As the new year eases well into its second month, here are five important technology developments that will shake up key payments markets in 2018. B2B payments will finally go digital Perhaps further behind in the fintech curve than they should be are business-to-business payments. This is often attributed to …

Data-services provider Womply announced Womply Engage, a customer relationship management service for small businesses that enables merchants to create and manage email marketing programs. In an effort to address data breaches in the financial-services industry, the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. said it is seeking experts for an initiative to create …

As cryptocurrency values increase and draw more attention, individuals with ill intent are looking to hijack smart phones and desktop computers to mine digital currencies. Opera Software AS, a Norway-based browser developer, wants to prevent that for users of its technology. Opera introduced an anti-mining feature to its mobile browser …

Vantiv Inc. shareholders approved the processor’s planned acquisition of London-based merchant acquirer Worldpay Group plc with 99.9% of votes cast in favor, Vantiv reported. The companies expect the merger to close Jan. 16 following approval of a British court. The merged company will be known as Worldpay Inc., and its …

A startup called Prepaid2Cash announced the availability of its app for both iOS and Android. The app allows holders of network-branded prepaid cards to move money from the card to a bank account within three days. The service costs 7.5% plus $1.50. Payments provider Pinpoint Intelligence said it now serves …

Widely touted as a potent data-masking tool, encryption has been slow to take hold in the payments industry, despite a continuing plague of data breaches. Here’s what’s going on to change that. Kmart, Arby’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Hyatt Hotels.  Those are just some of the merchants that reported data breaches …

Merchant processor EVO Payments International said it has an agreement with Madrid-based Liberbank SA to buy Liberbank’s merchant-acquiring business in Spain; terms of the deal, which is expected to close by March 31, were not disclosed. Credit card delinquencies and chargeoffs have increased slightly over the past year, according to …

Point-of-sale system maker Touch Dynamic debuted the Breeze Ultra All-In-One POS terminal. Payment Data Systems Inc. said it will sell 1.18 million shares of common stock to institutional investors at $2.55 per share. The merchant processor anticipates net proceeds of $2.75 million after expenses, which it will use for general …

Mastercard’s decision to remove the  signature requirement comes as authentication  measures improve in the payments industry.  But what comes next is still a huge question. As unique as signatures are, their value as a way of authenticating a credit or debit card transaction has long passed, a realization many consumers …

Merchant processor iPayment Inc. has agreed to acquire Leaders Merchant Services, an independent sales organization that has worked with iPayment since 2004. Terms were not disclosed. Electronics maker SparkFun Electronics developed an app for Android devices that can detect the likely presence of a credit card skimmer commonly found on …