Because a consumer trying to make a purchase may use a credit or debit card, tap with a contactless card, or scan a bar code, merchants need to know about the range of payment options available to them. That’s why the Smart Card Alliance, a Princeton Junction, N.J.-based association, has …

A new smart-phone app hopes to give retailers an edge in capturing sales when consumers use their mobile devices in their stores. Dubbed SelfPay, the app enables consumers to pay for merchandise while standing in a store aisle and leave without stopping at a cash register. Developed by Digital Retail …

A new point-of-sale card-acceptance app expected to be available in early 2014 will use pattern-recognition technology to capture a payment card number, potentially speeding up an in-store transaction and eliminating the need for a card reader. n Cartwheel Register eschews a card reader that plugs into the audio jack in …

If a recently released annual survey is any indication, small merchants remain unconvinced they are vulnerable to data breaches, pay far too little attention to security, and regard PCI simply as a cost item. “We still see drastic deficiencies in the number of merchants who think they’re at risk,” says …

Linda Punch The Federal Trade Commission wants to outright ban four payment methods used by legitimate telemarketers and fraudsters alike. That would shut off a significant source of transactions for at least some merchant processors. Alternative payment methods such as remotely created checks have become increasingly popular over the past …

Elizabeth Whalen The online retailing giant has been processing payments for other merchants for years, and has quietly amassed more than 200 million user accounts. Now it’s offering even slicker, faster payment services. Retail giant Amazon.com is no stranger to accepting consumer payments on its own and other Web sites, …

By Kevin Woodward With the invasion of smart phones and tablets, the iconic payment terminal—and the entire point of sale—is getting a new look. Are the traditional terminal’s days numbered? Perhaps no other device serves as an icon of the payments industry like the point-of-sale terminal. Sitting on a merchant’s …

There will be no “one wallet to rule them all.” The phone itself is the new mobile wallet, not any one app. Mobile wallets are more about marketing than about payments, and a white-label approach will let banks and merchants keep control of the vital customer data they need, says …

ABnote is adding support for near-field communication (NFC) technology to its miWallet mobile wallet with the addition of the Wave device from Israeli technology vendor On Track Innovations Ltd., ABnote recently announced. The device connects to mobile devices using the audio jack on smart phones and tablets. When connected, it …

AnywhereCommerce, a Montreal-based engineering firm, has released an updated version of its Nomad wireless chip-card reader that is smaller and less expensive than the inaugural version of the device, the company announced Tuesday. Nomad 2.0 uses Bluetooth wireless technology to connect with mobile devices operating on Google Inc.’s Android, Apple …