Point-of-sale

LevelUp, a mobile payments provider known for its playful office culture — and a CEO who prefers to be called a chief ninja — may need to mature as its competition gets serious.

Paytronix Systems, a consumer rewards company, has signed an agreement with the payment technology company NCR Corp. to provide restaurant loyalty programs.

NCR's Silver point of sale system has integrated SCVNGR's LevelUp mobile wallet and customer loyalty app.

The mobile point of sale provider ShopKeep is releasing hardware that is compatible with Apple Pay's Near Field Communication payment system and EMV-chip cards.

After spending 2014 digging out of fiscal slump, Verifone is setting up for an aggressive product rollout in the year ahead as it recovery shifts into high gear.

The e-commerce provider Spindle has partnered with the payment processor TekTango to provide point of sale hardware with bundled payment processing services.

While PayPal has not taken a firm position on whether it sees Apple's foray into payments as a competitive threat or potential partner, Apple's addition of PayPal as an option for its online stores suggests an openness to cooperate on basic functions.

The tablet-based point of sale market is becoming crowded, pressuring providers to get creative to stand out.

Wearable computing is very much a nascent market, but by using flexible programming methods PNC hopes to be ready to deploy payments apps when the technology takes off.

U.S. issuers, acquirers and merchants that are executing EMV migration projects face liability shift dates and increasing consumer demand for more secure transactions.

Revel Systems plans to expand in Europe after securing a $1.2 million grant from Invest Northern Ireland.

When the iPhone and iOS launched in 2007, Apple initially didn’t provide support for third party developers.

Unless you’ve been completely sequestered away from technology news as well as mainstream news, you probably have heard of the new Apple iPhone 6 and 6 Plus as well as Apple’s new point of sale ecosystem called Apple Pay.

U.K.-based terminal maker Spire Payments has purchased the electronic funds transfer division of STS, a company that provides point of sale payment devices to more than 40 customers across the Middle East.

In my dreams, I can walk up to any cashier and make a payment by waving my hand over a terminal, much like Obi Wan Kenobi's "These aren't the droids you're looking for" trick in Star Wars. And that's all I would have to do.

It's not just merchants, issuers and technology companies that are using mobile technology to sell new payment services. As a business software provider, Intuit has been uniquely positioned to link its products to a number of payment initiatives.

Apple Pay's launch about a month ago was accompanied by an almost unprecedented amount of hype and media attention, but it takes more than buzz to shift the world to mobile payments, and Apple's job is far from over.

Mobile point of sale technology is gaining traction, though providers say the middle market requires a stronger sell.

Payments are proving to be an enticing use case for wearable computing, drawing the attention of companies as varied as amusement parks, banks and phone manufacturers.

As the mobile point of sale market matures, more merchants will migrate from smartphones to tablets, which Roam's Scott Holt said requires device-specific changes in design and technology.