With hopes of providing merchants with a lower-cost network to make and accept electronic payments, startup MakeCents announced Friday a test of its blockchain-based platform. New York City-based MakeCents says its decentralized platform is designed to “disrupt the $420 trillion global payments infrastructure by leveraging its blockchain technology to connect …

What do diners want most when they go out to eat? Apparently, easy ordering and payment. That’s the big takeaway in the “Restaurant Digital Crossroads: The Race to Meet Guest Expectations” report released Thursday. Hassle-free ordering and payment are especially important to younger consumers, defined as those between 18 and 37 …

Macy’s Inc. disclosed that criminals were able to breach sensitive data on Macys.com, the Detroit Free Press reported. Citing a letter sent to customers, the newspaper said Macy’s detected suspicious activity on June 11. The retailer then blocked customer profiles that appeared to be breached. Hackers were able to get …

Backed by cloud-based networks, tablet POS systems scramble to find the preferred configuration for merchants. Eight years on, the notion of tablets as the future of point-of-sale systems can be dispelled. Specifically, the form factor is not the critical element in the ascendancy of POS systems and how they connect …

The cybersecurity firm Gemini Advisory recently announced a large-scale data breach at Saks Fifth Avenue and its sister company Lord & Taylor, compromising 5 million credit cards. While the forensic investigation is still under way, it appears that the breach was likely caused by malware on the parent company’s point-of-sale …

Payments-technology provider Bluefin Payment Systems said NCR Corp. is using Bluefin’s point-to-point encryption service at merchants deploying NCR’s Counterpoint Retail Solution to process payments through NCR Secure Pay. Payments provider Merchant Consulting Group, which was founded in 2005, changed its name to Paystri. Credit-union processor PSCU said its new Lumin …

Merchants using hospitality point-of-sale systems face a relentless onslaught by wannabe hackers coveting their payment data. What can put an end to it? Hospitality merchants, such as restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues, know that an effective point-of-sale system can help them operate their businesses better. They can glean valuable information …

To explain today’s mergers and acquisitions in merchant acquiring, mix a hefty dose of technology and a dash of foreign spices with traditional flavors like greater scale. And don’t forget a little fear. For years, greater scale seemed to be the big driver of mergers and acquisitions in the merchant-acquiring …

Many years ago, in a press interview, I commented on the importance to banks and payment companies of understanding the then new phenomenon of Facebook. At the time, it looked as if social media might become a major platform for payments. It turns out that mobile media has taken that …

JPMorgan Chase Bank and its merchant-acquiring affiliate Paymentech have filed a breach-of-contract suit against restaurant operator and Paymentech merchant Landry’s Inc. seeking to recover $20 million in fines from Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. stemming from a 2014-15 data breach at dozens of Landry’s properties. The bank and processor, collectively called …