Instabill offers medical marijuana merchant account solutions for licensed marijuana dispensaries, CEO Jason Field announced Apr. 30, 2014. With the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes in 25 states, acquiring banks are warming to the notion that it is an industry with tremendous earnings potential, one in which credit card processing is absolutely necessary.…
Category: Industry News
2 Ways Small Business Merchants are Losing in the Payments Landscape
As the payments landscape continues to change, it is the small business merchants who seem to be forgotten in the migration to EMV chip technology and protection against hackers. This was a recurring theme in two of the seminars at the Electronic Transaction Association (ETA) Transact 14 Conference in Las Vegas last week, entitled Merchants…
US Retail Sales Hit $4.5 Trillion in 2013
The numbers are in—total US retail sales totaled more than $4.5 trillion in 2013. The growth over the past year is largely attributed to e-commerce sales, which accounted for $40 billion out of the above amount. Although that seems like a relatively small piece of the pie, e-commerce sales actually rose by 17% in 2013,…
Game Changes for Payday Lenders
In a series of sweeping policy changes, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has imposed new rules on “predatory lenders,” including payday lenders and high cost installment loans. Lenders that provide small dollar loans will now have to adhere to the same laws as regular lenders, which will help shield consumers from predatory lending tactics.…
Chinese E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Makes US IPO
As Chinese e-commerce continues to gain prominence among the US and European markets, its biggest company—Alibaba–plans to make an IPO in the New York Stock Exchange later in 2014. This latest move suggests that Chinese e-commerce giants, such as Alibaba and JD.com, are proving to be heavily influential in the global market. Chinese E-commerce? What…
Walmart E-Commerce to Show Competitor Prices
As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart has been making strides to improve its e-commerce platform. Walmart e-commerce has never been a top performer—with Amazon and eBay ruling the online retail world. As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart has been making strides to improve its e-commerce platform. Walmart e-commerce has never been a top performer—with Amazon…
MasterCard and Visa Halt Service to Russian Banks
Credit card giants MasterCard and Visa halted service to several Russian banks as a part of U.S. sanctions regarding Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. Russia hastily annexed the southern Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea against the United Nations wishes, hence the U.S. sanctions. Both MasterCard and Visa’s statements on Russian banks, issued on Friday, cited compliance with…
Seven More U.S. States Considering Online Gambling
Predictably, the states of Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey are generating revenue from the onset of online gambling, made legal in all three states last year. Now seven other states are thinking of following their lead. Nevada legalized e-gambling in April of 2013 while Delaware followed in October and New Jersey in December. Other states…
US E-Commerce International Likely to Quintuple by 2020
By the year 2020, economics experts predict that international sales from US e-commerce will increase five-fold to $50 billion. U.S. International E-Commerce Market is Surging By the year 2020, economics experts predict that international sales from US e-commerce will reach $50 billion, nearly five times the amount it is now. Currently, international sales from U.S.…
Walmart spurring advancement of India e-commerce
With India e-commerce set to expand drastically over the next few years, global e-commerce leaders are beginning to gain footholds inside the country. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is just one of the major brands looking to cash in on the growing market. But with a history of disappointing performances, will Walmart e-commerce succeed? Why…