POS/PAYMENTS

Starbucks’ payment system shut down takes a toll
Free coffee was on the menu at some Starbucks locations on Tuesday, due to a point-of-sale software glitch. What the coffee giant described as a typical software update ended up putting point-of-sale systems out of commission — and for longer than expected, in some locations. The outage began in the evening on Monday, May 16, and continued into Tuesday, May 17, according to CNBC.
‘Alexa, pay my AmEx bill…’
American Express cardholders are now only a voice-command away from browsing their account or paying their bill. The credit card company is expanding its partnership with Amazon by launching its new Amex skill for Amazon Alexa. The skill brings select experiences of AmericanExpress.com and AmEx’s mobile app to Amazon’s voice service Alexa, within devices like Amazon Echo and Echo Dot.

Retailers in big push to uphold debit swipe fee reform
Walmart debuts new financing plans

The nation’s largest retailer is introducing special financing for its credit cards that comes with an appealing hook. The new offer provides no-interest financing plans for the Walmart Credit Card and the Walmart Mastercard Credit Card, with plans extending across either six months or 12 months on purchases. Similar to most plans, customers don’t pay any interest during the promotional period. But the Walmart offer is different from most others in that the interest also does not accrue during the promotional period.

Starbucks’ payment system shut down takes a toll