News

June, 2024

• 13 June

  CardFree Enlists AI To Get Consumers To Spend More

  

  Everyone has encountered the upsell. It’s the extended-warranty offer when buying a TV, or the ask to add a Danish to the coffee you just purchased. Now, CardFree Inc. has released a tool to help merchants automate the upsell with its new Smart AI Upsell feature. A component of CardFree’s …
• 13 June

  Looking to Snag Millennials and Gen Zers, eBay Adds Venmo

  

  EBay Inc. is recruiting Venmo as a payment option, the big e-commerce marketplace announced early Thursday. The move, which comes about a week after eBay announced it will no longer accept American Express cards effective Aug. 17, is part of a strategy to add alternative payment options that appeal to …
• 13 June

  Visa Relaunches Savings Edge and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/13/24

  

  Visa Inc. has re-launched Savings Edge, a rewards and discount program for U.S. and Canadian businesses that use Visa Business credit, debit, and reloadable prepaid cards. The re-launch includes revamped offers and a refreshed Web site, Visa says. In related news, Visa announced “Prodigies,” a promotional film aimed at reinforcing the …
• 12 June

  Men Are Now the Primary Buyers of Gift Cards, Blackhawk Network Finds

  

  Men have supplanted women as the primary buyers of gift cards, says a report from Blackhawk Network. The shift is attributable to men taking on more household responsibilities, such as shopping and gifting, the report says. Blackhawk has been conducting the survey for nearly a decade. Types of gift cards …
• 12 June

  Shopify Makes Sendbird’s AI Chatbot Available in Its App Store

  

  Shopify Inc. merchants looking for a way to add a chatbot with artificial-intelligence capabilities to their Web sites have a new option with the Sendbird Inc. chatbot. San Mateo, Calif.-based Sendbird’s chatbot is used by 4,000 apps, including DoorDash, Noom, and Yahoo Sports. Ottawa, Ontario-based Shopify says the Sendbird AI …
• 12 June

  Dash’s Visa Real-Time Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/12/24

  

  Payments platform Dash Solutions has expanded an agreement with Visa Inc. to include a capability for Dash users to send real-time payments to cards, bank accounts, and mobile wallets using Visa Direct, Visa’s faster-payments platform. The payments fintech Bread Financial said its Comenity Capital Bank will issue Saks Fifth Avenue’s World Elite Mastercard and …
• 11 June

  Payment Choice Is A Key Driver In The Customer Experience, Fiserv Finds

  

  Providing consumers more ways to pay and engage with merchants play key roles in driving consumer purchasing decisions, according to Fiserv Inc.’s Spring 2024 Carat Insights Report. One way for merchants to engage on a deeper level with consumers is to offer apps featuring loyalty and rewards programs and that …
• 11 June

  Affirm’s BNPL And Tap to Cash Are Coming to Apple Pay Later This Year

  

  Apple Inc. says iPhone users will be able to send funds to each other by simply holding their iPhones next to each other. It’s a further refinement of Apple’s financial services, which jumped off in 2014 with the launch of Apple Pay. In a video presentation Monday, Apple executives say …
• 11 June

  NMI’s Shopify Integration and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 6/11/24

  

  Payments provider NMI announced what it calls an “enhanced” integration with Shopify, the Canada-based e-commerce platform. The integration is meant to assure independent sales organizations and software providers that integrations comply with updated Shopify requirements. Chase Payment Solutions has brought its Tap to Pay on iPhone capability to Canada, with beauty retailer Sephora …
• 10 June

  Entrust Launches Digital Identity Verification for Government Benefits And Services

  

  Entrust Corp., a provider of identity technology, on Monday launched its Citizen Identity Orchestration platform, which is aimed at governments’ delivery of public services. The new platform, intended for such functions as benefits delivery, tax filing, health-care access, and border crossings, uses artificial intelligence for identity verification, issuance of digital …