ISO & Agent

SCVNGR's LevelUp, which is not content to listen only to its merchant clients, is once again giving consumers a voice in evaluating its mobile payments experience.

Jusp is adapting its business model to target larger clients for mobile payments. It added a service called Payments List that attaches to a business's back end, and it also allows the mobile point of sale service to work with Windows PCs.

First Data is under pressure on a several fronts. While tasked with easing its debt, the Atlanta-based processor is also responding to the many disruptions brought by mobile technology and other innovations.

Oracle Corp. agreed to buy Micros Systems Inc. for $5.3 billion as Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison seeks to reignite slowing growth by adding software for hotels and restaurants.

Independent Resource Network Corp., a Westbury, N.Y.-based independent sales organization, recently agreed to pay $400,000 and waived its right to funds in a merchant's reserve account to settle a civil suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission.

Vend will integrate its payment system with QuickBooks Online, making it the second point of sale company this week (along with Flint) to tout a link to Intuit's accounting software.

Clover Network Inc., a subsidiary of First Data Corp. has partnered with DropThought to add instant consumer and employee feedback to Clover Station, a tablet-based point of sale.

Flint is integrating its iOS and Android small business payment apps with Intuit's QuickBooks Online accounting software, a move meant to enable clients to better manage the data connected to their transactions.

An issuer's decision to deploy EMV chip-and-signature credit cards in the U.S., rather than the chip-and-PIN model common in other countries, has as much to do with technology constraints as it does with Americans' reluctance to using a PIN.

Swedish mobile payments provider Seamless has entered a distribution deal with retail tech provider PCMS Group.

PNC Financial Services has begun offering a new tool for merchants to accept payments on their mobile devices.

Vantiv has completed its acquisition of Mercury Payment Systems.

API Software Inc. has created a mobile app for independent sales organizations to help merchants tabulate the best payment services deals.

Merchants are likely to find the final sprint to meet the U.S. EMV liability-shift deadline is a tougher task for them than it is for card issuers.

Tax compliance provider Avalara has made many connections within the payments industry to respond to merchant demand for built-in tax reporting functions at the point of sale.

Israeli contactless payment technology provider On Track Innovations (oti) is expanding its reach to enable self-service payments on several fronts.

Apple's plan to introduce a new Lightning connector for headphones, potentially replacing the standard 3.5mm jack, could give mobile payment companies a major hardware headache.

Financial institutions remain positioned well to forge deep relationships with business clients seeking help in navigating the challenges of emerging payments technology and risks, says Capital One's Jim Gifas.

San Francisco-based tea blending company T-We Tea's revenue grew 300% after switching to Vend's cloud-based iPad point of sale system from Square Register.

LevelUp has updated its mobile payment app with a feature that empowers consumers to immediately notify the company of problems they experience with its mobile payment app.