POS and Retail

Payments technology provider Global Payments Inc. is formally launching American Express' OptBlue small business suite in Canada, providing fuel for Amex's recovery from the loss of Costco's cobranded card business.

E-commerce technology company Spindle and payment gateway PayLeap are combining products in an attempt to lower costs for small to medium-sized gun clubs.

Realex Payments, a division of Global Payments, has signed a three-year deal to process e-commerce and call-center transactions for insurance provider Aviva.

Following up on First Data's launch of the Clover Mini mobile point of sale device, TruBeacon has placed software in the Clover App Market that will link data from the payment terminal over a network of multiple retail locations.

Mobile payments are hot. Industry insiders both hope and fear new technology will upend reigning retail payment systems such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Mobile card acceptance devices have changed a lot in recent years. They are now much more complex than the simple plug-in card readers many are familiar with. And their evolution is far from over.

What good is having a mobile point of sale (mPOS) device if retailers glue it to the countertop? In a new IHL report that tries to size up the mPOS market, IHL points out that most merchants are happy to ignore the mobility inherent in their new technology.

Banks are choosing to enable payment functionality through third party “Pay” wallet offerings in most part, and not their own mobile apps. And these are the same internet and technology companies banks themselves perceive to be their biggest threats.

Tyro Payments, of Australia, will integrate its point of sale technology with the in-restaurant ordering and payment system made by Canada's TouchBistro.

The most striking thing about Apple Pay's recent loyalty announcement is that it included no loyalty program for Apple Pay.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson has made several moves in the payments industry over the years, and the latest puts him on Square's team.

The payment processor Total System Services (TSYS) has promoted a longtime employee to head up its North America consumer, commercial and health care lines of business.

The U.S. Postal Service has selected Cincinnati-based Vantiv, a payment processing service provider, to be its payment service support contractor.

The nature of fraud in the U.S. is about to change radically, as fraudsters adapt to EMV security at the point of sale by shifting their attention to e-commerce channels. Accompanying this shift are changes to the consumer's role in spotting fraud — but this could be as much a burden as it is a benefit if banks and merchants are not careful.

Android Pay's announcement lacked the jaw-dropping excitement of last fall’s Apple Pay release. As you can tell from the name, the Android Pay playbook is remarkably similar to Apple Pay.

Payment processor Elavon has signed a multi-year agreement to provide payment gateway and security technology to Wyndham Hotel Group.

Ecobank Transnational Inc. and MasterCard have agreed to promote electronic payments throughout Central and West Africa, accelerating use of payment cards for consumers and mobile card readers for merchants.

First Data likens its new Clover Mini payment terminal to Apple's product line: it's a device made to fill a niche that everyone else thought was already being served.

After several years of dormancy, Apple resurrected Near Field Communications (NFC). However, it remains to be seen if NFC will ultimately prosper and become the kind of ubiquitous payment technology that today is unique to payment cards.

Square Inc. will eventually be a publicly traded company and could conduct an initial public offering this year if it wanted to, its former chief operating officer said.