The National Retail Federation (NRF) is projecting over 80% of shoppers will purchase at least one gift card with total holiday spending approaching $30 billion in 2012. The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA), made up of some of the nation’s largest retailers, wants all consumers to know that gift cards purchased at their member companies have no fees, never expire and are a convenient – and coveted – gift.
Virtual Piggy has entered into a Strategic Partnership with WorldPay to further expand its eCommerce service in the international marketplace. Virtual Piggy allows parents to set up a monthly allowance for their children and promotes financial management, while empowering youth under 21 to make purchasing, saving and other money management decisions for themselves, within the boundaries setup by parents in over 100 different currencies. Meanwhile, WorldPay merchant acquirer operates in more than forty countries, 120 transaction currencies and fourteen settlement currencies.
Tyfone NFC solutions, announced a strategic investment and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel (IQT) independent, nonprofit which identifies innovative technology solutions to support the U.S. government. The seamless addition of a smartcard to any existing mobile device using Tyfone’s technology brings distributed, strong authentication and secures access to any services in the cloud, on any network. The strategic relationship with IQT is further validation that the Tyfone solution is poised to address a recognized commercial and market need.
EVO Payments International privately held credit card processor has acquired PowerPay, a premier provider of integrated E-Commerce and POS payment processing solutions. EVO currently services 275,000 merchant customer businesses of all sizes, in various industries, focusing on small to mid-sized merchants. PowerPay currently supports a portfolio of 55,000 merchanchants with a total annual sales volume of more than $8 billion and relationships with over 15,000 VARs and agents.
NCR Corporation announced that the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) is installing the NCR Venue Manager solution at four of its athletic facilities to drive revenues and increase the efficiency of its concessions and suite catering operations. This will let venue staff plan, manage and run events more effectively, increasing customer satisfaction while enhancing operational visibility and controls. The UW-Madison solution includes point-of-sale hardware and software that enable effective back office management; integrated credit card processing; and ticket, suite, premium and retail sales.
[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”0″ ihc_mb_template=”1″] With the total outstanding revolving US consumer credit having waned 3.1% in September, it witnessed a 4.7% jump in October, as consumers strap on those shopping shoes. With growth of 5% since the year ago period, outstanding consumer credit has seen growth of 2% since the July figure, according to the…
Higher One financial services and data analytics launched its “OneRewards” cash back rewards program for its checking accounts for college students enrolled at partner colleges and universities. The “OneRewards” solution allows Higher One checking accountholders to receive up to 30% cash back on everyday purchases both online and in-store. The OneRewards program will be providing access to over 100,000 merchants in the network including 21 of the 25 top U.S. retailers and 45 of the top 50 online retailers including top brands like Staples.com, BestBuy.com, Kohls.com, and Dell Home.
TransCard enhanced its Gift Card programs, giving all banks offering TransCard prepaid programs Free access to customized microsites for seamless online Gift Card sales. Banks are responding to promote and sell gift cards on their websites and through social media. The TransCard online Gift Card program is the latest in a series of new product, marketing and technology innovations from TransCard.
Intuit unveiled a fresh look and feel to its GoPayment mobile payment app. The new GoPayment comes with new tools and features that small businesses can use on their smartphones or tablets – helping them to compete with bigger companies, increase sales and grow their business. GoPayment syncs data with best-selling QuickBooks financial software, and integrates with QuickBooks Point of Sale to provide one of the only robust mobile point-of-sale solutions specifically designed to help the nation’s 2.8 million small retailers manage and grow their businesses. Improvements allow users to personalize transactions to meet their specific needs and tastes, track cash payments, apply discounts and better manage employees.
The National ATM Council, dedicated to representing the interests of Independent ATM providers across the U.S., has joined the EMV Migration Forum. The Forum was founded by the Smart Card Alliance to facilitate discussion and collaboration among various industry participants in the proposed U.S. migration to EMV chip card technology. NAC has formed its own internal EMV Working Group to address the challenges posed for ATM providers by the proposed implementation of EMV technology in the U.S.
mopay announced its mobile loyalty management suite, which includes customer relationship management, loyalty and gamification tools and now allows mopay clients to add an opt-in feature that enables consumers to sign up for a mobile loyalty program. Online merchants can now immediately communicate with users to enhance customer relationship management, build loyalty and improve customer satisfaction. This gives online merchants a way to bill users who do not have a credit card or do not want to use their credit card in an online environment while giving consumers a convenient, secure and fast way to pay for goods.
Optimal Payments online payments provider has entered into an agreement with Vantiv payment processing services and related technology solutions for merchants and financial institutions. This allows Optimal to offer its global merchants a sophisticated online payments solution in the U.S. market, enabling these merchants to process online payments via a wide range of payment methods, including Visa and MasterCard. This relationship combines Optimal’s expertise in providing international ecommerce and risk management solutions with Vantiv’s processing scale, renowned service, and reputation in the U.S. market.