News

August, 2017

• 7 August

  Marriott Will Accept Alipay As Part of an Ambitious Joint Venture With China’s Alibaba

  

  Chinese tourism abroad has already taken off, and it’s expected to grow ever larger in coming years, lifting sales for merchants in the United States and other parts of the world. The latest company to set itself up to cash in on the trend is Marriott International Inc., which on …
• 7 August

  Eye on Acquiring: Vantiv Debuts an API; ExaDigm Launches a Hospitality Terminal

  

  Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. on Monday launched triPOS Cloud, a cloud-based application programming interface intended for independent software vendors and merchants looking to integrate payments with point-of-sale systems. As an API, triPOS Cloud enables developers to integrate payments functions with a few pieces of code. The service incorporates encryption and tokenization, …
• 7 August

  MoneyGram Reports Earnings and other Digital Transactions News briefs

  

  MoneyGram International Inc. reported second-quarter revenue of $410 million, flat with 2016’s second quarter on a constant-currency basis. Digital money-transfer revenue increased 10% and now accounts for 15% of total money-transfer revenue. Net income doubled to $6.2 million. In May, MoneyGram shareholders approved a merger of MoneyGram with Ant Financial Services Group, …
• 4 August

  ATM Kingpin Cardtronics Is Undeterred by Rising Cashless Payments—So Far

  

  Evidence is emerging that efforts to convince more consumers to use contactless payments instead of cash for low-value transactions may be having an impact, at least in countries other than the United States for now. That’s the take from Cardtronics plc, the giant ATM operator that owned nearly 45,000 U.S. …
• 4 August

  First Data and Fleetcor Technologies Scuttle Their Planned Prepaid Pair-Up

  

  Citing possible regulatory hurdles, payment processor First Data Corp. and commercial payments provider Fleetcor Technologies Inc. disclosed Thursday that they have canceled the planned joint venture they announced in March to consolidate their gift card businesses. “While both companies believe the proposed joint venture would provide significant benefits to customers …
• 4 August

  The Latest Funding Data Show Artificial Intelligence Is Turning Out To Be Very Real

  

  Artificial-intelligence technology, on which a number of payments applications have begun to rely over the past year or so, just keeps getting hotter. Nearly 700 funding deals for AI startups were concluded in 2016, up 33% from 2015, according to a report released this week by CBInsights, a New York …
• 4 August

  National Merchants Association Selects Gateway and other Digital Transactions News briefs

  

  Payments provider National Merchants Association announced it is using the PhoeniXGate gateway from Phoenix Managed Networks. Fleetcor Technologies Inc., a vendor of commercial-payment technology, reported second-quarter results, including a year-over-year increase of 29.5% in total revenue to $541.2 million and GAAP net income of $131 million, up 12.7%. The Western Union Co. reported …
• 3 August

  Square’s New Cash Card and Loans Grow Along With Payment Volume

  

  Merchant acquirer Square Inc. increased its presence among consumers in the second quarter with the June rollout of its physical Square Cash Card, a Visa debit card, and the launch of a test in which Square provides loans to customers of its merchants. Both developments occurred as Square’s gross payment …
• 3 August

  Global Payments to Acquire Active Network for $1.2 Billion; Sees Profits Rise Nearly 8%

  

  Global Payments Inc. said Thursday that it has a deal to buy two major divisions of Active Network LLC, a growing event-management software provider and payment processor, for $1.2 billion from a private-equity firm. The merchant acquirer also reported its second-quarter financials, which include a nearly 8% year-over-year increase in …
• 3 August

  Though Trending Down, Bitcoin Cash Is Already Number 4 Among Cryptocurrencies

  

  Bitcoin Cash, the Bitcoin offshoot that debuted Tuesday, already ranks as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. But by Thursday morning its value had taken a beating over the previous 24 hours. By mid-morning, Bitcoin Cash, which trades on digital-currency exchanges under the symbol BCH, was priced at just over …