Consumers want gift cards this holiday season, but are reluctant to ask for them, finds a survey from CashStar Inc., a Portland, Maine-based company that specializes in e-coupons and digital gift cards. Meanwhile the National Retail Federation forecasts that consumers will spend $31.74 billion on gift cards this holiday …
Read More »Intuit Adds Cloud POS to QuickBooks Online In a Tie-Up With Revel Systems
With its clients going increasingly mobile, Intuit Inc. knew it needed a point-of-sale payments solution for its cloud-based QuickBooks Online accounting product. This week, it announced it had found one, and unlike most payments products it has introduced in the past, this one wasn’t homegrown. Intuit recruited Revel Systems Inc., …
Read More »Canadians Eschew Mobile Payments, For Now: Survey
Mobile payments in Canada only garner 2% of all consumer purchases, finds a study from research firm GfK. But that does not signal the low adoption rate will continue. Only 21% of Canadian shoppers, defined as those who have shopped in one of 15 product categories in the past …
Read More »Survey Pinpoints Arizona City As Top Chargeback Location As ‘Friendly Fraud’ Continues to Plague Online Retailers
Want to know where the chargebacks are coming from? Chargebacks911 has ranked the top five U.S. cities in terms of chargeback rates, placing a ZIP code in Show Low, Ariz., with a 2.2% rate, at the top. The study of 500,000 chargebacks of e-commerce transactions made in 2013 indicates …
Read More »Mailings Promoting EMV Cards Pick Up As Issuers Prepare For Liability Shift
The message about the coming shift to chip card payments using the Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) standard is getting out there, says Competiscan, a direct marketing firm. The Chicago-based firm says its analysis finds that mentions of EMV in direct mail pieces from card issuers increased from less than 3% of …
Read More »AmEx In NBA Test and Other News for Nov. 12
• American Express Co. is testing a mobile-payment service built on its Serve platform with the NBA's Brooklyn Nets and their home arena, the Barclays Center. The Brooklyn eWallet is part of the Nets' mobile app for iOS and Android smart phones; fans can store up to 10 payment cards in …
Read More »With 65,000 Tabletop Tablets Deployed Overall, Ziosk Begins Placing Its Devices at Smokey Bones
Tablet-based point-of-sale technology is moving apace in restaurants. Ziosk LLC, which installs tabletop tablets in eateries, announced this week Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill will install its system in all 65 of its U.S. locations. The rollout is expected to wind up by the end of February. Dallas-based Ziosk, which …
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