Point-of-sale

A fintech that has grabbed a sizable chunk of the Australian digital payments market has made some quick merchant scores for its American launch.

Merchants that want to use technology to boost sales can establish in-house systems labs to test new payment technology and apps, or find an external lab to do so.

TSYS has purchased iMobile3, a maker of private-label payment solutions for small businesses, to beef up merchants' capabilities through the point of sale.

For some, the fast pace of change in payments technology needs to slow down for consumers and merchants to catch up. For others, the technology must evolve because it is the consumer and merchant seeking change — all in the name of an easier, mobile experience.

Retailers often try to counter Amazon's dominance by using the e-commerce giant's strengths against it, including its reliance on search engine optimization.

Splitit has recently begun offering point-of-sale financing with monthly installment payments for debit card purchases, targeting more budget-conscious U.S. and European consumers as well as those without credit.

Ingenico is negotiating a business combination with BS Payone that would boost its profile in parts of central Europe and allow it to counter multichannel moves by other major payment companies.

Plate IQ has integrated its automated accounts payable technology for restaurants with the new Square for Restaurants point-of-sale system.

There are merchants that accept bitcoin. But it's still hard to pay with cryptocurrency, and that's holding it back as a payment option.

Cloud-based software has replaced bulky, expensive and almost obsolete servers, which allows SMBs to keep costs lower while getting access to more functionality, writes Rush Taggart, Chief Technology Officer for CardConnect.

If Amazon Go and other omnichannel concepts are redefining self-service commerce, does the humble vending machine lose its relevance?

The $3.4 billion deal to take Verifone private is more than just an effort to strengthen the company. It's also a signal of how much the market has changed from the days when Verifone found itself scrambling to combat a newcomer called Square.

KFC is finally converting its point of sale terminals to accept EMV chip cards, opting for a semi-integrated system to accept all payment types.

The timing is right, both for the technology and for Amazon, which has already demonstrated excellence on required customer journey points like a widely adopted Amazon app, writes Chris Ventry, a director for BRG Corporate Finance.

The technology behind how payments are being delivered is advancing quickly. Unfortunately, standards and systems aren’t evolving fast enough to keep up, writes Greg Cohen, president of Paya.

POS payment encryption products are widely available and have been for many years, from technologies designed to secure card data from the point it is entered into the payment terminal, writes Ruston Miles, founder and chief strategy officer of Bluefin Payment Systems.

There are still millions of merchants in the U.S. clinging to relic point of sale methods — and they are not easily swayed by fancy new touchscreens and mobile wallets. This means companies such as Verifone must go to greater lengths, just to meet them halfway.

The technology company's major projects over the past couple of years have included a diversification to serve merchants' cross-channel shopping and payment needs, adding advanced ATM technology in Europe and upgrading hardware to compete with rivals such as Square.

Adyen is working to expand its point-of-sale presence in its push to become an omnichannel payments provider, this week reaching Singapore.

Quick service restaurant and other small business owners are warming up to new technology, giving Verifone and Paysafe a chance to sell their collaborative payment products.