News

March, 2020

• 26 March

  One-Click Checkout Startup Fast Gets $20 Million from Investors, Including Stripe

  

  A San Francisco-based startup that claims to have a better mousetrap for e-commerce checkouts has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by a prominent online merchant acquirer, Stripe Inc. Fast AF Inc. said it will use the funding to accelerate the global rollout of its upcoming …
• 26 March

  Shift4 Data Quantifies a Heavy Coronavirus Impact on Restaurants And Hotels

  

  Sobering data from Shift4 Payments LLC shows that U.S. hospitality-industry transaction volume plummeted in mid-March as consumers sheltered in place and travel, both business and personal, waned. Restaurant volume fell from 42 million transactions to 11 million, a 74% decrease for the period from the week of February 2 to …
• 26 March

  Lightspeed’s 3-Month Fee Pause and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/26/20

  

  Lightspeed POS Inc. said it is offering its Delivery, eCommerce, and Loyalty services free for the next three months because of the Covid-19 impact on merchants.Online fraud-prevention provider Signifyd released its Covid-19 Business Continuity Package that offers new clients free access to some Signifyd products.Payments provider Fattmerchant said it is now an official gateway partner …
• 25 March

  Prepaid Payments Veteran Dan Henry Takes Over at Green Dot As the Firm Looks to Rebound

  

  After what it calls a “comprehensive search process,” prepaid-payments and banking-services provider Green Dot Corp. has found a new chief executive to replace founder and long-time CEO Steven Streit. The Pasadena, Calif.-based company said Wednesday payments veteran Daniel Henry is taking over from interim CEO William Jacobs, who has served …
• 25 March

  SMBs Expect Further Demand Drop and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/25/20

  

  A national survey of 850 small businesses found 69% have seen a “large drop” in demand because of the coronavirus pandemic, while 60% say they believe demand will drop further. The survey was conducted by America’s Small Business Development Centers and Thryv Inc., a software vendor specializing in small businesses.The U.S. Faster Payments …
• 24 March

  Square, Alliance Data Feel Merchants’ Covid-19 Pain

  

  Merchant processor and business-software provider Square Inc. says some of its sellers have seen declines of 45% in payment volume in recent days, and private-label and cobranded card issuer Alliance Data Systems Corp. says business at its client merchants is softening.  Both companies held conference calls with analysts after the …
• 24 March

  In Response to Infection Concerns, the U.K. Raises Its Contactless Payment Cap by 50%

  

  With much of the world locked down in combatting the novel coronavirus pandemic, a financial trade group in the United Kingdom said Tuesday the country would increase the spending limit on contactless transactions by 50% effective April 1. The move will allow consumers to pay without touching a keypad or …
• 24 March

  Growth in Mobile Fraud Far Outpaces Growth in M-Commerce, TransUnion Study Finds

  

  With 78% of e-commerce transactions in 2019 coming from mobile devices, retailers have good reason to invest in their mobile-shopping experiences. Doing so, however, is not without risk, says credit-reporting agency TransUnion in its Global E-Commerce in 2020 report released Tuesday. The report is based on approximately 10 billion transactions …
• 24 March

  BlueSnap Adds Marketplaces Features and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 3/24/20

  

  E-commerce payments provider BlueSnap Inc. said it is enhancing its Payments for Marketplaces product, which allows online merchants to launch and operate global e-commerce marketplaces. New services include auto-onboarding, split payments, and cross-border payment capabilities.Square Inc. will have an investor conference call at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday to discuss how it is …
• 23 March

  Bridge, Tollway Authorities Toss Cash Acceptance Overboard, But Canadian Central Bank Urges Otherwise

  

  Cash is fighting an uphill battle to remain a payment option during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Over the past week, a number of toll-highway and bridge authorities have ceased accepting cash to limit the spread of the highly infectious disease. According to local press reports, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Illinois …