Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

The new mobile-payments network being developed by retailers went public on Wednesday with its name, Merchant Customer Exchange, or MCX, and the identities of 15 initial merchant-investors. But, five months after merchants first revealed plans to build an alternative to the major card networks as mobile payments take hold in …

A proposal to change the rules of the automated clearing house network to allow faster clearing times, which last Friday fell short of the votes needed to be enacted, is likely to be resurrected in some form, experts polled by Digital Transactions say. “I don’t think it’s dead, but it’s …

Which was the big payments winner at the Summer Olympic Games in London, which ended Sunday? Answer: Cash, a contender that’s entered every Olympics ever held. Contactless cards and mobile devices accounted for very few payments, according to a Celent LLC analyst who visited two different Olympic venues last week. …

A proposal that would have changed network rules to dramatically speed up automated clearing house transactions fell short on Friday of the votes needed to be enacted by NACHA, the ruling body for the ACH system. The vote on the proposal, which would have provided for same-day instead of next-day …

Acculynk Inc., which on Wednesday announced it has signed up American Airlines Inc., says the recruitment of its largest merchant yet indicates stronger interest among online retailers in accepting PIN debit transactions. Indeed, Ashish Bahl, chairman and chief executive of the Atlanta-based company, tells Digital Transactions News it expects to …

Regardless of how talks between Google Inc. and American Express Co. turn out, it isn’t likely AmEx will shut down its cardholders’ access to the online search giant’s newly overhauled mobile wallet. Indeed, much of the discussion now is likely focused narrowly on the use of the AmEx brand, says …

The announcement late on Tuesday that Square Inc. struck a deal with coffee giant Starbucks Corp. for the first time puts Square, a specialist in bringing mobile-payment acceptance to small businesses and consumers, into the role of a more traditional card processor for a large national merchant. And at least …

ViVOtech Inc., a pioneer in contactless payments and near-field communication (NFC) technology, disclosed Monday that it sold its card-reader business to ID Tech, a manufacturer of smart card readers and point-of-sale hardware and identity-verification products. The subject of reports last week that it was laying off people and possibly going …

The chief sponsor of the Durbin Amendment that regulates debit card interchange is calling the proposed settlement in a big credit card interchange court fight “a stunning giveaway” and “a capitulation to the Wall Street banks and credit card giants.” In addition, U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., wants to fix …

Nearly half of U.S. smart-phone users, or more than 45 million people, tapped a shopping application in June, according to data released on Monday. The leading app was that of eBay Inc., which attracted almost 13.2 million unique users, according to the data from New York City-based researcher The Nielsen …

Armed with $9 million in new funding, mobile-payments startup LevelUp plans to use the capital infusion to expand its sales force and build out new solutions to improve the merchant experience. Boston-based LevelUp is launching a remote sales team that will sign and service merchants outside the company’s 10 primary …

With the influence of smart phones on in-store sales outpacing their influence on online sales, San Francisco-based Zappli Inc. is seeking to remedy that disparity through the introduction of InstaBuy, a mobile-checkout application that enables consumers to make a purchase through their smart phone in two clicks. Merchants can deploy …

Google Inc. on Wednesday announced an overhaul of its struggling mobile wallet product that the online search giant hopes will make the product more attractive to consumers and banks alike. Indeed, a key feature of the new Google Wallet is that is now open to any credit or debit card …

MasterCard Inc. reported second-quarter results on Wednesday that indicate continuing gains in its debit card business, and in PIN debit in particular, in the wake of federal debit regulations that forced issuers to add new networks to the cards they issue. MasterCard’s gains in debit come in the wake of …

A recent string of deals with processors to offer funding to their independent sales organizations has expanded Arlington, Va.-based startup Super G Funding LLC’s reach as a lender. Super G, which was founded in 2009 and has made loans totaling $10 million to about 80 ISOs, is one of only …

Giftango Corp., a major behind-the-scenes player in electronic gift cards, is preparing to move into the fast-growing world of open-loop prepaid cards. n A first step along that road was reached this week when Portland, Ore.-based Giftango achieved so-called Level 1 certification under the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI). …

The data breach Global Payments Inc. reported earlier this year could cost the merchant processor nearly $120 million, company executives revealed Thursday. The expenses include an $84.4 million pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 ended May 31 that will cover fines from the payment card networks and …

The Durbin debit numbers are out, and they aren’t pretty for Visa Inc., the leading debit card player in the U.S. Visa on Wednesday reported that U.S. debit payments volume plummeted 9.8% in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 ended June 30, hitting $266 billion versus $294 billion a year …

With each passing day, the proposed settlement of the giant antitrust suit over credit card interchange and card network rules appears to unravel even more as big-box merchants increasingly express dissatisfaction with the $7-billion-plus deal. The latest is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which issued a statement on Tuesday opposing the agreement …

More evidence of widespread merchant antipathy to the credit card interchange settlement announced July 13 emerged late Friday when big-box retailer Target Corp. came out against the plan. Industry observers expect more opposition from merchants to emerge, casting doubt on the settlement’s future. But a lobbying group for payment card …