Loyalty apps are great, but they badly need a technology overhaul. By adding artificial intelligence, retailers can step up customer engagement and convert more sales. As brick-and-mortar retailers battle for foot traffic and sales, there is good news for them. Gen Z, the first truly digitally native generation, were strolling …

PayPal Holdings Inc. announced it has signed a commercial agreement with MercadoLibre, a major e-commerce marketplace in Latin America. As part of the deal, PayPal will become a payment choice in the Mercado Pago online checkout for customers in Brazil and Mexico, a move PayPal says could lead to PayPal users getting …

Bots operated by criminals did more than leave lumps of coal for merchants and consumers this holiday shopping season. During Black Friday week, criminals used mobile devices to create new accounts to mimic new customers and initiate transactions through an established and seemingly genuine account, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions. …

Payoneer Inc., a provider of cross-border payments for small businesses, announced it is moving into merchant services with its acquisition of optile GmbH, a Munich-based company whose technology eases payment acceptance. Terms were not announced.The Western Union Co. has added a feature to its mobile app that allows users to donate …

While last weekend’s holiday-shopping extravaganza unleashed a geyser of payment transactions, it also uncorked a flood of potential fraud, data released Thursday show.  Online shoppers spent $7.4 billion on Friday alone, with Cyber Monday sales, which by definition are e-commerce transactions, alone estimated to total a record $9.4 billion, up …

Formerly distinct holiday spending patterns are blurring, according to new data. The National Retail Federation reported Tuesday that Black Friday, traditionally known for swarms of consumers in stores, for the first time topped Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, for online shopping. And Adobe Inc.’s research unit reported that consumers …

Jewelry retailer Pandora said it is standing by its 2019 sales guidance despite an eight-hour point-of-sale issue at U.S. and Canadian stores on Black Friday.American Express Co. said its Small Business Saturday promotion, which occurred Nov. 30, achieved a record with an estimated $19.6 billion in spending.With fewer people carrying cash, the Salvation …

The problem of good customers being rejected online is only getting worse. There’s no single solution, but better authentication could help. As the annual holiday shopping rush sets in, a specter is haunting online merchants. It’s not the ghost of Christmas past or future. Rather, it’s the prospect of turning …

Customer data from 4 million payment cards stolen in breaches at four restaurant chains has gone up for sale in the Joker’s Stash underground bazaar, KrebsOnSecurity reported. The breaches occurred at nearly half the 1,750 total locations of Krystal, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli and Schlotzsky’s, the latter three of which are owned by …

Newtek Business Services Corp., a provider of loans, merchant processing, and other services for small businesses, acquired a 51% stake in POS on Cloud, developer of payments and business-management systems for restaurants, retailers, assisted-living providers, and parks and golf courses.Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) said Eyefinity, a software developer for …