Point-of-sale

As companies mature out of their startup phase, their sales growth curves begin to flatten and costs start to rise — unless, of course, they change their business model. And that’s exactly what Square is doing to maintain its startup-style growth.

The Atlanta-based consumer lender, which partners with both retailers and banks, cited a higher-than-expected cost of funds as one reason for its less rosy forecast.

France-based Ingenico has named a new CEO a month after receiving an unsolicited takeover bid, signaling a strategy shift in the face of increasing pressure on the last of the independent payment terminal hardware giants.

Bank of America Merchant Services is combining its payment processing and security services with the cloud-based restaurant management software of talech to deliver a new point-of-sale option to restaurants and bars.

NCR has turned to the acquisition market to shore up its defenses against fintech challengers, a further signal that longtime retail industry staples such as payment hardware and ISOs are going by the wayside as dedicated business models.

Transaction Network Services has agreed to acquire Australia-based Advam in a move to strengthen the company's services, especially in the unattended payments and e-commerce fields.

The fintech wave has nearly devoured the entire point of sale industry, as lone major holdout Ingenico weighs an unsolicited bid from an investment bank’s payments group.

Amazon has signaled an interest in the French grocery market, spurring Casino's development of a high-tech concept store in Paris.

The company is offering short-term installment loans to its clients’ customers; even institutions not accused of wrongdoing may pay a price.

The technology arms race among payment fintechs is converging on the market for credit and loans, with Square rolling out an installment payment option for consumers that complements its merchant capital option for sellers.