Traditional card-based loyalty programs, like those offered at local grocery stores, car washes, and restaurants, can drive consumer loyalty simply because many people are already familiar with them. But if brands want to improve the depth of the consumer experience, evolving to a digital-based loyalty program can provide consumers with …

The key to higher acceptance rates for cards, lower fees for merchants, and better security lies in moving the point of sale from hardware to software, says Sam Shawki. There is no doubt that the continued progress in moving to digital forms of transactions has made a big impact on …

Seldom in the history of electronic payments has the spotlight shone quite so intensely on small merchants as it does now. Everybody, it seems, wants to sign up the so-called SMB—the small and medium-size business. When Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) put up just over $1 billion last month to …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced its intention to extend once again the effective date of its massive 2016 rule governing prepaid accounts “to allow additional time for implementation of the final rule.” The announcement does not specify a new effective date. The agency had earlier extended the deadline from …

The slow conversion of U.S. gasoline pumps from acceptance of only magnetic-stripe payment cards to EMV chip cards took a step forward Tuesday when payment technology provider NCR Corp. announced that a convenience store in upstate New York had completed its first outdoor EMV transaction using an NCR Optic upgrade …

Paris-based defense, aerospace, and transportation contractor Thales S.A. announced Monday that it has a €4.8 billion ($5.66 billion) deal to acquire Gemalto N.V., the world’s largest maker of chips for smart cards and mobile phones. The announcement that Thales plans to buy Gemalto for €51 per share ($60.1) comes just …

The consolidation trend sweeping through the merchant-acquiring business made headlines again Monday morning with the news that Total System Services Inc. has agreed to buy Boston-based acquirer and technology provider Cayan LLC for approximately $1.05 billion in cash. The deal, which TSYS says it expects to close in the first …

Seven retail trade groups filed a joint amicus brief in a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court in which 11 states, led by Ohio, are appealing a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that upholds American Express Co.’s rule prohibiting merchants from steering customers to cards with lower acceptance costs. …

Wider availability of technology that would have been nearly unthinkable only a few years ago is making biometric authentication a more likely replacement for the password. In the latest development, Discover Financial Services on Thursday announced users of its mobile app who own an iPhone X can log in to …

Mastercard Inc. launched Assemble, a prepaid service aimed at Millennials that features a digital prepaid account, a mobile app, and a physical or digital card. The service also includes budgeting capability and peer-to-peer payments through Mastercard Send. The company says it plans to extend versions of Assemble to other markets, …