BluePay Blog

The stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is the busiest retail season of the year, generating nearly $600 billion in sales. Second on this list, however, is the back-to-school shopping season, with consumers spending an estimated $30 billion for the upcoming academic year.  Although back-to-school shopping is incredibly lucrative for the retail industry, many parents dread this annual ritual. As a merchant, you can boost sales if you implement strategies that make the shopping experience as hassle-free as possible for your customers.

Topics: Mobile Payments, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Small Business Tips

It was bound to happen. Sooner or later, cars would join the pantheon of mobile payment technologies — a list that already includes smartphones, tablets and an entire range of wearables.  Although in-car payments are still relatively new, this technology allows users to fill their gas tanks, pay for parking, or drive through highway tolls — all from the comfort of their vehicles. 

Topics: Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, Payment Trends

Over the last few years, chip-and-PIN has been heralded as the gold standard in payment security. These EMV credit cards come with embedded chips that are next to impossible to clone. To initiate an in-store payment, customers must input a personal identification number (PIN) that only they know.  Additionally, mobile payments and wearable technologies continue to grow in popularity every year. In fact, experts predict that annual in-store sales generated through smart devices could exceed $500 billion by 2020 — in the United States alone. 

Topics: EMV, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Payment Trends

There wasn’t a whole lot of fanfare surrounding the 2011 launch of Google Wallet — a mobile payment technology that allowed users to shop in stores or send money to friends and family members.  For starters, PayPal had already cornered the peer-to-peer (P2P) payment market, leaving little room for Google’s new service. And mobile payments were still a relatively untested technology throughout the retail industry.  Google Wallet may have been a cool service, but there simply wasn’t a burning need for what the platform offered. 

Topics: Mobile Payments, E-Commerce and Online Payments, Payment Technology, Payment Trends

As a brick-and-mortar retailer, it doesn’t take much to begin accepting credit cards. All you need is a merchant account and terminal — and you’re good to go.  Despite how easy it is to get started, an estimated 55 percent of small businesses throughout the U.S. don’t take plastic. They simply can’t justify the upfront cost of installing expensive credit card readers at every checkout counter.  For them, accepting cash is both easier and cheaper. 

Topics: EMV, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, PCI Compliance and Fraud Prevention, Payment Trends

Shopping, social lives, and bill payments are just some of the many daily tasks that can be completed on a mobile device. Most people bring their devices with them everywhere, which allows them to manage their lives and even make payments on the go.  Businesses wisely have started to make use of mobile payments in as many ways as possible for the good of their customers. 

Topics: Due.com Partner Posts, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, Payment Trends

If you grew up during the ’70s, ’80s or ’90s, you probably remember seeing branded credit cards offered by some of the biggest names in retail. You could use your JCPenney card at most stores — but using it specifically at JCPenney allowed you to rack up certain discounts and loyalty points.  These types of cards still exist — and probably won’t go away anytime soon.  However, big-box retailers are increasingly exploring a new payment option — i.e., mobile wallets that are directly tied to branded smartphone apps.  From Kohl’s Wallet to Walmart Pay to Target Wallet, each store uses a slightly different name — but the basic functionality remains the same: 

Topics: Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, Payment Trends

The Amazon Go grocery store is a revolutionary concept. On the outside, it looks like any other brick-and-mortar supermarket; but inside, you’ll notice a number of key differences: 

Topics: Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, Fun Posts, Payment Trends

Your customers are all unique, so you cannot put them all in the same payment box. Not every customer wants to use a credit card, especially as new types of payment options appear thanks to an ever-evolving technology environment.

Topics: Due.com Partner Posts, Mobile Payments, Payment Technology, Small Business Tips, Getting Started with Payments, Payment Trends

If you’ve never seen a contactless payment in person before, it’s something to behold.

Topics: Mobile Payments, Payment Technology