Merchant transaction volume increased by a healthy 11% at processor First Data Corp. in the second quarter, but a marked shift by consumers toward debit cards and spending at big discounters lowered margins at the card industry's biggest processor. Debit's growth has been outpacing credit's for years, but in a …

A survey of about 100 mobile and broadband executives indicates the wireless bill is rapidly gaining support as a vehicle for handling payments for digital-content downloads to mobile devices in the U.S. But at the same time the executives expressed doubts about the prospects for payments via near-field communication (NFC) …

The Allpoint and Co-op surcharge-free ATM networks are bigger, but Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp's MoneyPass network has been on a quiet growth spurt in 2008. MoneyPass over the spring and summer has announced a number of new members and in October is set to boost its ATM count by another 3,000 …

With its U.S. operations holding up despite the economic slowdown, non-bank ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. is eyeing opportunities as a third-party ATM processor. Cardtronics executives said at a conference call with analysts on Tuesday morning that the conversion of the network's nearly 33,000 ATMs to a new in-house processing …

This is the third installment of a six-part series exploring the growing economic tensions and structural conflicts between acquirers and issuers in the bankcard business. A handful of big issuers dominate the bank card business and command the lion's share of merchant-acceptance fees. Just about everyone else in the payments …

The softening economy so far hasn't taken a big bite out of payment processors' earnings, but it is having some effects. Meanwhile, processors continue to streamline their operations, integrate acquisitions, and roll out new services. ? Reflecting the recent weakness in consumer spending, big merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. …

Banks, merchants, and others that have developed e-commerce channels can't rest easy even though Internet Service Providers and corporations are making progress in plugging a yawning hole in the underpinnings of the Internet that can allow hackers to hijack the customers of virtually any Web site. That's the assessment of …

Federal authorities on Tuesday announced 11 people from the U.S. and at least four other countries have been charged with numerous crimes stemming from computer intrusions at major retailers that resulted in the theft and sale of 40 million credit and debit card numbers. The vast scheme, with charges originating …

The growing market in DVD rentals from vending machines became more competitive this week when video-rental icon Blockbuster Inc. announced a deal with NCR Corp. in which the maker of ATMs, other banking hardware, and kiosks this quarter will begin deploying the first of what it expects could be 10,000 …

This is the second installment of a six-part series exploring the growing economic tensions and structural conflicts between acquirers and issuers in the bank card business. All merchants are not created equal in payments. One of the industry's biggest but worst-kept secrets is that in 2003, following the settlement of …