Transaction Processing

Growing independent sales organization FrontStream Payments Inc. made another deal last week that could be a sign that merger-and-acquisition activity in the merchant-acquiring industry is warming up after a recession-induced chill. The transaction also illustrates that private-equity firms see the merchant-acquiring space as a fertile ground for new investments. In …

The merchant-acquirer encryption and tokenization train picked up speed this week when Fifth Third Processing Solutions, one of the nation's biggest payment processors, announced it would offer its merchants end-to-end encryption and tokenization systems for protecting cardholder data. Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Processing's technology comes from Voltage Security Inc., the Palo …

Michael D. Capellas, the former Compaq Computer Corp. and MCI chief executive who became chairman and chief executive at First Data Corp. in September 2007 when private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. took the huge processor private, is taking a new position at KKR. Replacing him as chairman and …

Online criminals are broadcasting fewer scam e-mails but are zeroing in on more individuals who have substantial assets to protect or who have access to companies' or financial institutions' money-movement capability, according to the latest report on phishing from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The report also indicates that merchants, banks, …

Getting an annual assessment to determine their compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard costs big merchants an average of $225,000, but some pay $500,000 or more and others much less, according to a new research report by Ponemon Institute LLC. The report also says that only about 2% …

Processing volume hit some turbulence last year, but that didn't stop Universal Air Travel Plan Inc. from pursing its goal of adding merchants to its airline-owned network. Washington, D.C.-based UATP last week reported that LQ Management LLC's La Quinta Inns & Suites has become the first hotel chain in the …

With the announcement on Thursday that PayPal Inc. will process payments for Facebook, the massive social network has found a major-brand payments partner and PayPal has established a tie to what could become an enormous online marketplace with equally big transaction potential. The two companies said PayPal will process payments …

Underbanked and unbanked consumers who use check-cashing stores rely heavily on traditional payment forms such as checks, cash, and money orders for bill payments and few use electronic payment methods, according to new survey data from Aite Group LLC. While that may not be a surprise, Aite's study shows the …

A busy year is on tap for the PCI Security Standards Council, with revisions due not only for the main Payment Card Industry data-security standard but also standards governing PIN-entry devices and payment-processing software applications. Plus, the PCI Council plans to take a close look at two widely discussed security …

The bank card networks have weighed in with their latest earnings reports, and operating statistics within them show debit continues to boom while the unprecedented, recession-induced credit contraction over the past year may be nearing its end. At Visa Inc., which reported late Wednesday, U.S. debit payment volume hit $238 …