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 …

What’s happened to the e-commerce checkout and why it isn’t easier to make a payment. Instant access is the byword for online retailers. It’s what online shoppers want all the time and what e-retailers strive to provide so their consumers can buy when they want. Epitomizing that is a frictionless …

Suddenly, person-to-person payments services are gaining utility beyond just paying a person via a smart phone. What gives? So you thought these newfangled person-to-person payment services were meant only to replace cash with smart-phone apps that enable individuals to send and receive money electronically? Think again. All of a sudden, …

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 …

Mastercard Inc.’s latest SpendingPulse report says year-over-year holiday sales increased 4.9%, their best showing since 2011. Online sales grew 18.1%. The report for the Nov. 1-Dec. 24 period covers all payment types, including cash and checks. Without being more specific, Amazon.com Inc. said “millions” of members of Amazon Prime shopped …

Fit Pay Inc. will bring contactless-payment technology to wearable devices in Australia under an agreement with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. Fit Pay is a unit of Florida-based NXT-ID Inc. Payments provider BlueSnap Inc. announced integrations with six software and services providers. Bluefin Payment Systems said it received …

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 …

Payrange Inc., a developer of mobile-payment applications for washers, dryers, and other machines, introduced its product for Speed Queen and Maytag laundry machines. Subscription-management platform provider Recurly Inc. said it will use international payments provider Adyen to further expand its global business. Cornerstone Bank became the 200th financial institution to …

7-Eleven Inc. announced it is testing online ordering for delivery or pickup on its new 7-ElevenNOW mobile app at 10 downtown and uptown stores in Dallas. The convenience-store chain expects to begin rolling out the app to other stores in 2018. Payments provider Clearent LLC said it received validation of …

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, …