News

Jan
20
2016

First Data Launches Square Competitor

 
It would appear that First Data is circling Square — as prospective competition, that is.

The commerce technology company announced on Friday (Jan. 15) that it is releasing Clover Go, which — similar to Square’s offering — is an EMV-enabled card reader that plugs into an iOS or Android tablet or smartphone and works with a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, allowing merchants to accept payments outside of a traditional brick-and-mortar setting.

“While the Clover platform serves businesses of all sizes, Clover Go is especially beneficial for businesses with mobile workforces or entrepreneurs just starting out who want to accept transactions while complying with the EMV liability shift,” Dan Charron, executive vice president and head of global business solutions at First Data, stated in a press release. “Clover Go enhances our Clover product portfolio, which is designed to grow alongside our business owner clients as their needs evolve. Whether a business owner wants a card reader or the full Clover Station, First Data has the solutions that help businesses prosper.”

The press release goes on to explain that Clover Go works in concert with an app that merchants download; once a business is using the system, it can assign dollar amounts, including tax and tips, to inventory, as well as view transaction-level detail and the integration of data across all Clover devices that the business might use. The release adds that employees can download the app on their own devices and that Clover Go facilitates multi-user and multi-merchant functionality.

Read entire article at PYMNTS
Posted January 18, 2016

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
KATY LASEE | MARKETING DEPT.
651 554 8533
KRLasee@traveltags.com

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Jan
15
2016

Worldwide wearable market to surpass 200 million

The worldwide wearable device market (commonly referred to as wearables) will see continued growth as second- and third-generation iterations reach the market. These new devices will build upon the hardware and software of their predecessors and answer some of the shortcomings and concerns that potential customers have today.

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC )Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker , the worldwide wearable device market will reach a total of 111.1 million units shipped in 2016, up a strong 44.4% from the 80 million units expected to ship shipped in 2015. By 2019, the final year of the forecast, total shipments will reach 214.6 million units, resulting in a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28%.

“The most common type of wearables today are fairly basic, like fitness trackers, but over the next few years we expect a proliferation of form factors and device types,” said Jitesh Ubrani , Senior Research Analyst for IDC Mobile Device Trackers. “Smarter clothing, eyewear, and even hearables (ear-worn devices) are all in their early stages of mass adoption. Though at present these may not be significantly smarter than their analog counterparts, the next generation of wearables are on track to offer vastly improved experiences and perhaps even augment human abilities.”

Read entire article at Payments Industry Intelligence
Written by Alex Rolfe

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
KATY LASEE | MARKETING DEPT.
651 554 8533
KRLasee@traveltags.com

TAGS:   Technology Advances, trends, Wearables

Jan
07
2016

Apps to help you organize and use your gift cards

 

Cathy Kamimura is an extreme user of gift cards. She currently has about 100 valued at more than $2,000. 

 

Managing them all is not just unwieldy, it is also risky since gift cards are like cash and cannot be replaced if they are stolen.

Gift cards, which become more popular by the year, have long been a challenge to consumers who leave them in drawers, lose track of their value or just never get around to using them.

At least $500 million of the estimated $130 billion worth of U.S. gift cards sold this year will go unused, consulting firm CEB TowerGroup said.

Kamimura, a 53-year-old stay-at-home mother from San Gabriel, California, found an app called Slide that let her consolidate that pile of plastic into an easy-to-use tool for her smartphone.

"It has made my life so much easier," Kamimura says. "My gift card carrier was so big, and I feel much safer."

Gift card organizing apps make things simpler by consolidating cards to single place that displays their value and allow them to be spent. The apps generate a bar code for cashiers to scan and draw down the value of the card.

The apps, which are free, make their money by taking a percentage of the gift cards they sell. They allow users to enter their cards manually, by scanning or a combination of the two.

The biggest player in this market is Gyft, while others like Slide, GoWallet and eGifter are expanding offerings.

The bulk of the overall gift card market is dominated by physical, plastic gift cards, says Gyft co-founder CJ MacDonald. By contrast, e-gifting (when you email a gift card from a retailer like Amazon.com) has only about a 5.5 percent share.

Read entire article at Reuters.com.
Written by Mitch Lipka, a Reuters contributor

 

MEDIA CONTACT:
KATY LASEE | MARKETING DEPT.
651 554 8533
KRLasee@traveltags.com

TAGS:   card services, trends