POS and Retail

Despite electronic payment innovations, cash is still the most efficient and simplest form of payment for low-value transactions.

ExxonMobil has expanded the rewards program on its store-branded credit cards, to provide a larger discount on fuel sales.

Forced to find effective ways to authenticate customers, companies are evaluating physical biometrics for web passwords. But in the mad rush for alternatives to fight account takeover, could we be making the problem worse?

The rush to be a "one stop shop" for merchants by bundling mobile, Web and in-store payment technology is prompting many companies to join forces, resulting in several high-priced mergers and acquisitions in recent years.

Many people in the payments industry believe stolen payment card industry data will diminish in its black market value as EMV approaches ubiquity across U.S. retailers. That's not the case.

The rush to be a "one stop" for merchants by bundling mobile, Web and in-store payment technology is proving to be a heavy lift, in terms of cash, resources and IT skills.

Any way you slice it, 2015 was the year of fintech. From Bitcoin to marketplace lending and everything in between, fintech was a venture capital honey trap and a cocktail party buzzword.

Verifone, which is challenged to move beyond its reliance on selling traditional payments hardware, is producing an almost dizzying array of products in hopes of diversifying.

The pressure on merchant acquirers to enable transactions in more channels for more merchant types is accelerating, and TSYS is turning to the M&A market to accelerate its digital diversification, announcing an agreement with Vista Equity Partners to acquire Vista portfolio company TransFirst for $2.35 billion in cash.

Retailers often worry that their customers won't return after a breach, but as logical as this expectation is, it may be far from the truth.

Consumers may not care much about mobile payments, but many of them care a lot about mobile loyalty.

Vending machines were among the first categories to accept contactless mobile payments, but they still rely heavily on cash for impulse snack purchases — at least for now.

The payments landscape was on the rise in in the past year with the launch and adoption of several new virtual wallets.

To plan for the inevitable, issuers need to consider three essential risk-management strategies including a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, a diversified partner strategy, and continued education for EMV cardholders and merchants.

Reeling from the loss of the Costco account and other setbacks in 2015, American Express is looking to the future the same way any investor might — banking on the diversification of its portfolio to slowly climb back.

The future of retail isn't happening behind the counter; it's happening in the aisles, on mobile phones and at a much faster pace than even the Internet can accommodate. And all of these ideas were the subject of excitement and debate at the National Retail Federation's conference in New York.

For processors, EMV has been the hot topic, as the industry looked to the liability shift last fall. But the challenge has just started, as the migration presents myriad security and compliance tasks.

The newest audience flocking to omnichannel shopping is the one no one invited—fraudsters.

American Express Co., the biggest credit- card issuer by purchases, said fourth-quarter profit fell 38% as expenses rose and the company took a restructuring charge.

It may seem tough for a system that limits itself to one retailer per vertical to expand, but Plenti is making it happen.