Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Creating lifetime, brand-loyal customers who return to your online store with what we call “surprise and delight” is not as easy as it once was. The fact is, shoppers are not created equal. Some online shoppers are deal seekers. Hopping from site to site, these shoppers are easily lured away …
Read More »Beanstream’s U.S. Venture Targets ISVs As It Taps Parent Bambora’s Processing Reach
Canadian payment processor Beanstream says its U.S. foray is hoping to tap into its parent company’s international reach as Beanstream USA targets software developers and integrators. Beanstream’s U.S. effort—announced earlier this month—is meant to get a piece of the independent software vendor and value-added reseller market that so many payments …
Read More »Rewards Cards: Rewarding for Issuers, but What About Merchants?
Rewards and loyalty cards are now common in the U.S. payments landscape, but new research findings show just how popular such cards have become. A study by Phoenix Marketing International says 93% of all credit card spending is now done on rewards cards, up from 88% in 2013. A separate …
Read More »Despite Its Recent Troubles, Ignoring Square Is a Risky Move for Rivals, Experts Argue
Do competing acquirers run a significant risk if they ignore the way Square Inc. operates? Some experts are now saying they do, though you wouldn’t think so in the light of recent events. When 6-year-old Square went public in November, the result was bloody. On the first day of trading, …
Read More »Coinstar and Redbox Parent Firm Outerwall Looking at Strategic Alternatives
Its original Coinstar coin-counting business long overshadowed by its once-booming but now fading Redbox DVD and video-game rental business, Outerwall Inc. on Monday announced that it had hired investment banker Morgan Stanley & Co. “to explore strategic and financial alternatives” for Outerwall shareholders. The company simultaneously announced that would double …
Read More »With Its Payroll Service, Square Seeks Cross-Sell Avenues to New, Larger Merchants
Square Inc. introduced its payroll service for small businesses last June in California, and in the eight months since then Square Payroll has proven to be popular enough that the company added two more states in November and on Wednesday said it is expanding into five more. But while Square …
Read More »Universal Card Coin Faces a Lawsuit Over Alleged Misrepresentations
The prospect of ubiquitous merchant acceptance and the ability to carry just one card in lieu of several was too much of a promise, alleges a lawsuit filed last week against Coin Inc., a startup offering a universal card service. Filed on behalf of two consumers who each purchased a …
Read More »Eye on Branding: Vantiv Renames Mercury and Element; PayPal Debuts ‘New Money’ Campaign
Vantiv Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are, separately, creating new looks for their brands. Vantiv, which bought integrated-payments specialist Mercury Payment Systems LLC in 2014 for $1.65 billion, is renaming Mercury and Element Payment Services, an integrated-payments provider it purchased in 2013, as a single unit called Vantiv Integrated Payments. This …
Read More »Euronet’s HiFX Marks U.S., Canada International Funds Transfer Debut
Corporations and wealthy consumers have a new option when they need to move funds internationally. HiFX, a unit of Euronet Worldwide Inc., has begun offering its services to U.S. and Canadian clients. Acquired by Leawood, Kan.-based Euronet in 2014, U.K.-based HiFX enables users to transfer funds internationally in 28 currencies, …
Read More »Starbucks Gets a Jolt From Its Fast-Growing Mobile Offerings
Starbucks Corp. keeps adding digital caffeine to its mobile-payments and loyalty offerings built around a prepaid card. The Seattle-based coffee king on Thursday reported that 21% of its U.S. transactions were paid on the Starbucks mobile app in the quarter ended Dec. 27, up from 20% in the previous quarter …
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