Technology
Business Wire | August 31, 2023
Elavon, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bank, is launching the next generation of talech software to help small business owners more efficiently run their businesses without the large upfront investment often needed to purchase a new payments system.
The talech Terminal payment solution is a simple and powerful point-of-sale system that allows business owners to accept payments anywhere, anytime with various hardware options, including mobile/fixed hardware and in-store terminals.
U.S. Bank and Elavon launched talech Register in 2022 as its next generation all-in-one payments and business analytics platform that empowers small business owners to better manage their operations. Now the next evolution of talech software -- talech Terminal -- builds on the success of talech Register and offers more payment options for business owners. This is the latest addition to a growing suite of simple and intuitive products that integrate payments and banking solutions for small business owners, creating greater efficiencies and competitive advantages.
“Our goal is to enable small business owners to focus on what they do best, eliminating the burden of managing customer payments,” said Pari Sawant, chief product officer for Elavon. “This solution is a perfect option for business owners who value their privacy and prefer not to mix their personal mobile phones for customer transactions.”
Elavon’s leading all-in-one payments and business analytic platform, talech, empowers small business owners to better manage their operations through its elevated and supported offerings, flexibility for basic payment transactions and more robust business management options.
“talech Terminal is a continuation of our multi-year strategy to deliver integrated hardware and software payment experiences for our small business customers following the successful launches of talech mobile in 2020 and talech Register in 2022. Terminal goes beyond basic payment acceptance and allows businesses to run their business in a simple, elegant form factor,” said Joy Ghanekar, chief product officer, talech.
It offers an intuitive, easy to use interface, simple product organization and access to basic reporting features. Other features of the talech Terminal system include:
• Credit Card Surcharge
• Inventory Management Capabilities
• Employee Management Support
About Elavon
Elavon is owned by U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest bank in the United States, and provides end-to-end payment processing solutions and services to more than 1.3 million customers in the United States, Europe, and Canada. As the leading provider for airlines and a top five provider in hospitality, healthcare, retail, and public sector/education, Elavon’s innovative payment solutions are designed to solve pain points for businesses from small to the largest global enterprises.
About U.S. Bank
U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 77,000 employees and $681 billion in assets as of June 30, 2023, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. The Minneapolis-based company serves millions of customers locally, nationally and globally through a diversified mix of businesses: Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; Corporate & Commercial Banking; and Wealth Management and Investment Services. Union Bank, consisting primarily of retail banking branches on the West Coast, joined U.S. Bancorp in 2022. U.S. Bancorp has been recognized for its approach to digital innovation, social responsibility, and customer service, including being named one of the 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies and Fortune’s most admired superregional bank. To learn more, please visit the U.S. Bancorp website at usbank.com and click on “About Us.”
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FINANCE
Mastercard | September 25, 2023
Mastercard has introduced new tools to assist small businesses with payment processing, financing, and cybersecurity.
Small businesses are adapting to an increasingly digital business environment, even amid labor shortages, to meet customer expectations.
Mastercard's Digital Doors program offers resources, including a Marketing Hub and cybersecurity toolkit, to help small businesses.
Mastercard has expanded its suite of services catering to small businesses, introducing an array of new tools to assist companies in areas such as payment processing, securing financing, defending against cyber threats, and more.
Ginger Siegel, the North America Small Business Lead at Mastercard International, highlights that this expansion aligns with the efforts of small businesses to adapt to an increasingly digital business landscape.
The ongoing labor shortage has presented challenges for many small enterprises in recruiting essential staff. However, despite these hurdles, companies must continue evolving to meet customer expectations, particularly in terms of digital interaction and seamless payment processing.
A recent survey by PwC Global reveals that 89% of financial technology, banking, and payment businesses polled believe that the continued growth of e-commerce necessitates significant investments in online payment solutions.
In response to these challenges, Mastercard is proactively addressing the needs of small businesses through various services, many of which are integrated into its Mastercard Digital Doors program. This initiative initially emerged as an online resource center during the pandemic, offering an array of tools to assist small businesses in establishing an online presence, facilitating digital payments, enhancing cybersecurity, and streamlining various other digital operations.
One notable addition to the Digital Doors program is the Marketing Hub platform, designed to connect small businesses with select service providers capable of meeting their specific needs. Furthermore, Digital Doors now provides additional resources to aid small business owners in promoting their operations effectively.
According to a Mastercard study, the second most significant challenge for small and medium-sized businesses is acquiring new customers, even though 47% of companies report being in a "growth mode."
The Digital Door Marketing Hub extends valuable savings on supplementary services to support businesses in their marketing and advertising endeavors. This includes discounts of 20% on specific Hootsuite services geared toward enhancing social media marketing, as well as discounts of 40% on selected FedEx Express shipping services and 20% on selected FedEx Ground shipping services.
Another crucial service Mastercard Digital Doors offers is its collaboration with the Global Cyber Alliance. This partnership delivers a Cybersecurity Toolkit for Small Businesses, equipped with scanning tools that identify and assess vulnerabilities in data encryption and website security. This toolkit empowers small businesses to fortify their defenses against online fraud and malicious internet traffic.
Mastercard goes a step further by providing education and coaching initiatives tailored for small firms, including a partnership with Hello Alice, a platform that assists entrepreneurs in navigating financial and operational challenges, further demonstrating Mastercard's commitment to empowering and supporting small businesses in their journey towards growth and success.
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Technology
PRnewswire | July 07, 2023
Operation HOPE's 1 Million Black Businesses (1MBB) Initiative today announced they are partnering with Shopify to host "Shop & Learn with Shopify: A Vendor Expo Experience." The expo experience will be take place on July 8 from 12 – 3pm EDT at the New Black Wall Street Mall in Stonecrest, GA.
The Vendor Expo Experience will feature a panel of Atlanta's leading e-commerce experts and over 50 Black-owned vendors that were built on Shopify. The keynote speakers include Marlon Watts and Nicholas Clark, Shopify experts and owners of WRLD INVSN - a popular t-shirt business that has generated over $15 million in sales. Other panelists include Glenn Wiggins, CEO/Management of GLAD WE MET, Latoya Forever, CEO/Management of Leisure Forever, and Nick Mitchell, CEO/Management of FRESH KICKZ MARKET.
For community members looking to start or grow their e-commerce business, admission into the expo is free. Operation HOPE and Shopify are also providing free vendor space for any Black-owned business interested in displaying their products to shoppers.
"Our 1MBB initiative to date has supported over a quarter of a million businesses, which accounts for nearly 5% of all Black owned businesses in the US," said Operation HOPE Chairman, Founder, and CEO John Hope Bryant. "Our partnership with Spotify and community events like our panel and vendor experience have helped to make this vision possible as we work to start, grow, and scale 1 million Black businesses by 2030."
Operation HOPE has over 290,000 Black-owned businesses signed up, engaged and being supported by the 1MBB initiative since 2020. With the support of financial partners, 1MBB has also secured over $26 Million dollars in small business loans to 369 Black businesses across the country. This includes e-commerce retailers who have leveraged the Shopify platform to reach new customers online. In addition to Shopify, program partners include the U.S. Small Business Administration, Truist, Wells Fargo, and the NFL, to name a few.
As 1MBB continues to expand, more Black entrepreneurs will be equipped with the tools and resources needed to create, scale and sustain their enterprise. The initiative is aligned with Operation HOPE's broader mission to promote financial inclusion and dignity, aimed at empowering the underserved of America.
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to "silver rights" with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through our community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors.
About 1MBB
Launched in October 2020 with the support of founding partner Shopify, 1MBB aims to remove traditional hurdles to for aspiring Black business owners. Through ongoing partnerships, including the support of the US Small Business Administration, Truist, Wells Fargo, and the NFL, 1MBB will continue to offer tools for business growth such as technology and resources, educational programs, and funding.
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