After being out all day Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s online-banking service sputtered back to life early Wednesday. Service, however, was spotty at times, though by mid-afternoon it seemed to be working normally again. But with 16.6 million active online-banking customers potentially affected, the outage was big enough to warrant …

PayNearMe Inc. on Wednesday announced the launch of a payment system that lets unbanked consumers pay for goods online or over the phone with cash. The system, which relies on real-time links to point-of-sale terminals in 6,000 U.S. 7-Eleven stores to collect and record cash transactions, has attracted eight announced …

Rising interest in contactless mobile payments via micro Secure Digital (SD) cards has led to the introduction of a feature that will let banks personalize SD cards for payments in a matter of minutes. The new feature, which can be used in a branch or other office, has the potential …

With the coming of debit card interchange regulation and more merchant freedom from payment card network operating rules, Visa Inc. has established what it calls “strategy teams” to develop alternatives and respond once the Federal Reserve issues new rules next year. That’s the word from Visa chief financial officer Byron …

Early adopters in the consumer remote deposit capture market say their services are a hit with customers, but they also say they are able to keep risk under control as remote deposit for smart phones seems poised to hit the big time. “It’s actually something that’s been very, very successful …

Hammered by the worst economic downturn in decades, consumers have been abandoning credit cards in droves, instead using debit cards as their plastic of choice. But new research suggests card issuers will soon have to revamp their credit card programs and beef up prepaid card marketing to offset an expected …

Forming a mutual-aid society of sorts, mobile-payments technology provider Obopay Inc. and payment processor First Data Corp.’s Star electronic funds transfer network on Wednesday announced that Obopay’s new Mobile Money for Banks service would incorporate Star’s Expedited Transfer Service. The arrangement potentially gives Obopay as it ramps up its U.S. …

When eBay Inc. late last month announced it will no longer allow so-called third-party checkout services after June 30, 2011, the San Jose, Calif.-based online auctioneer’s policy shift attracted plenty of attention. Less noted was a decision, announced at the same time, to allow payment gateways other than PayPal to …

Facing strong competition from up-and-coming open-loop prepaid cards and maturity in some of its subcategories, closed-loop prepaid cards still managed to grow 7.1% last year, according to a new study from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator estimates load volume on closed-loop cards, which are issued by or for …

While Apple Inc.’s iPhone remains the iconic smart phone for mobile payments, some recent research reveals that the Android platform produced by rival Silicon Valley denizen Google Inc. is mounting a serious challenge in shipments and usage of the mobile Web. In a development with importance to e-commerce merchants and …