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Five travel startups that pave the way to smarter trip planning
DigitalTrip planning can begin as soon as the idea of destination starts to sprout inside the traveler’s mind. It involves not only booking a hotel or flight, but researching activities, weather, and culture. This week’s SkiftSeedlings looks at five travel startups that contribute to the inspiration and planning phases of a journey, whether it be [...]
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Square bets recommendations based on payment data beat Foursquare check-ins anytime
DigitalSquare is using its trove of payment data to build an engine for making local recommendations, a move that could upend the conventional wisdom about luring customers through their mobile devices. The recommendation engine, which is already at work in the commerce startup’s merchant directory, will someday suggest places to visit based on a customer’s [...]
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Golden Gate Bridge goes high-tech with all-electronic tolls
TransportDrivers approaching the majestic Golden Gate Bridge will experience something new for the first time in 76 years: no human toll collectors. The toll takers were removed in favor of cheaper and faster electronic transponders, and a camera system photographs every license plate that comes through, mailing an invoice to each motorist who doesn’t prepay. [...]
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Mastercard unveils its “virtual wallet” with American Airlines already onboard
TransportMastercard unveiled its bid to dominate the mobile payments market on Monday with a ‘virtual wallet’ allowing customers to keep personal payment details in their phone and avoid checkouts by scanning bar codes in-store to pay. Financial services companies like the U.S. credit-card company as well as technology names Google and eBay Inc’s PayPal are [...]
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Mobile payment app Tabbedout updates restaurant staff on patrons’ preferences
DigitalTabbedout, a mobile payment system for restaurants and bars, is now upgrading its system with customer relationship management tools that helps merchants understand who’s walking in the door and helps them treat customers better. Now, when a customer opens a tab through the Tabbedout mobile app, restaurant owners can see if he is a new [...]
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Hoteliers are puzzled by how to do deal with multinational online payments
DigitalOnline payment has emerged as one of the biggest problem areas facing the hotel industry amid the minefield of travel booking engines and credit-card payment gateway providers. Such was the verdict of hotel industry executives, Internet travel bookers and global payment providers…during the World Travel Market in London. Rob Sinclair-Barnes, director of marketing for Amadeus UK, [...]
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Partygoers can pay with the touch of a fingertip at this beach hotel in Ibiza
DestinationsThe Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel is pioneering new biometric technology to allow guests to make payments with their fingertips. This means holidaymakers at its Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel can make purchases with the touch of their fingertips giving guests and partygoers “a secure, cash-free holiday experience”. In 2011 Palladium Hotel Group pioneered a live Facebook sharing experience [...]
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Square ventures over the Canadian border in its first international expansion
DigitalSquare has taken its first step outside of the U.S. for its mobile payment service: it is now live in Canada. The company said today that its mobile card reader/processor is now available nationwide, priced at the same rate as in its home market: 2.75% per swipe. In the U.S. there are now 2 million [...]
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New mobile payment service from Fiserv to contend with Square and PayPal
DigitalFiserv Inc., a provider of transaction and technology services for financial institutions, is introducing a mobile payment device that will allow banks to compete with Square Inc. and EBay Inc.’s PayPal. Fiserv, which has 16,000 clients, will announce today a black attachment called SpotPay that lets iPhones and iPads accept credit and debit cards, and [...]
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MasterCard gets closer to payments in Myanmar with new banking partner
DigitalMasterCard Inc has reached an agreement with a bank in Myanmar to issue its first branded cards in the country, which, emerging from isolation after years of military rule, has an antiquated banking system and a largely cash economy. MasterCard Worldwide said in a statement on Thursday that it had given the licence to Co-Operative [...]
