PayPal Inc. on Wednesday projected its mobile-payments volume this year will reach $7 billion, nearly doubling the $4 billion it now says its mobile service processed in 2011. The final number for last year came in significantly higher than the $3.5 billion PayPal was estimating late in the year and …

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Having established itself overseas, EMV appears to be coming to the States, with some issuers already pumping out chip cards. Despite high-profile enthusiasts like Wal-Mart and Home Depot, however, few merchants are on board. By Karen Epper Hoffman While the Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) chip card standard has garnered plenty of headlines …

Typically thought of as a mobile technology for physical merchants, NFC could soon be converting card-not-present transactions into card-present payments for e-commerce retailers. That prospect has important implications for processors and developers. By Bill Pittman Every e-commerce retailer would like to reduce its cost of payments, slash its fraud, and …

n Bowing to an outcry of opposition, telecommunications giant Verizon Wireless cancelled a controversial $2 fee for one-time telephone and online payments just one day after announcing it. The carrier’s reversal came less than two months after Bank of America Corp. cancelled its enormously unpopular plan to charge some customers …

Despite criticism that free point-of-sale terminals for card-accepting merchants undercut independent sales organizations’ profitability, the company that started the trend back in 2004 remains staunchly committed to the strategy. The investment in hardware is more than returned in reduced attrition, says Jared Isaacman, chief executive of United Bank Card Inc. …

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  By Peter Lucas   As check volume dwindles, processors and banks are scrambling to find new ways to leverage the fixed costs of their check-image archives.       It’s no secret that paper-check volume is in steady decline. Thanks to the growing popularity of electronic payments, the number …

  By Steve Mott   Scratch most of the proposed or existing wallets, and you’ll find the same payments infrastructure everyone is trying to move beyond. What’s needed is an alternative that benefits consumers and merchants as much as it does banks, networks, and carriers.       The rising …

n By Jane Adler   Retailers and consumers are shifting from plastic to virtual gift cards, drawn by instant availability and ease of distribution. Is the tangible gift card on its way out?       With holiday sales in their sights, retailers are expanding their gift card offerings with …