POS and Retail

After years of watching shoppers flit from store to store in search of the biggest deals, U.S. retailers are hoping their attempts at building some loyalty will finally pay off this holiday season.

By employing a multilayered approach to mobile security that combines device authentication with the latest user identification measures, retailers can establish maximum trust not only with their users, but also in the device being used to transact with them, writes Michael Lynch, chief strategy officer for InAuth.

Merchants’ fates are inextricably linked to what customers want. So, as they continue to embrace frictionless experiences, merchants are under mounting pressure to deliver or risk losing out, writes Joseph Daly, COO of North American Payment Processing for Paysafe.

The advent of blockchain technology may prove to be disruptive to traditional credit reporting agencies by decentralizing data aggregation and allowing consumers to take ownership of their data through a personalized wallet they could share with prospective lenders, writes Alexander Koles, CEO, founder and managing director of Evolve Capital Partners.

U.K. startup Flux has signed up a few banks for its platform that delivers real-time receipts to mobile banking apps. The problem is that few retailers are interested, and experts say that’s not likely to change any time soon.

One of the risks of omnichannel shopping is showrooming, where consumers browse products in person at a store but purchase online from a rival at a better price. This problem has existed for years in the brick-and-mortar world, and the maturation of digital shopping has caused showrooming to spread to more retailers.

There's talk of a bubble, but cryptocurrency creates value in different ways, so traditional market analysis doesn’t work, writes Mariam Nishanian, a representative for Dentacoin.

The most popular P-to-P schemes such as Venmo are still linked to an underlying payment card, meant to benefit “pull” payment incumbents, according to RPGC's Rene Pelegero.

Transit transactions will increase card use and loyalty, and will generate the same sort of reputational boost London enjoys with Oyster, writes Andrey Tikhonov, director of payment technology for Infinite Peripherals.

Barclaycard is piloting a service to deliver instant digital purchase receipts to customers through a partnership with fintech startup Flux, which launched last year with the aim of eliminating paper receipts.

It is important to have the right layers of security in place, ideally those that evaluate passive and behavioral biometrics, as they are proving to be the most reliable, writes Robert Capps, authentication strategist and vice president of NuData Security.

Financial institutions process hundreds of thousands of interbank payments per day on behalf of their clients, which can be revolutionized by blockchain, writes Angel Diaz, vice president of technology and advocacy for IBM Digital Business Group.

Sweden's Klarna made its mark with a pay-later model for e-commerce shopping that’s spread to other European countries and the U.S., and now it’s piloting the same concept for in-store purchases.

Issuers have access to a treasure trove of helpful data about us, such as our payment habits, investment activities, purchases, and so on, writes Sanjay Bhakta, senior director of solutions for Ness Digital Engineering.

The spread of Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and Samsung's Bixby is changing the way consumers interact with technology. Behind the scenes, artificial intelligence is doing more than ever to handle and protect payments.

Without the constant innovation that artificial intelligence empowers, legacy companies will quickly lose their edge as competitors whisk away consumers with new offerings and customized products, writes Ajay Vij, senior vice president and head of financial services for Infosys.

The influx of mobile point of sale systems created an odd situation for retailers that now had to turn their screens around or hand over their smartphones to consumers. More manufacturers are addressing this awkwardness by giving shoppers their own screen — but innovation comes at a price.

Over the years, Square has evolved from a supplier of simple card readers to a provider of diverse omnichannel services. But the consumer market has always eluded it.

Tablet point of sale solutions provide mobile pay benefits while helping merchants provide new experiences for their customers, create additional touchpoints, and accept all forms of electronic payment, including magstripe, EMV and NFC/contactless writes Ben Wagner, director of solutions at Ingenico Group, North America.

Square Inc. reported earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations and raised its full-year forecast, bolstered by larger merchants that are increasingly using its platform for payment transactions and buying business software services.