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IndustryUpdate

dents indicated they were likely to shop at a retailer Elavon, Union Bank extend long-standing alliance
that allowed them to have a shared cart across channels
instead of a retailer that does not offer this, yet only 7 Global payments provider Elavon and Union Bank agreed
percent of retailers offer this shared cart concept. to extend their multiyear alliance for the third time in
their 25-year partnership. The agreement adds a focus
Most SMBs believe they are at low on expanding into vertical markets such as healthcare, as
or no risk for data breach well as on enhancements with tools and services to make
it easier for clients to manage and grow their business.
Managed security and compliance solutions provider Union Bank's merchant customers are expected to benefit
ControlScan released a new report in collaboration with from Elavon's investment in new payment technologies
the Merchant Acquirers' Committee. Among the findings and tools and services to streamline business functions.
were that despite more secure POS systems and transac-
tion methods, human error outside of those systems is SpotOn, Poynt to debut SMB
frequently exploited. Also, 89 percent of SMBs believe payment, marketing solution
their business is at little to no risk of being breached. The
report details data points leading to this belief, and how Payments and software company SpotOn Transact LLC
each is a misconception. and smart terminal maker Poynt Inc. joined forces to deliv-
er an all-in-one payment and marketing solution for small
First Data studies German consumer and midsize businesses (SMBs). Poynt's Smart Terminal is
payment preferences part of a connected commerce platform designed for mer-
chants. Combined with SpotOn's omnichannel platform,
First Data Corp. released its first nationally representative the technology will be part of a turnkey, in-store solution
study of more than 2,000 German consumers, examining designed to allow merchants to easily manage their busi-
their preferred payment methods, as well as key factors ness analytics, appointment scheduling, web design, POS
that influence the adoption of card and contactless pay- software, marketing initiatives, customer reviews and
ment methods, including security, accessibility and age. loyalty programs.
According to the study, 42 percent of respondents believe
contactless payments are more convenient, almost twice ACQUISITIONS
as many as those who view cash as more convenient (22
percent); 54 percent believe cash will become obsolete in a
few years; and 52 percent prefer card payments. First Data acquires ayCash
STA details options for fingerprint-based First Data acquired ayCash, a German-based provider
payment cards of cashless payment terminals and digital merchant ser-
vices. Founded in 2008 by Hans Hezel, ayCash operates
As consumers become increasingly comfortable using well-known digital properties YesCash and Cash4Less
biometrics to unlock devices and log into accounts, and offers technical solutions for Girocard and credit
interest is growing in bringing biometrics to physical card acceptance to DACH-based merchants. ayCash
cards to provide simple-to-use multifactor authentication services include the ability for businesses to buy or rent
for in-store transactions. Thus, the Secure Technology high-speed card acceptance terminals (stationary and
Alliance released, Biometric Payment Cards, an introduc- wireless) as well as support for dispatch, installation and
tory resource that explains the business case, impact and maintenance.
considerations for providing fingerprint-based biometric
payment cards. Mastercard gains Ethoca to reduce fraud
Mastercard agreed to acquire Ethoca, a global provider of
PARTNERSHIPS technology solutions that help merchants and card issu-
ers collaborate in real-time to identify and resolve fraud
Bluefin, Cardknox to provide PCI-validated P2PE in digital commerce. The Ethoca suite of products adds to
Mastercard's commitment to drive greater protection in
Bluefin, a provider of payment security technologies and the digital space, integrating with its suite of fraud man-
Payment Card Industry (PCI)-validated point-to-point agement and security products.
encryption (P2PE) solutions partnered with Cardknox to
provide users of Cardknox's omnichannel payment gate- Prepaid Technologies buys dash
way the benefits of Bluefin's PCI-validated P2PE solu- prepaid purchasing-card portfolio
tion. Cardknox specializes in developer-friendly payment
solutions that integrate with hardware and software for Prepaid Technologies, a provider of business payment
access to in-store, online and mobile payment processing. solutions, acquired Karmic Labs' dash, a San Francisco-
based purchasing-card portfolio and expense manage-
ment solution, along with other select Karmic Labs assets.
The deal adds several key members of Karmic's staff to

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