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February 10, 2020

On the web

Merchant Payments Operations: Reporting and Analytics

Payments Views

“In Kavita Jiandani’s post Assessing a Merchant’s Payments Operations , she introduced Glenbrook’s methodology for our in-depth assessment of a merchant’s payments operations. In her introductory piece, Kavita highlights the major Key Assessment Areas we evaluate during each engagement. In this Payments Views entry, I continue with a focus on one of the Key Assessment Areas: Reporting and Analytics.”

August 27, 2019

On the web

Why Mobile Payments Don’t Deliver for Merchants

Digital Transactions

“Mobile payments so far account for a mere 2% or less of U.S. general-purpose card payments, according to some estimates, and that’s no surprise to some executives who believe mobile payments haven’t delivered for many merchants. “I don’t think anyone in the market is solving problems for the retailers,” Laura Townsend, senior vice president of operations at the Minneapolis-based Merchant Advisory Group, said Monday. Townsend was a panelist at a session about “merchant-centric” mobile payments and loyalty programs at this week’s Mobile Payments Conference in Chicago.”

April 3, 2019

On the web

Stance Lets Customers Use Their Phones to Self Checkout Anywhere in Store

NFC World

“Specialist sock retailer Stance is enabling customers to pay for products on their mobile phones from anywhere in its stores — without them having to visit a physical checkout desk, talk with a shop assistant or download an app. Shoppers use the browser on their mobile phone to navigate to a short URL. They then scan the product barcode and pay on their phone using Apple Pay, Google Pay or a credit card.”

March 1, 2019

Top Post

Kroger Steps up the Pressure on Visa With Another Ban on the Network’s Credit Cards

Digital Transactions

“The Kroger Co. on Friday opened a new front in its battle with Visa Inc. over acceptance costs with an announcement that it will stop accepting Visa credit cards at its Smith’s Food & Drug Stores chain, which operates 134 stores in seven Western states. The ban is set to take effect April 3, Kroger said. The move is the latest salvo by Cincinnati-based Kroger in its long-running feud with the card networks and with Visa specifically. It also steps up the pressure on Visa after the grocery giant last August banned the network’s credit cards from a much smaller chain, Foods Co., which has 21 supermarkets and five gas stations in California. Kroger owns a number of retail brands that altogether embrace some 2,800 stores nationwide.”

December 24, 2018

Top Post

Department Store of the Future: Selling Art Off the Walls and Car Insurance at Checkout

Wall Street Journal (paywall)

“If the department store has a future, it might look like this. The space is a quarter of its original size. New goods hit the racks daily and are displayed on a single floor with an e-commerce warehouse upstairs. The store is closed two days a week and is staffed by full-time employees who know their customers by name and sell auto insurance among other services at the checkout.”

December 21, 2018

On the web

COMMENTARY: For Merchants, Much Has Been Accomplished, Much Is Yet To Be Done

Mark Horwedel, MAG - Digital Transactions News

“The Great Recession strengthened merchant resolve to do something about the cost of payments. For the first time, merchants collaborated to bring their arguments to Washington, and they prevailed as a result of the public’s displeasure with banks and the general feeling that something needed to be done to control banks’ excessive market power and greed.”

December 3, 2018

On the web

Retailers Are Testing Facebook-Style Shopper Profiles to Battle Amazon

Bloomberg

“Jessica Ferro recently ordered $200 worth of makeup from Sephora’s online app—and then waited a month for it to arrive. Despite conversations with multiple customer-service agents, the shipment had gone to her old address in Joliet, Illinois. She didn’t yell or document her experience on Yelp or Twitter.  Ferro, 34, did what came naturally: She took her business elsewhere—to Wander Beauty, an online makeup seller that has put a premium on customer service by enlisting chatbots she can talk with whenever and wherever she wants.”

November 2, 2018

On the web

Target rolls out mobile checkout scanning technology amid holiday push

Mobile Payments Today

“Target announced new efforts to boost its omnichannel presence during the holiday season with a new mobile checkout called “Skip the Line.” Target said employees, armed with handheld scanners, will be able to check out credit and debit card purchases inside the shopping cart or basket from anywhere in the store, according to a spokesman. During peak shopping periods like Black Friday, additional store workers will be located in heavily used sections like electronics.”

October 15, 2018

Top Post

How Robots and Drones Will Change Retail Forever

Wall Street Journal (paywall)

“We are in the early days of what might be called the “physical cloud,” an e-commerce ecosystem that functions like the internet itself. Netflix caches the movies you stream at a data center physically close to you; Amazon is building warehouse after warehouse to store goods closer to consumers. And the storage systems at those warehouses are looking more like the data-storage systems in the cloud.”

September 25, 2018

Top Post

September 18, 2018

On the web

September 11, 2018

On the web

Amazon Go Expands into East Coast with 1st NYC Store

Progressive Grocer

“Amazon is planning to open one of its cashierless convenience concepts in New York, evidenced by several listings posted on the ecommerce giant’s jobs page. The Seattle-based company is seeking at least three positions for a planned Amazon Go store in the Big Apple: store manager, assistant store manager and training lead associate. The new store will mark the format’s entrance into the East Coast.”

On the wires

7-Eleven Gets ‘Smart’ with New Digital Payment Offerings

“For many smartphone users, shopping at 7-Eleven stores will just got even faster and more convenient with the touch of their smartphone or smartwatch. 7-Eleven, Inc. – the largest chain in the convenience retailing industry – now accepts Apple Pay, which is transforming mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay, and Google Pay for contactless payments at participating U.S. stores.”

August 30, 2018

On the web

August 24, 2018

On the web

August 8, 2018

On the web

Abercrombie App Adds Millennial-Friendly Venmo Payment Option

Bloomberg

“Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is hoping millennials and Generation Z shoppers like purchasing hoodies and jeans with their Venmo accounts as much as they like buying pizza. Venmo payment optionSource: Abercrombie & Fitch Starting Tuesday, shoppers using the retailer’s namesake and Hollister apps will be able to select the popular payment platform as an option when checking out. The company’s mobile apps are its fastest-growing digital channel, making them key to a revival at the youth clothing store, which saw sales rise last fiscal year after four annual declines.”

May 2, 2018

Top Post

April 19, 2018

On the web

April 16, 2018

On the web

Crate And Barrel Selects New Provider Of Credit Cards

Retail Touch Points

Crate and Barrel has selected Synchrony, a leading private label credit card financing company, as its strategic provider of consumer financing. Crate and Barrel and Synchrony will partner on a private label credit card, for use in nearly 100 North American Crate and Barrel stores and all digital channels, and add a dual-branded Mastercard to the retailer’s options. The new credit cards will be launched later in 2018.”

April 13, 2018

Top Post

Delta Finds Revenue in Credit Cards and Upgrades

Wall Street Journal (Paywall)

Delta Air Lines Inc. DAL -0.11% is banking on branded credit cards, repairing jets and plusher passenger amenities to drive growth. The No. 2 U.S. carrier beat quarterly earnings forecasts on Thursday thanks to rising passenger and cargo traffic as well as non-ticket revenue that is growing at an even faster pace. Airlines have become reliant for sales and profits on services and products such as co-branded credit cards from issuers including American Express Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.”

On the wires

Mastercard and BJ’s Wholesale Club Enhance Checkout Experience for Shoppers with Masterpass

“With the integration of Masterpass, BJ’s members can pay for items in their virtual cart without ever having to take out their card or input all of their credentials. The digital platform securely stores all payment information, including card details, shipping information and payment preference – making their shopping list the only thing they need to remember.”

April 11, 2018

On the wires

PAR Technology Introduces PAR Pay for all PAR POS Software Solutions

“ParTech, Inc. (PAR), a leading global provider of point of sale (POS) and workforce efficiency solutions to the restaurant and retail industries, announced the introduction of PAR Pay, a SaaS based EMV enabled transaction processing solution for processing credit, debit and store value cards. PAR Pay is seamlessly integrated as an extension of all PAR POS software solutions and supported by the PAR service infrastructure. PAR Pay will be available to all Brink and PixelPoint clients in June of this year.”

April 9, 2018

On the wires

Mastercard and Phillips 66 Drive Easier Payments with Masterpass

“Mastercard announced that Phillips 66 will integrate Masterpass into its My Phillips 66 App later this year. Mastercard’s digital payment service will enable Phillips 66 customers to simply and securely pay both at the pump and in the convenience store within the My Phillips 66 App. Masterpass securely stores all payment information, including card details, shipping details, and payment preference – making the gas tank the only thing consumers need to remember to fill.”

April 3, 2018

On the web

KFC enhances payment security, gives customers more payment options

Chain Store Age

“KFC, has migrated its payments system in the U.S. to Ingenico Group’s Telium semi-integrated solution to simplify its path to EMV card acceptance and reduce PCI compliance scope while also providing customers with more payment options and enhanced payment security. As part of the solution, KFC customers will now be able to pay using all forms of electronic payment, including EMV chip & PIN, EMV chip & sign, magstripe and NFC/contactless.”

April 2, 2018

On the web

March 28, 2018

On the web

How UK restaurant Wagamama is making payments ‘invisible’

Tearsheet

“Wagamamago uses Mastercard’s Qkr! digital ordering and payment platform, which is integrated via APIs into its own app. Customers need to check in and give restaurant staff a code, which the wait staff tags to the table. U.K. customers, in contrast to U.S., counterparts, may be more open to changing their payment behavior since their payment habits have already been disrupted by widespread adoption of contactless payments. Qkr! is available in the U.S., but hasn’t been widely adopted by restaurants. In the U.K. however, major chains are allowing ‘pay with mobile’ capabilities through the Qkr! app, including Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Ask Italian and Bryon Hamburgers. Wagamama did not respond to a request for comment.”

Restaurant Customers May No Longer Have to Sign Credit Card Slips

Eater

“Paying the tab at the end of a meal may soon get a tiny bit faster: Starting this Sunday, diners who pay with a credit card may no longer have to sign their receipt, Restaurant Business reports. The four biggest credit card providers — Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express — will no longer require most restaurants to obtain customer signatures, saying that chip technology has largely curbed fraudulent credit card use.”

March 5, 2018

On the web

THE INEVITABLE RISE OF IN-STORE RETAIL TECHNOLOGY

Colloquy.com

“According to the study, retailers are testing and building a massive array of customer-facing and back-office retail technologies, but what areas will have the most impact on improving CX? The answer may very well be at the point of purchase, where tech hardware and mobile experiences are both underutilized. If you are looking to make improvements to your CX through technology, here is a quick look at the two major areas you should focus your investment.”

February 14, 2018

Top Post

Why your grocery store wants to be like a startup

Boston Globe

“The desire for change in the grocery shopping experience was made apparent last month, when the public got its first glimpse of the Amazon Go store in Seattle. Consider the irony: Designed to eliminate the check-out line, the store has had a line outside its entrance since it opened. And just last week, Amazon announced that it would begin offering groceries from Whole Foods through its two-hour Prime Now delivery service.”

January 3, 2018

On the web

The Case Against Going Cashless

QSR Magazine

“Cash has its advantages. It doesn’t come with a service fee, it might encourage tipping, and it requires human interaction that can shine a light on superior customer service, says Virgil Dickerson, marketing manager of Illegal Pete’s, a Denver-based burrito concept that had considered going cashless but decided against it. The brand is, however, incorporating more digital payment options than just credit cards.”

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