Transaction Processing

PayPal Inc.’s acquisition of mobile developer StackMob Inc. may help it build a talent pool to more quickly and easily deploy mobile apps, suggests one analyst. n “We are building one of the most modern, advanced development environment and infrastructure in the payments industry,” a PayPal spokesperson says. “We believe …

Paul Galant, the new chief executive of payment-processing hardware and software maker VeriFone Systems Inc., says he’s committed to increasing research and development, rationalizing VeriFone’s sprawling product lines, and becoming “more nimble and more focused on our strengths.” Galant, a former senior Citigroup Inc. executive who took the helm 78 …

Mercury Payment Systems LLC may be considering a move to take the independent sales organization public. On Friday, Durango, Colo.-based Mercury issued a release disclosing it had filed a confidential draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that may presage the payment company’s public stock offering. Such …

Retailers, and the trade associations representing them, that are opposed to a $5.7 billion settlement of a class-action antitrust case challenging credit card interchange rates are contesting federal judge John Gleeson’s affirmation Friday of the settlement amount. Defendants in the 8-year-old litigation, which was heard in the District Court of …

Capping years of complex litigation, a federal court on Friday approved a controversial multibillion-dollar settlement of a class-action antitrust case challenging credit card interchange rates. With his imprimatur, Judge John Gleeson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has brought apparent—but only apparent—finality to a …

A wireless connectivity standard known as Bluetooth Low Energy appears to be getting a high-energy reception in payments and commerce. Apple Inc. is among the first to put the technology to use in its stores. On-the-spot rewards company Shopkick is testing it in two Macy’s stores, one in New York …

  Ten U.S. debit networks have formed the Debit Network Alliance LLC, an organization meant to ensure they have a competitive stake in the debit industry following the U.S. payment-industry migration to the EMV chip card standard, expected within a couple of years. The new group has sprung up as …

With 58% of U.S. consumers owning a smart phone, according to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, it’s no wonder that retailers want some time and space on the small-screen mobile devices. Apple Inc., which according to the Pew report, has 25% of the smart- phone …

Because a consumer trying to make a purchase may use a credit or debit card, tap with a contactless card, or scan a bar code, merchants need to know about the range of payment options available to them. That’s why the Smart Card Alliance, a Princeton Junction, N.J.-based association, has …

A new point-of-sale card-acceptance app expected to be available in early 2014 will use pattern-recognition technology to capture a payment card number, potentially speeding up an in-store transaction and eliminating the need for a card reader. n Cartwheel Register eschews a card reader that plugs into the audio jack in …