Merchant

Total System Services reached an agreement to purchase ProPay, a Lehi, Utah-based payments technology provider.

The business of merchant cash advances is changing, and ISOs are finding they need to do the same to keep up.

Ingenico SA, a French provider of payment terminals and services, is seeking takeovers to expand outside Europe, said Chief Executive Officer Philippe Lazare.

Mobile apps from Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts may prove useful for on-the-go coffee guzzlers, but their approach may not translate well to other retail environments. A few companies are taking a different approach to modernizing payments for sit-down restaurants and other merchants.

Bitcoin enthusiasts, playing off the holiday tradition of Black Friday sales, held their own Bitcoin Friday last week, leading to a spike in Bitcoin transactions at some — but not all — participating merchants.

When a natural disaster or other tragedy strikes, the nonprofit sector is a critical force that mobilizes to aid in the recovery effort. And to keep these organizations funded, many of these groups are using payments technologies from providers like mGive and Groupon to connect with donors and more quickly and cost-effectively raise money.

Bank of America is launching a Square-like card-swiping device for smartphones called Mobile Pay on Demand. The service will be marketed through B of A’s Atlanta-based joint venture with First Data, Bank of America Merchant Services.

Small retailers still aren’t catching on to the Payment Card Industry data security standards, according to recent survey results.

Discover Financial Services’ Pulse PIN-debit network has joined the card brand’s EMV migration timetable, establishing requirements for point-of-sale acquirers and processors to handle smart-card payments.

Recently launched Shpock wants to facilitate the buying and selling of products listed online, but the system was designed to deliberately omit payments from the process.