“Online marketplace giant eBay Inc. said last month it has an aggressive expansion blueprint for its fledgling managed-payments program, and late on Wednesday the company announced its latest gambit by laying out a plan to move into the United Kingdom this summer. The service has been available in the United States since September 2018 and was introduced in Germany a year later. “Taking control of the payments process on our platform is a key component of our strategy to enhance the eBay experience by breaking down barriers and removing complexities for our customers,” Alyssa Cutright, vice president of global payments, said in a statement. “We’ve seen great success in the U.S. and Germany and we’re thrilled to expand to the U.K.””

“Square Inc. (SQ.N), which started about a decade ago with a smartphone-based credit card scanner used mainly by small businesses, has launched a device in Canada aimed at disrupting a market of larger retailers dominated by Canadian banks. Square’s white plastic device, called the Terminal, replaces the physical keypad design with a glass touch screen that it says allows for more clarity at checkout with a variety of display options, such as a full breakdown of the bill.”

“Today, Adobe announced that it is working with Amazon on a new program called Branded Stores for Amazon Sellers, to create what they are describing as “branded storefronts” (not described specifically as websites) aimed at smaller merchants that have already been selling through Amazon (and possibly other marketplace platforms) to build their own first-party commerce experiences — while still using some of the transaction and fulfilment tools of the Amazon ecosystem. For now, those tools don’t appear to include Prime, although from what I understand expanding Prime beyond the Amazon.com ecosystem is on the roadmap. Instead, it covers Amazon Pay, fulfilment and hosting on AWS.”

“Veem, the only global payments processor built for business, is giving back to businesses that have suffered the consequences of rising tariffs on international goods. The Veem Tariff Relief program will reimburse those who’ve been disrupted by the ongoing trade war and pay back $1,000 toward a business’ tariff bill on imports from China.”

“Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, today announced its platform expansion in Australia and New Zealand. The Wirecard platform is now available in New Zealand for e-commerce services and Australia for omnichannel solutions. With this expansion, Wirecard is extending its ecosystem of real-time value added services around innovative digital payments in Oceania.”

“FreedomPay, the global leader in secure Commerce Technology for lodging, gaming, retail, restaurants, stadiums and other hospitality merchants, announced Apple Pay will be featured on its new DecisionPoint Network™ (DPN). DPN is a first-of-its kind digital network bringing merchant messages, advertising and value added services to payment terminals, helping merchants extend their presence and engage consumers at the Point of Sale (POS).”