Blackhawk Network Acquires CashStar for $175 Million
Blackhawk Network Inc. keeps getting bigger. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based global technology company, has acquired digital gifting specialist CashStar Inc. for approximately $175 million in cash.
Payments
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Cashplus
Meet our No. 1 on the Top 5 Best Challenger Banks list and find out why CEO Rich Wagner says the company belongs there.
GasBuddy Unveils Payment Service with WEX
GasBuddy, a smartphone app helping nearly 70 million drivers find the best gas prices, has unveiled Pay with GasBuddy, a new payment service in partnership with WEX that provides U.S. drivers with discounts.
McDonald’s Taps Capgemini for Digital Push; Burger King Unveils Whoppercoin in Russia
Do you want fries with that? France-based Capgemini is likely to hear that phrase a lot more now that it’s signed a multiyear IT strategic provider agreement with McDonald’s Corp. Meanwhile, Burger King Russia is jumping on the cryptocurrrency bandwagon.
Mastercard pumps up payments with Fitbit’s first smartwatch
Mastercard is bringing its contactless payments to Fitbit’s first smartwatch, Fitbit Ionic.
RegTech Firm Corlytics Adds Depth to Advisory Board
Corlytics, a regulatory risk intelligence firm, has named Peter Oakes and David Bundi to its global advisory board.
NCR Takes Bigger Bite of Restaurant Business
NCR is hungry for more restaurant business, announcing its third such partnership in the last month. The Duluth, Ga.-based company is working with Performance Food Group to offer its NCR Silver cloud-based, point-of-sale solution to a new group of independent restaurants.
Bridg Raises $11 Million from Morpheus Ventures, March Capital, Visa and NextEquity
Bridg, which claims to be the first marketing software company to leverage point-of-sale data to drive “precision-marketing campaigns” for restaurant and retail brands, has secured $11 million in Series B funding.
Keys to Selecting Development Partners for Your Payments Project
It’s hard to imagine a fintech or payments company that today doesn’t have at least one key business initiative hinging on some kind of software development. Before you sign on the dotted line with a developer, here’s what you need to consider.
Blockchain Roundup: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Nations, platforms and some bad news in our latest blockchain and bitcoin roundup. Find out more about the SEC’S suspension of First Bitcoin Capital Corp., an initial coin offering for cryptocurrency exchange platform KyberNetwork and more.
Digiliti Money and Urban FT in “advanced” acquisition talks
Prospective buyer Urban FT Inc. confirmed on Aug. 25 that it’s in “advanced negotiations” with Digitili Money regarding a “potential transaction that will see DGLT stave off potential bankruptcy proceedings.”
PSCU opens Midwestern Service Center in Omaha
PSCU, a credit union service organisation that supports more than 850 owner credit unions, opened its Midwestern Service Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
Alipay Buzz Continues with Starbucks Deal
Alipay is zipping along in terms of its international expansion. With its latest partnership, the world’s largest online and mobile payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, is now available for Mainland Chinese tourists at all 242 Starbucks branches across Malaysia.
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Varo Money
“There’s a reason that the bank of the future hasn’t been created yet—it’s extremely difficult,” says Top 5 Best Challenger Bank Varo Money. See if you think they’ve got what it takes to rise to the challenge.
Square Opens Manhattan Store
Mobile POS pioneer Square is venturing into new territory with its own brick-and-mortar store in Manhattan.
InComm to buy Serve platform, become exclusive Amex prepaid distributor
American Express and InComm have entered into an agreement for InComm to acquire the exclusive distribution rights of Amex’s prepaid reloadable and gift card products in the US, including Bluebird and Serve. InComm also will acquire the Serve technology platform and other assets related to the American Express prepaid reloadable and gift card products business. […]
Simplify Back-to-School Season with E-Payments
Prepaid cards and alias-based payments that rely on email or mobile phone numbers can offer students and colleges and universities significant benefits over traditional check disbursement of financial aid.
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Capital on Tap
Get to know the SME lending specialist that’s challenging U.K. high street banks by providing zero percent interest when balances are paid in full within 37 days.
Juniper predicts major global shift to contactless on heels of US EMV push
A new study from Juniper Research is forecasting that more than half (53%) of global transactions at the point of sale will be contactless within five years, compared with just 15% this year, reports Banking Technology‘s sister publication Paybefore. The new research, “POS & mPOS Terminals: Vendor Strategies, Positioning & Market Forecasts 2017-2022,” expects adoption in the US […]
3 Ways to Drive User Experience Success and Value
Designing the user experience consumers expect in digital banking is less about seeing what sticks and more about seeing what stands up to real-world human examination and use.
Walmart Taps Google for Omnichannel Commerce Play
Google and Walmart are teaming up to take on Amazon (and Alexa) with voice-activated commerce and more plans for 2018. Starting in late September, the retail giant will be working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items for voice shopping via Google Assistant.
FIS, Equifax Want You to Say Goodbye to Passwords
FIS, a global financial services technology company, has joined forces with information specialist Equifax to create OnlyID, a digital authentication solution that enables consumers to make secure transactions across multiple online accounts without passwords.
Douugh Rises to Challenge with AI-Powered Banking
Banking challenger Douugh has unveiled its artificial intelligence-powered financial platform, guided by “Sophie”—a 24/7 personal assistant for finances.
Juniper Predicts Major Global Shift to Contactless on Heels of U.S. EMV Push
A new study from Juniper Research is forecasting that more than half (53 percent) of global transactions at the point of sale will be contactless within five years, compared with just 15 percent this year.
Get Smart: BofAML Brings AI to Accounts Receivable
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is launching a new solution—Intelligent Receivables—that uses artificial intelligence (AI) and other software to help companies “vastly improve” their straight-through reconciliation of incoming payments to help them post their receivables faster.
Barclays Enables ‘Voice Pay’ with Siri
Barclays announced on Aug. 21 that it’s the first U.K. high street bank that lets mobile banking customers make a payment by asking Siri. The payment, which relies on TouchID for authentication, can be completed without opening the Barclays Mobile Banking app.
Samsung’s Bixby AI expands to more countries
Look out Siri and Alexa, but Samsung says its artificial intelligence (AI) powered Bixby’s voice system has now expanded to more than 200 countries and territories. In addition to South Korea and the US, it is now available in the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa, among others. As reported in March, Samsung unveiled the […]
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 21 August 2017
Hot on the heels of the round-up on 18 August, here’s another blockchain and Bitcoin report. Featuring D+H Corporation (now Finastra), Visa, BTCS and Blockchain Global. A patent filing frenzy seems to be occurring at present. Following on from Bank of America filing three new patents using blockchain earlier this month, we now have D+H […]
Fiserv buys payments software vendor Dovetail
Fiserv has acquired payments software vendor Dovetail as it pushes deeper into the payments infrastructure sector. Financial terms were not disclosed. Through the acquisition, Fiserv says it will combine Dovetail’s real-time payments platform, services and business processing with its payment capabilities. Dovetail had been one of the very few independent fintech beacons in the industry, […]
Consumers Union Calls for More Prepaid Regs; NAFCU Wants Them Rescinded
Plagued by delays, threatened by Congressional repeal and finally opened to further comment and changes, the CFPB’s final rule on prepaid accounts now has consumer groups calling for the bureau to “strengthen” consumer protections while a credit union trade group wants the rule rescinded.
App Economy Dodges Bullet with Uber Court Victory
It’s a rare ray of sunshine for the embattled Uber, as it won a key fight in the U.S. Second Court of Appeals, which ruled its terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) are legally binding
Q&A with Mobey Forum’s ED Maikki Frisk
Six months after coming on board to lead the digital financial services trade association, Maikki Frisk talks about how to drive mobile payments adoption, the implications of Brexit and PSD2, and the ultimate importance of a good user experience.
Fiserv Buys Dovetail for Real-Time Payments Push
Fiserv has acquired payments software vendor Dovetail as it pushes deeper into the payments infrastructure sector and real-time payments. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Fintech funding round-up: 18 August 2017
We’ve got your back if you want to keep track of financial backing. Our latest fintech funding round-up features Options, Instamojo, AnyPay, Aegon and Funding Circle. Options, a provider of cloud-enabled managed services to capital markets, has received nearly $100 million in investment from New York-based private equity firm Bregal Sagemount. The money will be […]
Is Your Wallet Ready for 2020?
It’s safe to say mobile is just getting started as a payments form factor, but don’t chuck your plastic cards just yet. Personalization, including QR codes, can boost usage and help you stay top of wallet.
Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 18 August 2017
Quickly following on from the round-up on 16 August, here’s more blockchain and Bitcoin action. Features the Australian government, Blockchain (as in the firm), ShapeShift, Bitstamp and Payza. The Australian government has launched a crackdown on money laundering and terrorism financing – including the digital currency exchange sector being regulated for the first time. The […]
Mobile Contactless Hits £370 Million in U.K. in H1 2017
Mobile contactless transactions in the U.K. topped £370 million (US$476 million) in the first six months of 2017, a whopping 336 percent year-on-year increase, according to the latest transaction data from payments processor Worldpay. (Infographic included.)
PIF Welcomes GPS
The Prepaid International Forum has added another member to its roster. Global Processing Services, whose managing director Suresh Vaghjiani is an Industry Achievement Award recipient in the 2017 Pay Awards, has joined the nonprofit trade group.
Top 5 Best Challenger Banks: Revolut
Last month, we asked Paybefore.com visitors to vote for the Best Challenger Banks—the ones shaking up the status quo with a legit chance to become consumers’ preferred accounts, not just a stepping stone to the big banks. For the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing our spotlight articles on these challengers. First up is Revolut.
KeyBank invests in Billtrust, launches accounts receivable platform
KeyBank is putting its money where its mouth is. The bank isn’t just partnering with fintech companies, it’s also investing.
