Acquiring

The Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI) is a favorite punching bag of merchants, but executives from Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. defended the set of security rules before an audience of independent sales organizations as the best tool available for keeping cardholder information safe from computer hackers. They also …

The White House is scheduled to dress down credit card issuers this week. That and current and possible bills in Congress increase the chances of new regulations on merchant acquirers, according to a lobbyist for the Electronic Transactions Association trade group of independent sales organizations and other merchant processors. Congress …

Ask most acquirers and independent sales organizations what keeps them up at night, and at or near the top of the list is the job of getting their smaller merchants to comply with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI). The security requirement, whose detailed mandates even larger merchants find …

In an unprecedented effort to thwart data breaches, the three leading vendors of payment card terminals on Wednesday put aside their normally fierce rivalries to announce creation of a non-profit industry group to implement common security standards and improve knowledge about security issues. “The self interest aligns with the public …

First Atlantic Commerce this week issued a strongly worded statement distancing itself from an investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice of offshore transactions. First Data Corp. last week said it was reviewing documents Justice filed in federal court seeking information on First Data merchants that sell or provide …

First Data Corp. is reviewing documents filed in federal court earlier this week by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on First Data merchants that sell or provide offshore services, including financial processing, a spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. The Justice Department on Wednesday asked the U.S. District …

RideCharge Inc., a software vendor specializing in the taxicab market, is getting more mileage on its booking and payment application as the popularity of mobile phones grows. The Alexandria, Va.-based firm most recently added the largest cab company in Boston, the 200-plus vehicle fleet of Boston Metro Cab, to its …

An interchange battle is raging this week in Washington D.C., even though there is no interchange bill pending in Congress. Some merchants, however, hope that will change soon and are pushing their agenda with an advertising campaign that includes a YouTube video and advertising designed to influence new members of …

In the biggest sale of a merchant acquirer in more than a year, private-equity firm Advent International Corp. will take a 51% stake in Fifth Third Processing Solutions through a deal announced today with the big processor's parent company, Fifth Third Bancorp. Boston-based Advent will pay $561 million in cash …

First Data Corp. on Wednesday reported merchant-services revenue of $1.1 billion, up 18%. Excluding debit-network fees and Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, revenue growth was 1%. First Data in November terminated its joint venture with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to operate Chase Paymentech. First Data signed nearly 116,000 domestic merchant locations, …