Sage offers e-payment

Accounting software player Sage is about to launch e-payment services for Irish SMEs, to help reduce the number of inefficient cheque-based transactions that currently dominate in the sector, reports Silicon Republic.

The company will integrate electronic payment technology into its Sage 50, Sage 200 and TAS Books accounting packages in the coming months. Firms will initially be able to process payments directly by phone, instead of hearing that 'the cheque`s in the post`.

This will eventually be followed up by Web store applications, allowing SMEs to automatically process electronic payments through their Web sites.

Google is expanding its Print Ads service to include users of its popular online advertising programme, AdWords, reports e-Commerce Times.

"Google`s strategy has been to concentrate on online advertising and evolve it into print advertising," said Dave Dabbah, VP of marketing at JL Halsey Corporation, which oversees the company`s group of five e-marketing companies, including Lyris, Hot Banana and Clicktrack.

Merging online and print ad services, he said, is a reflection of where the industry appears to be heading.

The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is launching Canada-e-Connect, the first Canadian e-tourism strategy conference, reports Internet Travel News.

Canada-e-Connect will bring together more than 300 travel and tourism industry players. They will determine the impact that the Internet and other emerging technologies are making on Canada`s ability to compete globally as a premiere, four-season tourism destination.

"Today, it is crucial not only to build targeted, successful online campaigns that result in bookings," says Michele McKenzie, president and CEO of the CTC. "It has become vital to create strategies and synergies with the rest of the companies, organisations and, in the case of bloggers, individuals that build and protect the Canadian brand."