The world’s airlines are seeing less fraud these days in their online bookings, thanks to more experience with Web-based ticket sales and wider usage of fraud-fighting tools, according to a study released on Wednesday. Overall, online fraud for air carriers dropped 31%, from $1.7 billion to $1.4 billion, between …

  With bank opposition to the Durbin Amendment growing, the National Retail Federation on Wednesday launched what it calls a major, 60-day advocacy campaign to “preserve swipe-fee reform” for debit cards. The multipronged effort, according to an NRF news release, includes an “intensive grass-roots” campaign to mobilize retailers through NRF …

  In a deal that underscores the growing importance of electronic billing and presentment, New York City-based private-investment firm Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to buy the Regulus and J&B Software payments units from India-based 3i Infotech Ltd. The deal, valued at $137 million, is expected to close within about …

  After taking a nasty hit in the recession, credit cards are back on their feet, though somewhat wobbly. Figures from First Data Corp., the largest U.S merchant processor, show that credit card usage is sustaining growth after returning to positive territory in early 2010. Data from the bank card …

Like them or not, the Federal Reserve Board’s controversial debit card regulations to implement the so-called Durbin Amendment will take effect, though possibly a little late, according to Capitol Hill observers speaking at the Electronic Transactions Association’s annual conference Wednesday. In the meantime, a proposed 12-cent cap on debit interchange …

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit Thursday to stop VeriFone Systems Inc. from buying Hypercom Corp., saying the proposed $485 million stock deal “would substantially reduce competition in the U.S. point-of-sale terminal market.” The DoJ said the current plan to sell most of Hypercom’s U.S. assets to the North …

Marketing via social-network tools, long thought to be a feature primarily of e-commerce, is rapidly moving to the physical point of sale as merchants seek new ways to generate sales and independent sales organizations look for ways to differentiate themselves. This move to the point of sale, meanwhile, has been …

n Visa Inc. announced on Wednesday a digital wallet aimed at increasing its share of transactions in mobile payments, e-commerce, and at the point of sale. n The digital wallet will store all the payment cards in a consumer’s wallet, including non-Visa branded cards, Jim McCarthy, Visa's head of global …

In another indication that micropayments are staging a comeback, Live Gamer Inc. and Skrill Holdings Ltd. on Tuesday announced an integrated platform that lets game publishers collect small sums from users around the world without chargeback or foreign-exchange risk. The integration also represents the U.S. debut of London-based Skrill, which …

The hype still abounds, but mobile payments and banking seem to be taking some concrete steps this week toward wider adoption. –Mitek Systems Inc., the leading developer of software for mobile remote deposit capture, on Monday announced that five of the nation’s 10 largest retail banks now use its flagship …