Gift cards are expected to be popular presents this holiday season as 60% of consumers say they will buy the cards to fill a void in product availability created by disruptions to product supply chains, says Fiserv Inc.’s Q3 2022 Gift Card Gauge. Discount stores and big-box retailers will be …

A whopping 2,276 more grocery stores soon will accept electronic benefits transfer payments for online grocery shopping. In one move, Albertsons Cos., parent of Albertsons, Safeway, Jewel-Osco, Vons, and Pavilions stores, said the payment option is now available across its stores. Albertsons said more of its 22 brands will add …

In a nod to consumers’ preference to have all the contents of a physical wallet digitized—including driver’s licenses and vaccine cards, in addition to payment cards—Alphabet Inc.’s Google subsidiary has introduced a new Google Wallet. The new wallet, which Google plans to make available in more than 40 countries, is …

Transactions on gift cards and cryptocurrency—and even buy now, pay later capability—are coming to commercial washers, dryers, and vending machines with an announcement Monday by PayRange Inc. that it will support the new payment methods. The Portland, Ore.-based company, which says it processes for more than half a million commercial …

Sales of gift cards in the United States remained steady in 2021, with 73% of consumers purchasing the same number of cards, or more, compared to a year earlier, says a report from Fiserv Inc.  Online merchants were the biggest beneficiaries, with 53% of respondents saying they purchased a gift …

With a crucial card-acceptance market at stake, Amazon.com Inc. has reportedly struck a deal with Visa Inc. to continue taking Visa cards issued in the United Kingdom. The agreement comes nearly a month after Amazon dropped a threat to stop taking the cards and said it would negotiate with Visa. That …

Despite consumers’ intentions to spend more on gifts this holiday season than in 2020, concerns about ongoing shipping delays and low product inventories are making gift cards a more attractive gift option.  Indeed, 33% of consumers say they would purchase a gift card if they were unable to get a …

Real-time payments have proven value for many payment needs. Now, experts are looking at mining the potential for real time at the point of sale. The technology to enable real-time payments at the point of sale is available today. But many questions remain: Are consumers ready? Are merchants ready? Is …

In time for the start of holiday-shopping season, buy now, pay later provider Afterpay Ltd. has expanded its in-store presence. New retailers offering the service include Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack, J.Crew, Madewell, and American Eagle. In addition, Afterpay will be available at airport and resort-casino specialty retailer Marshall Retail Group, …

Two trends have buoyed the payments business since the onset of the pandemic—online shopping and buy now, pay later capability—and on Wednesday Klarna AB launched a new app that exploits both trends by letting consumers use Klarna’s BNPL service regardless of whether the store is a Klarna merchant. The new …