POS and Retail

While traditional payment processors conquered bitcoin in the first battle, the disruptive potential of blockchain technology remains a potent threat and incumbent payment processors should prepare for a healthy new challenge.

The time is ripe to move decision-making up the ladder and for organizations to bite the bullet by creating a more inclusive comprehensive strategy for the overall business that considers all the disparate security needs, writes Madeline Aufseeser, an analyst and fintech executive.

As checkout-free stores dramatically reduce — or even eliminate — the need for point-of-sale devices, terminal makers are turning their focus to multichannel services that can keep younger, digital-savvy customers coming into stores.

Banks and fintechs such as payment apps depend on one another a lot more than their marketing messaging would lead you believe. The question is no longer whether they can partner, but how they can work together to optimize those synergies for one another, writes Flywire's Mike Massaro.

By offering Prime subscribers one-day shipping instead of the standard two, Amazon saw a dramatic change in shopping behavior — and a corresponding rise in costs.

The mobile point of sale market has grown far beyond its roots as an off-the-shelf dongle for smartphones. The category is now driving major acquisitions, collaborations and international deployments.

In their efforts to understand data privacy regulations and maintain compliance, it’s become clear that a large number of retailers simply don’t know the true whereabouts of their customers’ data, never mind how that data is being used, says Cleo's Dave Brunswick.

Giant Eagle’s supermarkets go back a century, literally, making the Pittsburgh chain one of the best tests yet for how the supermarket experience can adapt to mobile technology and the de-emphasizing of traditional checkout.

The P2P service, based on the time its users spend with it, has the capability of luring users into other services attached to Venmo.

Increased connectivity and speed could mean shorter transaction times for consumers, quicker and more stable connectivity between merchants and acquirers and even an end to offline payments, writes James Daniels, vice president and head of Asia Pacific at FIME.