Acquiring

More large merchants now meet the dictates of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI, according to new numbers from Visa U.S.A. At the same time, Visa, the biggest payment-card network, is turning its security attention to small merchants, the source of the majority of data breaches. Visa and …

It's the summer of change in the executive suites of some major payment-industry companies. Two days after No. 1 processor First Data Corp. named a new chief executive, struggling payment-terminal manufacturer Hypercom Corp. announced that William Keiper, its chief executive for not quite two years, would leave his post Aug …

Michael D. Capellas, a tech executive from outside the payments industry, will head First Data Corp. as the No. 1 payment processor begins its new life as a privately held company. Capellas, who held top posts at MCI Inc. and Compaq Computer Corp., will take over as chief executive from …

The momentum behind contactless payments is likely to stall unless the wave-and-pay method moves from cards to mobile phones, a new research report argues. But while that movement may boost the potential for mobile payments, it will also require a delicate balance of interests among card issuers, payment networks, merchants, …

The fortunes of individual merchant acquirers not withstanding, the acquiring industry as a whole for decades has proffered an unofficial guarantee of recession-proof growth. But a new study by First Annapolis Consulting Inc. shows that changes in the acquiring industry's growth rates are increasingly correlated to retail sales growth. And …

An online-ordering system for fast food, introduced in January by a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based independent sales organization, has been adopted by more than 1,200 locations so far, including small proprietors looking to compete with large chains. The system, which allows consumers to order and pay for pizzas, sandwiches, and other …

Discover Financial Services LLC, whose shares began trading on Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, is finally on its own as a corporate entity for the first time in its 22-year- history. But while the spin-off from parent company Morgan Stanley is complete, Discover's mission of gaining market share …

Now that the two top executives have been appointed to run Visa Inc., the massive entity that will emerge from a sweeping restructuring of the worldwide Visa organization, payments observers see more capability in place to deal with issues to come. But the departure of Visa USA head John Philip …

Alternative payments have penetrated the market for airline tickets with Northwest Airlines Inc.'s decision to accept PayPal on its Web site. The move by the major air carrier, which executes about 1,400 daily departures around the world, makes it the first airline to accept PayPal and gives the San Jose, …

CyberSource Corp., which on Monday announced it is buying rival online gateway provider Authorize.Net Holdings Inc. for $565 million in stock and cash, plans to leverage Authorize.Net's relationships with independent sales organizations and other third-party resellers to reach small e-commerce merchants. The transaction, expected to close this fall, “dramatically accelerates …