The first Visa-branded debit cards in Canada will be out in 2010's first quarter, Visa Inc. chairman and chief executive Joseph W. Saunders reported late Tuesday. Saunders, reviewing Visa's financial report for fiscal 2009's fourth quarter, also told analysts that signs of recovery from recession are starting to appear in …

Utility companies looking to convert from paper-based billing to electronic payments are continuing to become payment card acceptors, according to the MasterCard Inc. executive who oversees the network's programs for that merchant sector. “We're very pleased with the movement towards card acceptance across utilities of all sizes,” Steve Carnevale, vice …

A sour economy isn't hobbling PayPal Inc.'s online-payments steamroller, but the downturn and the seemingly fragile recovery are creating some challenges for Bill Me Later, the online credit processor PayPal parent eBay Inc. bought a year ago and this week integrated with PayPal. Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl around the …

Losses caused by massive fraud could bring down as many as 10 financial institutions within the next three years, predict analysts at Treasury Strategies Inc., a Chicago-based consultancy specializing in financial services. Since bank failures are usually caused by economic downturns or mismanagement, the prediction comes as a startling reminder …

The August indictments of three individuals allegedly responsible for the theft of 130 million credit and debit card numbers in the Heartland Payment Systems Inc. data breach made headlines across the world. Yet little attention is paid to the laborious investigative work needed to track down the criminals behind these …

There's some evolution going on at Revolution Money Inc., the low-cost PIN-based credit card and electronic-payments venture. In announcing on Tuesday that Fifth Third Bancorp would be a RevolutionCard issuer, Revolution Money revealed a new focus on building its cardholder base and disclosed another $20 million venture-capital investment on top …

Making good on a promise last spring that new developments were in the works, specialty debit processor Tempo Payments Inc. on Monday unveiled a new software-as-a-service platform and three MasterCard-branded decoupled debit card programs. Issued by First Bank & Trust, the cards are the first Tempo-affiliated cards issued by a …

It won't be long before more merchants sign on to Amazon.com Inc.'s new Amazon Mobile Payments Service (MPS), according to the man who heads up the mobile-payments venture for the world's largest online retailer. “Reaction's been very positive,” Howard Gefen, director of Amazon Mobile Payments, tells Digital Transactions News. “We …

Two new payment applications debuted this week to allow plumbers, pizza-delivery services, and other mobile merchants to accept card transactions on mobile phones. The new apps, from Charge Anywhere LLC and TSYS Acquiring Solutions, follow in line behind a steady flow of such products that have launched this year. But …

A new report from Aite Group LLC gives some insights into how open-loop prepaid card processors work. And building on strengths and correcting weaknesses will be key as the recession, the specter of government regulation, and growth opportunities abroad challenge processors to improve, according to the report. Aite analyst Adil …