“As SMBs navigate a new retail landscape permanently altered by COVID-19, technology adoption is pivotal to business success. Today, Lightspeed announces new features to help its customers with the continued digital transformation of their businesses. The new tools offer increased mobility when processing transactions, more options for viewing business insights, and will better support SMBs as they continue to adjust to consumer behaviour. In the coming weeks, Lightspeed will introduce business-empowering features for in-store POS and eCommerce, including Mobile Tap supporting curbside pick-up and contactless payment, Digital Wallet, and Analytics Core.”

“British retail sales jumped back almost to pre-coronavirus lockdown levels in June when non-essential stores in England reopened, giving a boost to beleaguered clothing stores. Sales volumes in June leapt by 13.9% from May, above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists. A 70% surge in clothing and footwear sales reversed much of their slump in recent months, though the sector remains one of the worst hit, with spending 35% below pre-pandemic levels.”

“VizyPay , an award-winning leader in the payment processing industry for small businesses, today announced the launch of its first Cash Discount app for Clover point of sale (POS) systems. Available on the Clover App Market, the app provides merchants with a new way to offer a discount for customers who pay in cash, while also potentially saving up to 100 percent of their monthly processing fees. The new app is an extension of VizyPay’s Cash Discount Program, which provides small business owners with unlimited credit card processing for one flat, low monthly fee, and is free to any Cash Discount Program customer.”

“Today, Shopify launched a fully rebuilt and reimagined Shopify POS to merchants around the world. The all-new Shopify POS unlocks the power of omni-channel for businesses by bringing in-person and online sales together in one place. Shopify POS is now poised to help merchants stay flexible and resilient in the face of challenges to their business today and the ever-changing retail landscape ahead.”

“Paytronix Systems, Inc., the most advanced digital guest experience platform, today announced that it has secured an additional $10 million in funding, led by Great Hill Partners and the company’s cofounders. The funding is designed to ensure that Paytronix is on sound financial footing and will continue to provide its restaurant, convenience-store, grocery, and retail clients with the communications tools necessary during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.”

“Convinced that the payment process, which is rooted in the day-to-day life of consumers, has to be responsible, Ingenico set itself the task of giving it a new role: a process that has a positive impact on society as a whole. The Group therefore introduced – first in the United Kingdom in 2011 – the option of making a micro-donation through the payment terminal while making a purchase. This initiative was extended to France in 2015 and then to Spain in 2018.”

“U.S. merchants added 600,000 locations for EMV chip card acceptance in 2019’s first six months, and Visa issuers cranked out an additional 10 million EMV payment cards, according to new figures from Visa Inc. In its latest update on the U.S. conversion from magnetic-stripe payment cards to the EMV chip card standard, Visa reported Wednesday that 3.7 million U.S. locations in June accepted EMV cards, compared with 3.5 million in March and 3.1 million last December. Some 80% of storefronts now accept chip cards, up from 75% and 68% in March and December, respectively, according to Visa.”

“EMVCo is to add support for eight-digit Issuer Identification Numbers (IINs) in 2021, with the result that “point of sale terminals may need to be updated to ensure they recognise and have the ability to process both existing and longer IINs, or transactions may be terminated or processed incorrectly”.”

“Through the XPOS module installed, the Verifone X990 will function just like the XPOS, as all of its features will be installed in the traditional terminals. Consumers with Pundi XPASS cards or the XWallet app will be able to transact with retailers using the X990 just as they would with XPOS partner merchants. The XPOS will automatically provide an exchange rate between fiat and cryptocurrencies during the transaction, making it as seamless as possible for both consumers and merchants. The XPOS integration is an essential step to link the Pundi X payment ecosystem with one of the most extensive payment networks in the world. To have XPOS module in X990 and other upcoming Android-based POS models, merchants will be required to contact their local VeriFone or Pundi X distributors for installation.”

“The solution, provided for by Nets , unifies payments from 23 providers, so dining customers can use different cashless payment options at a single payment terminal at a food outlet. This also saves hawkers the hassle of dealing with multiple e-payment firms. These include e-wallets like Singtel Dash and GrabPay, transport cards EZ-Link and Nets FlashPay, and credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard.”

“Merchant processor Square Inc. is making it easier for its restaurant clients to use third-party delivery services, while at the same time fortifying itself against bigger merchant acquirers slated to merge into even bigger ones. San Francisco-based Square, which has its own restaurant delivery, pick-up, and catering service called Caviar, on Thursday announced integrations for its Square for Restaurants payment and business-management service with delivery services Postmates Inc. and DoorDash Inc. The company also said Square for Restaurants is now integrated with Chowly Inc., a Chicago-based software provider that feeds third-party delivery orders into restaurants’ point-of-sale systems, including those from Grubhub and Uber Eats.”

“The POS solution is designed to bring together selling, customer engagement, store inventory and fulfillment functionalities to help store teams deliver customer experiences with a single omnichannel system of record. Additionally, the move allows Lamps Plus to choose from among numerous hardware manufacturers, form factors and operating systems.”