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IndustryUpdate

OCC allows national bank
charter applications from fintechs
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency stated it
will begin accepting applications for national bank char-
ters from nondepository financial technology (fintech)
companies engaged in the business of banking. "The
decision to consider applications for special purpose
national bank charters from innovative companies helps
provide more choices to consumers and businesses, and
creates greater opportunity for companies that want to
provide banking services in America," said Comptroller
of the Currency Joseph M. Otting.
Shift4 receives RSPA awards, launches
ANNOUNCEMENTS business management solution
Shift4 Payments and its recently acquired Future
ACI, FSS resolve dispute POS were selected by the Retail Solutions Providers
Association as winners in the annual Vendor Awards
ACI Worldwide, a global provider of real-time elec- of Excellence. Shift4 received the Electronic Payments/
tronic payment and banking solutions, and payment Financing category award for its complete payment
technology and processing provider Financial Software solution, designed to provide businesses with secure,
& Systems Private Ltd. amicably resolved their disputes comprehensive, full-featured payment processing ser-
related to the use of ACI's BASE24 software. Under the vices. Future POS was recognized in the Software cat-
settlement agreement, FSS and its affiliates are entitled egory.
to continue to provide FSS' existing customers with
services such as customization, implementation and In other company news, Shift4 launched the Lighthouse
testing through June 2020. FSS and its affiliates may also Business Management System for customers who use
provide FSS services to new customers not currently its POS solutions and payment processing services.
receiving services from FSS, subject to the settlement Lighthouse "delivers a complete business management
terms, the companies stated. solution for Shift4 Payments customers, including exten-
Appetize lands over $50 million in funding sive reporting capabilities, employee scheduling, remote
POS system management and customer engagement
POS operating software company Appetize revealed it tools.," the company said.
has now raised over $50 million, with the latest equity
round coming from 32 Equity. Appetize provides cloud- SmartMetric develops biometric
based software via Android and iOS operating systems health records card
for complex environments, including restaurant, quick-
serve and retail, allowing functionality such as real-time SmartMetric Inc. created a biometric-secured smartcard
that stores medical files, including medical scans and
inventory management and dynamic menu adjustment
capabilities, the company stated, adding that all prod- images. Inside the SmartMetric biometric card, which is
the size and thickness of a credit card, is memory and
ucts include its proprietary automatic offline mode.
a Cortex processor, along with SmartMetric embedded
Mercator launches new practice software that allows for instant scanning of fingerprints
to unlock cards. "This card will allow a person who has a
Continuing its coverage and analysis of customer inter- medical condition to carry with them all of their impor-
action and customer experience topics in the pay- tant medical records when traveling away from home,"
ments ecosystem, Mercator Advisory Group launched said SmartMetric's president and CEO Chaya Hendrick.
Merchant Services as its newest continuous advisory
service area. "This new practice is designed to serve Square Reader SDK launches
the merchant acquiring community, merchants them- Square Inc. heralded the launch of the Square Reader
selves, and the value chain associated with the customer
experience," Mercator said, noting that the service will SDK, describing it as a complete toolkit that enables
developers to re-imagine the checkout experience for
focus on consumer interactions at the POS, ecommerce,
mobile payments and mobile apps amid a changing sellers and buyers. "For the first time, iOS and Android
developers can build unique checkout or point-of-sale
merchant ecosystem.
applications like self-ordering kiosks, mobile points

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