Transaction Processing

The Electronic Transactions Association, a trade group based in Washington, D.C., that represents the merchant-services industry, has opened an office in San Francisco, its first outside of the nation’s capital. The move is indicative of Silicon Valley’s growing presence within the payments industry and, specifically, within merchant services, says Jason …

It may have started with the likes of PayPal Holdings Inc. and Square Inc., but it isn’t stopping there. Having made their mark in merchant processing, high-tech payments firms are increasingly turning their attention to the business of offering funding to the merchants they serve. The move is bringing them …

With data breaches continuing to plague the payments business, and with major incidents like that of Target Corp. still fresh in the minds of payments professionals, you might think retailers would be cautious these days about their ability to ward off attackers. Not so, according to survey data released Tuesday …

Merchants attempting to create more digital experiences in their stores and restaurants because of consumer expectations are finding security of payments to be a significant challenge, finds the “Step Up The In-Person Experience” report issued by Forrester Consulting Inc. Commissioned by tablet point-of-sale maker Revel Systems, the report examines how …

• The PCI Security Standards Council said it will publish version 3.2 of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard this Thursday. • Ziosk LLC, a provider of tablets for at-table payment in restaurants, announced deals with several entertainment providers for new content on its installed base of 170,000 devices. • …

Despite 7% transaction growth, First Data Corp. on Monday reported that revenue in the company’s North American merchant-processing business declined 2% in the first quarter. In an early-morning conference call with analysts, First Data executives several times blamed attrition among small and mid-sized North American businesses, or SMBs, in its …

• Global Payments Inc.’s $4.3 billion acquisition of processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. closed Monday, Global Payments said. The deal, announced in December, gives the combined company more than 8,500 employees and provides services to almost 2.5 million merchants around the world. • Processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) renewed …

With just five days remaining, organizations developing so-called faster-payments systems are submitting proposals for evaluation by a consulting firm retained by the Federal Reserve Board’s Faster Payments Task Force. On Monday, The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC, which is building a real-time payments system with Fidelity National Information Services Inc., …

Total charge volume on Discover Financial Services’s networks fell 5% in the first quarter thanks to a 15% drop at the Discover-owned Pulse electronic funds transfer network. But U.S. Bancorp, which owns the big merchant acquirer Elavon, says its merchant-processing revenue increased 4% due to higher transaction volumes and sales …

Merchant processor Cayan on Monday unveiled a new point-of-sale system for small and mid-sized businesses that want high-tech capabilities without the costs and hassles of managing integrated POS systems like those used by national retailers. Global POS terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc., meanwhile, announced the integration of its Verifone Point …