As digital payment technology becomes easier to implement, more and more businesses are adopting tech solutions to make digital payments faster, safer, and even more convenient. Generally, the market is expected to benefit from the high adoption rate of smartphones, the rise in e-commerce sales, and improving internet penetration globally. The pandemic, while hurting many industries, has helped emphasize the importance of digital payments, as customers across the world have shifted from offline shopping to online shopping during the pandemic. And, according to data provided by Grand View Research, the global digital payment market size was valued at USD 58.30 Billion in 2020.
E-commerce became largely popular due to the fact that consumers could purchase products on their phones or computer from anywhere, as opposed to stepping into a brick-and-mortar store. Now e-commerce sales are continuing to grow exponentially each year as consumers opt to shop online. Moreover, the technology also allows vendors and businesses to issue disbursements and refunds at a much faster rate. Overall, the improving accessibility and the rising acceptance of such solutions from corporations is further propelling the industry growth.
XTM, Inc. (CSE: PAID) (OTC: XTMIF) announce yesterday breaking news that, “The Fifteen Group and XTM have signed an agreement to work together to offer XTM’s Tipstoday™ Early Gratuity Access Payout to restaurants with the goal of achieving greater operative efficiencies.
The Fifteen Group signed its 1,000th client in 2020 and has 30+ consultants working throughout North America, creating a strategic, planned approach towards restaurant operations for optimal client success. With more than 20 years’ experience, The Fifteen Group works with a range of clients and services from independent owner-operators to large, multi-national chains across restaurants, bars, hotels, golf courses, and more. The Fifteen Group is recognized for their expertise in profit and operational optimization for new and existing hospitality concepts.
“We are thrilled to be working with XTM and their Tipstoday product in our aim to offer new and innovative ways to help our restaurant clients improve their operations,” said David Hopkins, President of The Fifteen Group said. “Tipstoday provides restaurants with the tools they need to digitize and streamline gratuities and ultimately enhance employee satisfaction and attraction. Whether we are developing a new concept or helping a chain of restaurants boost profitability, we see this synergy as an effective means of bolstering the hospitality industry’s growth and recovery.”
“Our association with The Fifteen Group grows our business and makes us smarter,” said Marilyn Schaffer, CEO, XTM. “As a solution bespoke for the hospitality industry, this union will help both XTM’s business grow as will our knowledge and insights. We have an iterative culture whereby our learnings are constantly built into our Agile UX and engineering cycles. We are enthusiastically optimistic of our resulting near-future gains.”
Also announced today, in adherence with its restricted share unit (“RSU”) plan (the “RSU Plan”) pursuant to which the Company may grant options and RSUs to attract, motivate, and retain directors, officers, employees and consultants, and to align the interests of plan participants with those of the Company’s shareholders, XTM announced that on July 7, 2021 it issued 525,000 RSUs to its external Board members and to strategic partners. The RSUs were issued as part of the contractual and discretionary compensation set out for such employee and consultants.”
Square, Inc. announced back in May a new integration with Google Merchant Center that makes it easier for Square sellers to reach new customers through direct product listings on Google. Square for Retail merchants can now have products from their businesses populate right alongside items from other ecommerce stores of all sizes, helping smaller sellers to increase reach and revenue by uncovering new customers buying online. “It’s tough to find new customers, especially during a pandemic,” said Christo de Klerk, manager of The Red Balloon Company, a party supply and gift store based in Seattle. “Leveraging Google Product Listings on Square for Retail afforded us the opportunity to reach more new customers in our area, quickly, and efficiently.”
PayPal Holdings, Inc. reported last month the launch of PayPal Zettle in the U.S., a digital point-of-sale solution that enables small businesses to seamlessly sell across in-person and online channels. The launch comes at a time when there has been a historic shift in consumer behavior towards digital and omnichannel commerce, and businesses need to adapt to meet their customers wherever they are. With PayPal Zettle, small businesses will get an integrated solution that enables them to accept a range of payments in-person with the Zettle card reader, helps them start selling online, and also helps them manage sales, inventory, reporting and payments across channels, all in one place. PayPal Zettle will also enable businesses to leverage PayPal’s suite of payment and commerce solutions – from invoicing to PayPal’s Business Debit Mastercard.
Ally Financial Inc. a bank holding company, provides various digital financial products and services to consumer, commercial, and corporate customers primarily in the United States and Canada. Last month Ally reported that the personal lending arm of Ally Bank, a subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc, continues to build on its legacy in the consumer healthcare lending market – serving more than 150 Ideal Image points of care across the U.S. During the past five years, the number of applications submitted by Ideal Image clients to Ally Lending grew thirteenfold. In 2016, Ally Lending, previously known as Health Credit Services, launched its financing in 10 Ideal Image locations. Primarily known for its wellness and aesthetic services – including laser hair removal, body sculpting, Botox®, and skin rejuvenation services – Ideal Image is also recognized for its commitment to accessibility and affordability. With this mission in mind, Ally Lending and Ideal Image honed the financing program over the years to work even better for their clients’ wallets.
Fiserv, Inc. together with Deutsche Bank announced last month a joint venture to create a comprehensive provider of payment acceptance and banking solutions. The joint venture will serve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the German market and will be based in Frankfurt am Main, pending regulatory approval. This Deutsche Bank and Fiserv joint venture will help SME clients adapt to the changing post-Covid marketplace by equipping them to sell their products and services across a full range of digital and in-person channels using modern payment acceptance solutions, including the popular Clover® point-of-sale platform from Fiserv. The companies plan to bring multiple payment solutions together, complementing Deutsche Bank’s banking offering, and deliver a combination unique to the market. This saves merchants from having to enter into multiple contracts with a variety of payment providers.