Do competing acquirers run a significant risk if they ignore the way Square Inc. operates? Some experts are now saying they do, though you wouldn’t think so in the light of recent events. When 6-year-old Square went public in November, the result was bloody. On the first day of trading, …

Merchant cash advances can be a God-send for merchants unable to secure traditional bank funding and agents looking to supplement their income. But that boon often comes at a painful premium. The merchant cash advance (MCA) is a common form of alternative lending offered by private lenders. Many independent sales …

  Card-not-present fraud isn’t the only looming threat for payments providers and merchants. Account-takeover losses are also set to take off. As criminals find it easy and affordable to use the Internet to obtain millions of pieces of personally identifiable information about consumers, the prospects of greater fraud overall are …

Card-not-present fraud isnäó»t the only looming threat for payments providers and merchants. Account-takeover losses are also set to take off. As criminals find it easy and affordable to use the Internet to obtain millions of pieces of personally identifiable information about consumers, the prospects of greater fraud overall are high. …

As the payments industry contends with ongoing state and federal regulatory inquiries, the Electronic Transactions Association will release an updated version of its “Guidelines on Merchant and ISO Underwriting and Risk Monitoring” in February. The final edits are being made, says Deana Rich, principal of Deana Rich Consulting Inc., which …

By Jim Daly Merchant processor Square Inc. priced its initial public offering of stock late Wednesday at $9 per share, about 25% lower than it had hoped for, but positive investor sentiment lifted the stock Thursday morning in its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Square …

Square Inc. on Friday set a price range for its planned initial public offering of stock in which the high end could generate about $333 million for the merchant processor. Square filed an amended registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that it plans to sell 25.65 million …

  A new mobile-payments service that includes loyalty and rewards has launched with the goal of providing retailers with a single source of mobile engagement with their consumers. Dubbed OmnyPay, the service is just one of the many announcements made this week at the annual Money 20/20 conference in Las …

From leases lopsided in acquirers’ favor to a bevy of bogus fees, dodgy ISOs, sponsoring banks, processors, and leasing companies are exacting a moral as well as monetary cost on the industry. Here’s what’s going on—and how to clean it up once and for all. Picture this. You’re at a …

By John Stewart A new service from Square Inc. that accelerates merchants’ access to their funds in return for a 1% fee is likely to gain popularity among the small sellers that primarily use Square for transaction processing, according to some observers. That may hand Square a key advantage in …