Is MasterCard Inc.’s coming digital-wallet fee for online-payments providers such as PayPal Inc. a fair charge for systems that rely on the bank card networks to move their transactions, or a way for the established card networks to squeeze upstarts? That’s the gist of the debate that’s swept across the …
Read More »Blackhawk Network Gives a Sneak Peak Into Its Inner Workings Ahead of Its IPO
International expansion and broader distribution in the United States are among the major initiatives on tap for gift card and prepaid card seller and program manager Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. to grow its business, according a filing Blackhawk made this week in preparation for its planned initial public offering. Some …
Read More »Mobile-Payments Startup LevelUp Expands Its Footprint With a New Heartland Partnership
LevelUp, the mobile-payments unit of Boston-based SCVNGR Inc., announced a partnership with the big merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. on Thursday that will dramatically expand its national reach with merchants and make its white-label mobile app more affordable to merchants wanting to increase their loyalty marketing. The agreement gives …
Read More »EFT Networks and Discover Strike a Deal That Could Resolve a Chip Card Controversy
With help from Discover Financial Services, regional electronic funds transfer networks this week took a major step toward ending a dilemma over how merchants can route PIN-debit transactions made on chip cards through EFT networks and still meet the Durbin Amendment’s transaction-routing requirements. Previously, the main routes available for …
Read More »Retailer Genesco Sues Visa To Recover $13 Million in Disputed PCI Fines
Sports apparel and accessories retailer Genesco Inc. has gone to court to challenge $13.3 million in fines levied by Visa Inc. for alleged violations of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard. Genesco’s may be the first retailer lawsuit filed against a card network over the PCI security standards, according …
Read More »VeriFone Overhauls Its Management Team as It Enters the Post-Bergeron Era
Troubled point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc. on Monday announced sweeping changes in its management ranks, appointing four new people to top positions a week after long-time chief executive Douglas Bergeron resigned. One of the key appointments is Eliezer Yanay, who headed San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone’s global research and development, …
Read More »The FTC Warns of Fraud and Consumer Privacy Issues as Mobile Payments Gain Traction
The Federal Trade Commission is becoming concerned that consumers who use the many emerging mobile-payments services won’t always be protected from fraud and privacy violations. In a staff report released this week entitled “Paper, Plastic or Mobile? An FTC Workshop on Mobile Payments,” the FTC lists a series of recommendations …
Read More »New Data Show Consumers Once Again Are Willing To Pull Out Their Credit Cards
Credit cards began staging a somewhat wobbly post-recession recovery in 2010 and 2011. But new figures from First Data Corp. and Visa Inc. indicate credit card charge volume is back to just about full health. In a mid-March investor presentation, Visa reported that U.S. credit card payment volume increased 11% …
Read More »With No Argo-Style Rescue Coming, Bergeron Calls It Quits at VeriFone
Dogged by seemingly unrelenting bad news that now includes possible violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran, leading point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc. late Monday said its long-time chief executive officer Douglas G. Bergeron “is stepping down,” effective today. The company named its chairman, Richard McGinn, as interim chief …
Read More »Eye on Digital Currency: Amazon Sellers Get Bitcoin Option; Hackers Steal Bitcoins
BitPay Inc., a payment processor for digital Bitcoin payments, has integrated its services with Amazon.com Inc.’s Fulfillment-by-Amazon Web service. It’s the first move into large-scale e-commerce for companies wishing to accept Bitcoin payments over the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network, Atlanta-based BitPay says. Fulfillment-by-Amazon (FBA) allows a seller with inventory in Amazon’s …
Read More »