Retailers

The company has used word of mouth for its marketing, but will use the new funds to reach different channels.

Alipay has worked with First Data, Verifone, Ingenico and others to connect with merchants in North America, but more as a service for Chinese travelers than a direct competitor to existing payment providers.

Seeing the successful “private label” debit programs at Target and Cumberland Farms has inspired more merchants to launch their own initiatives, writes Adam Frisch, CEO of Buy It Mobility Networks.

TSYS has expanded its relationships with ISOs or entered into joint ventures with companies such as super ISO Central Payment. TSYS has been gradually increasing its stakeholder share in Central Payment as part of the collaboration.

Providers leave out a majority of lower-volume companies that would happily accept an electronic payment or card, writes Sue Ellen Hodnot, vice president of sales for the west region at Nvoicepay.

The renaming is designed to evoke a provider of end-to-end technology, beyond payments systems.

With more vendors issuing EMV cards, cybercriminals are turning to cart-not-present fraud as a way to defraud consumers. A mix of weapons is necessary to counter it, writes Robert Capps, authentication strategist and vice president at NuData Security.

Alipay and WeChat Pay will force traditional payment networks to up their game, particularly in in-play emerging markets. Whether they can become relevant at scale for consumers outside China remains to be seen, writes Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures.

After five years of steady growth, U.S. consumers are pulling back on buying all types of prepaid cards — including retail gift cards — due to a combination of economic and consumer shifts.

The increased availability of the technology serves to further encourage consumer adoption rates, writes John Mitchell, CEO of Episode Six.