Retailers

Bank earnings could be hurt this year as big retailers close stores and file for bankruptcy. The situation has sparked a debate about how much CRE and C&I books will suffer just as lenders were putting other commercial woes behind them.

Harland Clarke's acquisition of RetailMeNot provides a broader range of marketing technology to serve merchants that are looking to improve mobile-driven sales against competitors such as Shopkick and Foursquare.

Harbortouch seeks to add marketing services to its existing point of sale equipment line.

As mobile apps that allow consumers to order and pay before reaching the retailer expand, traditional hardware providers are rushing to adopt the technology, as evidenced by Ingenico's expanded Five Guys deployment.

The company's selling product that's similar to a store-branded card, but without the physical plastic. It hopes to appeal to small or midsize stores that don't want to run their own credit programs.

The company is touring the U.S. in a large truck that contains its latest point of sale technology for banks and merchants.

Both standards are confusing and not universally adopted. But both are a necessary baseline to protect merchants and payment companies.

Merchants are concerned emerging technology can't keep up with the growing online fraud threat. But there are some steps that can increase security.

Ingenico ePayments is giving merchants a new way to engage consumers at the checkout by offering a choice of games enabling participants to win merchandise instead of having to pay for it.

Shortly after spinning off PayPal, eBay shed another unit, the e-commerce powerhouse Magento Commerce, which is working to spread its wings beyond its core specialty of e-commerce sites.