Transaction Processing

• Automaker Volkswagen AG has acquired PayByPhone Technologies Inc., according to press reports. A unit of U.K.-based payments processor PayPoint plc, Vancouver-based PayByPhone offers a platform for mobile payments for parking and claims 12.5 million users in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company handles more than $300 million in parking payments annually, according …

With online sales soaring, physical retailers are faced with the challenge of how to recreate the convenience of e-commerce in a traditional store. On Tuesday, a 4-year-old startup called Five Elements Robotics unveiled a device that promises to help with that challenge by putting robots at the service of consumers. Once in …

• A 4-year-old startup called Five Elements Robotics has introduced a robotic shopping cart called Dash that allows customers to download a shopping list and then guides them through the store to find the items. The cart is also equipped with a scanner to let customers scan and pay for the items at …

The Anti-Phishing Working Group reported that the total number of phishing Web sites detected in the third quarter was 364,424, a 21.8% decrease from 466,065 in the second quarter. The APWG said the second-quarter figures were an “all-time-high” for phishing attacks and the third-quarter data is a return to more historical norms. …

Visa Inc. says its U.S. EMV credit and debit card volume surpassed 800 million transactions in November, more than quadruple the chip volume from a year earlier. November’s transactions on EMV chip cards hit 805.9 million versus 175.6 million in November 2015, a month after the general-purpose card networks’ EMV point-of-sale liability …

• The law firm Pomerantz LLP, which specializes in securities class actions, said it is “investigating claims on behalf of investors of PayPal Holdings Inc.” The firm says it is looking into whether PayPal executives or directors violated the Securities Exchange Act with respect to the timing of a disclosure of …

The Federal Reserve released its latest triennial payments study Thursday morning, and it reports that the number of U.S. non-cash payments totaled 144 billion in 2015, up 5.3% annually from 2012. Debit and credit cards led in growth, while the automated clearing house network “grew modestly,” the Fed said. The …

It’s still far from a mainstream currency, but Bitcoin is closing out a tumultuous year with a raging run-up in value. The digital currency breached the $800 level on Tuesday, and as of Wednesday afternoon was trading just shy of $822. These are heights Bitcoin hasn’t seen in nearly three …

• Risk-management and compliance-service provider Coalfire has acquired Veris Group, a specialist in testing and engineering services for cybersecurity. Terms of the deal were not announced. • POS Portal, a point-of-sale equipment distributor, said it now is certified by the PCI Security Standards Council as a point-to-point encryption version 2 key injection facility. Risk-management …

• North American Cannabis Systems Inc. said it will work with Alternet Systems Inc. to launch a payment system for the cannabis market. Legal cannabis sales are expected to hit almost $7 billion this year. Details of how the system would work were not disclosed. • Elan Financial Services has agreed to provide credit …