payments

Groupon Payments, the daily-deals provider's answer to Square, is going nationwide.

The company announced on its blog yesterday that its merchants across the U.S. will now be able to sign up for Groupon Payments. Upon doing so, they'll be able to accept major credit cards by simply popping the Groupon card swipe accessory into an iPhone or iPod Touch and installing the associated iOS app. According to Groupon, payments processed through its service are deposited directly into merchant accounts overnight.

Groupon Payments users might find cheaper rates than they would with Square. The latter takes a flat … Read more

Square is growing by leaps, bounds, and venti lattes.

The payment-processing company, which allows merchants to swipe cards with a device connected to mobile devices, today announced that it's now handling $8 billion in transactions every year. Just a year ago, that figure stood at over $1 billion, and earlier this year, Square CEO Jack Dorsey said the company was processing $4 billion in transactions per year.

That growth has meant far more revenue for Square. Although the company doesn't divulge its financials, it takes a fee of 2.75 percent for each card swipe through its service. … Read more

After seemingly overcoming a series of security issues, Google is cashing out of the prepaid payment card market next month.

The Web giant began telling users today to get busy spending whatever balances remain on their cards because those cards will be discontinued on October 17.

The prepaid cards were made obsolete with the introduction of the ability to use any debit and credit cards with Google Wallet, the company said. Google announced on August 1 that its payment system was moving to the cloud, meaning it would be able to accept all major credit and debit cards.

Debuting in … Read more

After concerns were raised about where donors' money goes if Kickstarter projects are never finished, the crowd-source funding platform addressed its accountability today.

"The number of creative projects that have been funded and produced on Kickstarter in the past three years is enormous," the company's co-founders, Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler, wrote in a blog post today. "But of course not every project goes perfectly. Delays do occur, especially with more complicated projects. Some creators get in over their heads dealing with processes that are new to them."

Ultimately, Kickstarter concluded that the … Read more

Your smartphone is going to get more adept at handling money, but maybe not in quite the way you've been imagining it would.

There's been a lot of talk lately about mobile payments and how new apps or NFC technology will let you pay for things with your smartphone. But the truth is that this market is less about finding a new way for you to pay for things and more about offering you an easier way to carry and redeem coupons and special offers.

What's the most successful mobile payment system to date? It's an … Read more

The newest version of PayPal for Android is out, and it sports a refreshed interface, complete with the "Holo" styling typical of apps designed for Android 4.0 and above. All of the main navigation is at the top, with the familiar dotted menu button sitting on the top-right of the Action Bar.

With all of PayPal's core features now split into three tabs -- Account, Send, and Request -- PayPal 4.0 is easier than ever to use. Plus, it now looks and feels more in line with its sibling PayPal Here, the company's answer … Read more

Square has added to its list of retail partnerships with the announcement today that AT&T will begin selling the Square Card Readers at its stores.

The mobile payments startup's credit card reader will be offered at 1,000 AT&T stores, making Square available at more than 20,000 retail locations in the U.S., including at Apple stores, Best Buy, FedEx Office, RadioShack, Target, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart.

"AT&T stores are a convenient retail destination for purchasing Square Card Readers, offering entrepreneurs the ability to purchase all of the devices they need to … Read more

ISIS, a joint venture between the wireless carriers to usher in a mobile-payment system, is poised to launch in two trial markets in September.

That's according to Doug Bergeron, CEO of Verifone, which makes the payment terminals that most mobile-payment systems rely on. Bergeron confirmed the month to CNET, although he declined to provide a specific date. Bloomberg earlier reported on ISIS' launch time.

Bergeron was optimistic about the prospects for ISIS.

"With the carriers on their side, they stand to have a very good chance to succeed provide the handset makers get NFC-enabled smartphones out as promised,&… Read more