As the effects of the economic stimulus pumped into the economy by the federal government during the pandemic wear off, consumers are having a harder time paying their recurring debts on time. A study released Monday by Achieve, a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of debt-management programs for consumers, reveals that …
Read More »Eye on Restaurants: Digital POS Hasn’t Changed Tipping Much, Survey Says; Shift4 Acquires Revel
More Americans are being asked to tip, but it doesn’t seem to have much positive impact for some workers, especially those employed by restaurants. Only 29% of these workers say their tips have increased in the past year, according to the “Beyond Gratuity: Perspective of Restaurant Staff Tipping Practices” report …
Read More »Just 38 Developers Take Apple’s Offer and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 5/13/24
Just 38 app developers have so far applied to Apple Inc. to enable payment processors outside of Apple’s proprietary payment system, the iPhone maker said. That’s out of 65,000 developers that were eligible to apply, according to Bloomberg. The report follows legal action that required Apple to make the alternatives available for apps. Ohio-based …
Read More »EarnUp Launches a Text to Pay Option for Mortgage Lenders
Text-to-pay technology received a boost late Thursday as San Francisco-based fintech EarnUp Inc. launched a text-to-pay app for mortgage lenders. The white-label app allows lenders to send text reminders of upcoming mortgage payments with an embedded link to make payments using a debit card. Consumers can initiate payment using Apple …
Read More »Growth in Payments Helps Boost Middle-Market Processors, Too
Payments processors haven’t had it easy in recent years, what with a pandemic-led shift to e-commerce on the part of brick-and-mortar merchants, a deluge of new and more complicated point-of-sale technologies, and growth by industry giants like Fiserv Inc. and Global Payments Inc. But many of the midsize players grew, …
Read More »Mastercard Begins Domestic China Processing and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 5/10/24
Mastercard Inc. has started processing card payments domestically in China, working with its partner NetsUnion Clearing Corp. (NUCC), China’s nationwide processing platform. Gift card and loyalty provider Factor4 completed an integration with commerce services provider Shopify Inc. that enables Shopify customers to sell and accept physical and digital gift cards in store and …
Read More »Shift4 Addresses Sale Rumors, Lays Out Strategic Plan During Q1 Earnings Call
After months of speculation that Shift Payments Inc. was an acquisition target, company founder and chief executive and founder Jared Isaacman confirmed Thursday the company had indeed received multiple offers. The acknowledgment came at the outset of Shift4’s first quarter earnings call early Thursday. Despite the offers being “materially higher” …
Read More »Behind Open Banking’s Growing Appeal to Consumers, Merchants—And Card Networks
Open banking has been attracting the attention of bankers, merchants, and card networks. It’s also drawing notice from regulators. The concept of making a payment through a direct transfer from a bank account can appeal to consumers because it’s fast and easy, and to merchants because the transaction is reportedly …
Read More »The Clearing House Gets Set to Broaden the Reach for Its Request for Payment Service
The U.S. payments industry has celebrated the emergence in recent years of two major platforms for real-time payments, but what has insiders particularly excited is the potential for something called the request for payment, or the RFP, as they style it. “The RFP is the first real shift in how …
Read More »Eyeing a Competitive Restaurant Market, Square Launches a Kiosk
Square, the acquiring arm of Block Inc., is the latest to launch a dedicated kiosk for quick-service restaurants. Announced Tuesday, Square Kiosk combines hardware and software to enable self-ordering and payment. Available later this summer for all Square for Restaurants merchants, Square Kiosk accepts multiple payment methods including contactless and …
Read More »