Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• Groupon Inc. sold its Breadcrumb restaurant point-of-sale unit to Upserve Inc., a startup focusing on restaurant-management solutions. Terms were not disclosed, but Groupon will take an equity interest in Upserve, formerly known as Swipely Inc. Founded in 2011, Breadcrumb was acquired by Groupon in 2012.
• Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay mobile-payments service, which went live in Canada with American Express Co. in October, has now won the support of that country’s big banks after a period of apparently intense negotiation. Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Canadian Tire Bank, and ATB Financial launched Apple Pay Tuesday, while Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Bank of Nova Scotia will follow later, according to The Globe and Mail.
• Merchant processor Moneris Solutions Corp. said 25% of transactions it handles in Canada are now contactless, and 85% of the merchants it serves have terminals capable of processing contactless payments.
• MetaBank and prepaid card services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. announced a multiyear extension of an agreement under which Blackhawk provides marketing, servicing and processing of network-branded prepaid cards issued by MetaBank.
• The Merchant Acquirers’ Committee industry group announced its 2016 board of directors election results, which include Georgia Stavrakis of Heartland Payment Systems elected as president and Deana Rich of Rich Consulting as vice president.
• Two trade groups, the Smart Card Alliance and the International Parking Institute, have issued an updated version of their white paper called “EMV And Parking.”
