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. …
January, 2021
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14 January
Vanco Acquires SmartcareOS and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/14/21
Vanco Payment Solutions Inc., a payments provider specializing in the educational and faith-based sectors, said it acquired SmartcareOS LLC, a software provider for child-care centers. Terms were not announced.Entrust Corp., a provider of technology for identity, payments, and data protection, announced it acquired HyTrust Inc., a vendor of data-encryption, key …
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13 January
CardFlight Enters the Register-Replacement Arena With a Trio of Devices for Multiple Markets
CardFlight Inc., a provider of payment hardware and software-as-a-service payment applications, announced Wednesday a major product line expansion into the burgeoning market for countertop point-of-sale devices that can function as cash-register replacements. The new line of terminals, on which merchants can run CardFlight’s SwipeSimple software, includes a trio of models …
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13 January
COMMENTARY: PCI And EMVCo Have No Business Setting Standards
Standards are the prerogative of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for most industries around the world. According to ISO, “ISO standards are internationally agreed by experts” and “should be thought of as a formula that describes the best way of doing something.” Unfortunately, the roles of ISO and its …
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13 January
Visa Ends Plaid Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/13/21
Visa Inc. has dropped its year-old, $5.3-billion bid for the data network Plaid Inc. in the wake of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DoJ feared Visa could use Plaid’s links to financial institutions to stifle competition in the debit market, a contention Visa denied.The big drugstore chain Walgreen …
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12 January
Walmart’s Fintech Startup Is Expected to Pack A Potent, Low-Cost Punch
Unlike many fintech startups, Walmart’s Inc.’s new financial company is expected to be a formidable player right out of the gate. The retail giant unveiled plans late Monday to partner with Ribbit Capital to create a fintech that will provide what Walmart describes as “modern, innovative, and affordable financial solutions.” …
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12 January
Eye on Restaurants: Torchy’s Tacos Taps CardFree, And GoTab Debuts a Contactless Ordering Kit
Mobile point-of-sale specialist CardFree Inc. announced Torchy’s Tacos, with 83 locations across seven states, has adopted its contactless ordering and services technology. Also, restaurant commerce provider GoTab Inc. debuted a contactless ordering starter kit for hospitality operators. San Francisco-based CardFree says the Austin, Texas-based Torchy’s Tacos started with online ordering and …
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12 January
Another Bank Joins TCH Real Time Payments and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 1/12/21
Wells River Bank has agreed to join the Real Time Payments network operated by The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC. The bank will connect to the network through the Shazam EFT network’s Shazam Pay faster-payments gateway.Payments provider Lightspeed POS Inc. launched its Lightspeed Supplier Network, a platform aimed at North American merchants to …
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11 January
Mastercard And Partners Will Test Common Android Phones And Tablets As Contactless POS Devices
Mastercard Inc. will test contactless payment acceptance using common Android smart phones and tablets in the United States. The technology, relying on software developed by Mastercard Labs, enables these off-the-shelf devices to accept contactless payments with no special hardware. Announced Monday, the service, called Tap on Phone, intends to capitalize …
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11 January
How Its Deal for Kount Lets Equifax Reinforce Its Capabilities Against Online Fraud
With consumers and businesses flocking to online commerce, companies of all sizes are reinforcing their technology for accepting transactions and rating them for risk. The latest example is the giant credit-reporting company Equifax Inc., which on Friday said it is paying $640 million to buy Kount Inc., a 14-year-old Boise, …