Mindbody Inc., a provider of payments services and wellness software to the health and fitness industry, is adding a direct-to-consumer virtual membership program. Dubbed Mindbody Flex, the subscription service offers virtual access to more than 450 independent studios offering virtual fitness and wellness classes. Pricing starts at $39 per month …
Read More »Rellevate To Power Richard Petty Gift Cards and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/22/21
Fintech Rellevate Inc. announced a multiyear licensing and distribution agreement with Richard Petty Motorsports for gift and reward cards depicting NASCAR icon Richard Petty. The cards will be issued by Sutton Bank.CommentSold, a 3-year-old social e-commerce site, said it added 2,000 merchants in 2020 and saw record growth in gross merchandise value …
Read More »Discover Posts Volume Gains for Its Payments Properties But Logs an Overall Revenue Drop
Discover Financial Services reported mixed results Thursday for the fourth quarter of 2020. Despite a 4% decline year-over-year in revenue, which totaled $2.82 billion, Discover’s net income rose 13% to $799 million. Payment Services volume totaled $70.1 billion, up 6% year-over-year, with all four legs that comprise the division—the Discover …
Read More »As Consumers And Businesses Turn to Electronic Channels, ACH Growth Accelerates
For the nation’s automated clearing house network, payments trends already under way before the coronavirus pandemic are still unfolding—only faster. ACH payments initiated on the Web to pay bills and make other transfers totaled 2.1 billion in 2020’s fourth quarter, a 15.2% increase year-over-year, Nacha reported Thursday. Herndon, Va.-based Nacha …
Read More »Restaurant Volume Dips and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/20/21
Transaction volume for hotels and restaurants fell between 40% and 50% in December compared to December 2019, according to numbers released by payments provider Shift4 Payments Inc. Retail and e-commerce businesses, on the other hand, saw a year-over-year increase in volume last month for the first time since the pandemic set in.Xformative …
Read More »How Covid-19 Helps Fuel A Rise in Fraud and Identity Theft
As consumers pivoted in droves to digital channels for purchases and financial services at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic, criminals pounced on the trend to perpetrate more fraud and identity theft, according to data from credit-reporting agency TransUnion LLC. Between March 11 and April 28, 2020, when the first …
Read More »PDI Expands Its Relationship With EG Group to All of EG’s U.S. Convenience Stores
Professional Datasolutions Inc., which provides software, including payments services, to convenience stores and gasoline wholesalers, announced Monday it has reached an agreement with c-store and gas-station operator EG Group to expand the use of its payment technology to about 1,700 EG Group sites across the United States. The agreement builds …
Read More »Despite Covid, Holiday Retail Sales Beat Expectations Handily, the NRF Says
The numbers are in, and it turns out the holiday shopping season was not only better than expected, but also better than the one in 2019, weeks before the coronavirus pandemic struck in the United States. Retail sales in November and December totaled $789.4 billion, up a healthy 8.3% over …
Read More »With a New ACH Rule Looming, Open Banking Takes on Added Urgency
Online account debiting has grown in usage and prominence as consumers and businesses turn to e-commerce in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. But now many businesses are reckoning with a rule that will take effect in March that requires sellers using the automated clearing house to perform more rigorous …
Read More »More Debit Card Use Translates Into More Debit-Based Returns, PSCU Data Finds
The holiday shopping season may be over, but the holiday returns are coming in at full force. Data from PSCU, a credit union service organization, showcases the impact the rise in e-commerce spending is having on returns. Return purchases using debit cards were up 76.2% for the week ending Jan. …
Read More »