Near-Field Communication (NFC)

Cloud-based point-of-sale system provider Toast Inc. has issued updates for its Toast Order & Pay services designed to smooth the ordering and payment aspects. Announced Tuesday, the updates include the ability to gain a pre-authorization against a credit or debit card using the diner’s own device.  Boston-based Toast also made …

CardFlight Inc. has struck a deal with processor Global Payments Inc. that will see CardFlight’s SwipeSimple point-of-sale technology added to Global’s indirect sales channels. Atlanta-based Global says adding SwipeSimple to its wholesale product lineup will give its independent sales partners an omnichannel payment option. SwipeSimple supports contactless payments, EMV dipped, …

Contactless-technology provider Loop Insights Inc. announced it has integrated its service with an application programming interface for billing from point-of-sale technology provider Vend Ltd. The integration enables onboarding of Vend merchants to Loop’s compliance and reporting platform. Processor Lightspeed POS Inc. last month agreed to acquire Vend in a deal valued at $350 million. …

Podium Corp Inc., a communications and payments provider, is adding card readers to enable face-to-face payments as well as remote payments. Announced Monday, the reader accepts EMV, magnetic stripe, and contactless payments. Podium did not say when the readers will be available or disclose their cost. Podium’s primary payment method …

Card-based biometric authentication took a step forward with an announcement early Wednesday that a technology from Fingerprint Cards AB has complied with reference specifications set by Mastercard Inc. The compliance is a first for fingerprint authentication on a card, according to Sweden-based Fingerprints and Fime, an organization that consults on …

The top 50 originating institutions for automated clearing house transactions accounted for 23.1 billion payments in 2020, up 8.6% over 2019 and nearly 93% of all commercial ACH payments, according to Nacha, the governing body for the ACH. The 50 largest receiving institutions controlled 61.2% of volume with 16.4 billion payments, …

The Walgreens pharmacy chain said it will launch a bank-account offering through payments provider InComm Payments that will also feature a MetaBank-issued Mastercard debit card that will allow users to earn rewards through the Walgreens loyalty program. The pharmacy chain will also re-launch its gift card program through InComm.In related news, InComm …

After the pandemic struck a year ago, stores scrambled to install technology to support a wide range of payment options, including tap-and-pay, to reassure skittish consumers. But now a new report indicates those efforts may not have gone as far as many have assumed, particularly in the area of contactless …

The Covid-19 pandemic sent shock waves through nearly every industry—not least the global supply chain. Every piece of the supply chain was impacted, from manufacturing and production to fulfillment. And because supply chains are the backbone of commerce, the implications radiated beyond supply-chain hubs and essential workers to also impact …

With global economies expected to re-open as more consumers receive Covid-19 vaccinations, in-store retail spending will hit $22.8 trillion worldwide in 2022. That’s after in-store sales fell 7% in 2020 as many consumers shifted purchases online. The projection comes from London-based Kaleido Intelligence Ltd.  While the Covid-19 pandemic impacted in-store …