Bits of Gold, said to be one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Israel, has developed an application programming interface that allows merchants to accept cryptocurrency and receive value in the form of U.S. dollars or Israeli shekels. Cybersecurity news outlet The Hacker News said PayPal Holdings Inc. banned without explanation …
Read More »Epazz Spins Off ZenaPay and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/28/18
Chicago-based software developer Epazz Inc. spun off payments subsidiary ZenaPay Inc. as a Canadian corporation that will pursue business in the cannabis market. Citing a study by a British research firm, biometric card manufacturer SmartMetric Inc. says nearly 579 million biometric credit and debit cards will be in use globally …
Read More »Net Element Adds Cash Flow From Portfolio Acquisitions and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/27/18
A subsidiary of Visa Inc. is offering to buy Earthport PLC, a London-based provider of cross-border payments for banks and businesses, for approximately $250 million in cash. The offer represents a 250% premium to Earthport’s six-month average share price ended Dec. 24 and has the endorsement of Earthport’s board of …
Read More »Thanksgiving Through Christmas Sales Increase 5.1% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/26/18
Sales from Thanksgiving through Christmas on all forms of payment increased 5.1% compared to the same period last year to more than $850 billion, according to Mastercard Spending Pulse, which says this is the most robust growth seen in six years. Online sales gained 19.1%. Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp messaging platform …
Read More »USAT Lands Contactless Vending Contract and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/21/18
Pepsi-Cola of the Hudson Valley reached an agreement with USA Technologies Inc. to install contactless-payment capability on 300 vending machines and to upgrade payment devices on another 1,000 machines already linked to USAT’s ePort Connect Service. Merchant processor Square Inc. agreed to lease an entire 356,000-square-foot building in Oakland, Calif., where …
Read More »Venmo for Crypto? A Startup’s New Wallet Lets Users Send And Receive Bitcoin Via Text Messages
Bitcoin has had a bad year, but that isn’t stopping enthusiasts from launching new methods for consumers to buy, sell, and spend the digital currency. The latest introduction is a mobile wallet that allows users to send Bitcoin to contacts on their phone, and receive the currency from others, through …
Read More »Extend Joins Visa Ready Program and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/18/18
Atom Tickets released a skill for Amazon Alexa, the retailer’s voice-assistant technology. Users can learn what movies are playing nearby and buy tickets using voice commands. The skill is integrated with Amazon Pay. Extend, a digital distribution platform for credit cards, registered with the Visa Ready program for business solutions, …
Read More »Hold on to Your Hat, Demand for Blockchain Experts Is Taking off Fast
Despite the vicissitudes of cryptocurrency, demand for blockchain developers is apparently exploding. The increase in job listings seeking those with experience in the distributed-ledger technology topped the growth rankings in LinkedIn’s 2018 “Emerging Jobs Report,” with 33 times more listings than last year, according to a Dec. 13 post from …
Read More »Congressional Report Says Equifax Breach Was Preventable and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/11/18
Cloud-based point-of-sale system maker ShopKeep said it closed a $65 million funding round, led by Tribeca Venture Partners, that it will use for expansion and growth purposes. New investors include First Data Corp. and Salesforce Ventures. A staff report released by Republicans on the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform …
Read More »Suitor Submits Another Mitek Bid and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 12/10/18
In an escalation of its bidding war for remote deposit capture software provider Mitek Systems Inc., business-software firm ASG Technologies, a portfolio company of the hedge fund Elliott Management Corp., upped its unsolicited buyout offer from $10 per Mitek share to $11.50 in cash. ASG also said there are no …
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