With regulatory problems overshadowing its main issuing partner, prepaid card program manager NetSpend Holdings Inc. says it is optimistic that it will be able to form partnerships with other issuing banks. n NetSpend is looking at proposals from a number of regional and national banks to provide sponsorship services, chief …

Recent meetings between Federal Reserve staff members, consumer groups, and payments executives show just how divergent the views are as the Fed prepares the first-ever regulations on U.S. payment card interchange. Consumer groups are pushing for “at-par” debit card interchange—essentially, no interchange. A big regional bank, however, said the Fed …

Gemalto, a maker of payment cards, said on Wednesday it had developed the first credit card that can generate one-time passwords and also function in point-of-sale devices. The product, which the company calls the Ezio card, is immediately available in commercial quantities in the U.S., though so far no domestic …

Mobile payment is making headway among the nation’s top 100 financial institutions, according to a new study from First Annapolis Consulting Inc. The mobile offerings today, however, center on person-to-person payments, wire transfers, and remittances rather than the use of mobile devices as payment instruments at the point of sale. …

A new electronic gift card launched by The Home Depot Inc. that lets customers upload and send video images—apparently the first such card in the market—is performing reasonably well in the early going for the huge home-improvement chain. “It’s a little bit early, but it has met expectations so far,” …

A trade group of ATM independent sales organizations says its study of the major EFT networks’ surcharging rules favor banks at the expense of non-bank ATM owners. The Atlanta-based National Association of ATM ISOs and Operators, which represents ISOs that own or operate 70,000 ATMs, says it is negotiating with …

American Express Co. on Thursday announced it will pay approximately $150 million to buy a software startup in suburban Chicago whose product lets online merchants automate order screening for fraud. Founded in 2007, Accertify Inc. has built a client base that includes Barnes & Noble, Urban Outfitters, and 1800 Flowers …

Payments companies ranging from leading merchant processors to prepaid card and ATM managers reported transaction growth in the third quarter, but some also faced pricing pressures and other drags on the bottom line. –No. 1 payment processor First Data Corp. said transactions in its merchant-processing unit called Retail and Alliance …

MasterCard Inc.’s latest debit numbers seem to indicate the network is going backwards while bigger rival Visa Inc. is racking up 20% gains. But MasterCard executives say the company’s underlying debit card trends are positive and will start showing up in the operational reports next year. MasterCard on Tuesday reported …

Secure Vault Payments (SVP), a method of e-commerce payment that relies on the automated clearing house, secured its first big-bank supporter on Wednesday with the announcement that U.S. Bank has agreed to offer the service to both consumer and merchant clients. The fifth largest bank in the country, the Minneapolis-based …