Consumers shopping online are more than likely buying digital goods and services, suggest the results of “The Global Rise of Digital Goods and Services” report from the First Data unit of Fiserv Inc. Released Wednesday, the survey by Forrester Research Inc. of more than 6,000 online adults around the world …

United Merchant Services Inc. said it acquired the rights to Royal Western Computer’s assets, including its point-of-sale software for dry cleaning merchants, branding, trademarks, licensee database, and sales channels. Royal Western Computer holds more than 25% of the dry cleaning POS market, UMS said. The company intends to expand by combining …

Mastercard Inc. said it will act as the clearing and settlement network for a cross-border payments service the company has agreed to develop with R3, a blockchain-software vendor.Some 74% of online transactions globally are for digital goods and services, with ride-share service and restaurant delivery ranking as the first and second most used …

Processor Stripe Inc. launched the Stripe Corporate Card, a Visa credit card that can be branded with the merchant’s logo. New merchants can get a card when they sign up for a Stripe account. In addition to 2% and 1% cash-back rewards, the card also offers $50,000 in free payment processing …

More and more, retailers are learning that the key to powerful loyalty programs lies in payments. Technology has evolved beyond comprehension over the years, and so customer behavior is changing. The consumer is ever-more demanding, and no more so than in the services industry. It’s getting harder to retain customers, …

Technical advances in identification and authentication are finally establishing an alternative to the alarmingly insecure username-­password combo. Owing to the increasing amount of digitization in all areas of life, secure identification and authentication are becoming more and more important. Particularly, the transfer of sensitive data such as payment transactions must …

With fintechs nipping at their heels, the payment card networks are buying up companies big and small in a range of industries. How far will the networks venture beyond their core business—and at what price? Mergers and acquisitions tend to come in fits and starts, and lately M&A activity involving …

From back offices to the point of sale, and from digital wallets to the blockchain, fintechs are fomenting a revolution in loyalty and rewards. Here’s how that’s playing out—and where it’s heading. By Maria Arminio and Bo Berg Bank and merchant card issuers are looking for ways to distinguish their …

Ever more numerous digital payments and better management tools are helping transform the venerable stored-credential transaction. As ubiquitous as card-on-file transactions have been, the expectation is that this payment method is poised to grow in volume and importance in coming years, especially as more commerce moves online and consumer comfort …

Discover Global Network signed an agreement with Credit Mutuel Arkea to allow Arkea Group merchants in France and Europe to accept Discover, Diners Club International, and allied issuers’ transactions.Ingenico Group’s e-commerce division, Ingenico ePayments, said it will provide payments services to Yoozoo Games, a game development and distribution company.Barclaycard, a unit of …