Global lifestyle brand Rebecca Minkoff has partnered with Alipay, a third-party payment platform, to allow Chinese shoppers to use their Alipay Mobile Wallet to make purchases in the retailer’s U.S. stores and e-Commerce site. 

Throughout my years in the retail tech industry, I’ve been an avid supporter of independent businesses, and brick-and-mortar was the name of the game when I started Lightspeed 12 years ago. During this time, there have been various shifts in thinking on how retailers should approach sales, build customer relationships and adapt to industry changes as we undergo a rapid evolution of technology and how consumers shop. A decade ago, the prediction from many retail experts and analysts was that brick-and-mortar was unequivocally on its way out, but that isn’t true. In my mind, it wasn’t ever about the absence of physical stores, but how to make owning and operating a shop more accessible and deliver a better customer experience.

Mastercard is integrating contactless payment functionalities into Fitbit’s first smartwatch, Ionic. Fitness enthusiasts using the device will be able to add their eligible cards to the smartwatch, and pay simply by tapping their device near a contactless terminal at more than 6.6 million merchant locations globally. Starting Aug. 28, users can preorder the Fitbit Ionic device, which will be available in October on Fitbit.com. The payment functionality will initially be supported in the U.S. with participating issuer banks, and will expand to other markets across the globe soon after.

Jason’s Deli needed a new gift card services provider to turn its plastic and virtual gift offerings into strategic marketing vehicles. The casual restaurant group chose Paytronix Systems’ Store-Value platform to boost revenue and gain new customers. Since the implementation in September 2016, Jason’s Deli has seen a nearly 50%…

Alibaba is continuing its push to help Chinese travelers connect with businesses overseas, including the U.S. The e-Commerce giant’s digital payments platform, Alipay, is integrating local content from Yelp into its mobile lifestyle app. With the beta launch, Alipay users visiting New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San…

Vyze has raised $13.1 million in venture capital financing in order to accelerate growth and fuel product innovation and expansion. The Series C round is led by Austin Ventures, with additional investment from Fathom Capital and Starvest Partners. Ken DeAngelis, General Partner at Austin Ventures, has joined the Vyze board of directors. Vyze’s cloud-based, multi-lender platform connects consumers with additional credit options at checkout. During the past year, the company has more than doubled its retail client base and forged new partnerships with lenders. The program is live in more than 2,000 stores throughout the U.S. in addition to e-Commerce sites and call centers.

Thisopenspace, a marketplace for short-term retail space, has partnered with Shopify to deliver the commerce platform’s POS technology to 20,000+ brands. With the partnership, thisopenspace users and Shopify merchants will have access to a network of retail locations equipped with Shopify’s Chip & Swipe Reader in the U.S., and Shopify’s Swipe Card Reader in Canada. As many as 20 of the high-traffic retail spaces will be outfitted with a retail package including receipt printers, a cash drawer, an iPad, an iPad stand and a barcode scanner.