A new data element is getting a lot of discussion in merchant-acquiring and mobile-payments circles. It’s the so-called Payment Account Reference, or PAR, and it’s meant to associate all the payment tokens linked to a single credit or debit card primary account number, or PAN. But implementing PAR could be …

While mobile wallets, near-field communication, and EMV have focused all eyes in the payments industry on the physical point of sale, some mobile-payments executives are starting to prepare for what they see as the fading away of the traditional checkout counter. Technology already exists that allows customers to order ahead …

With PayPal Holdings Inc. promoting its fast-growing Venmo peer-to-peer payments service and rumors that Apple Inc. is eyeing the business, P2P transfers are starting to take center stage in the consumer-payments business. And now a new survey indicates the service is growing in appeal to consumers for a variety of …

Vantiv Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are, separately, creating new looks for their brands. Vantiv, which bought integrated-payments specialist Mercury Payment Systems LLC in 2014  for $1.65 billion, is renaming Mercury and Element Payment Services, an integrated-payments provider it purchased in 2013, as a single unit called Vantiv Integrated Payments. This …

In a move that recognizes the powerful role application developers play in the global payments arena, Visa Inc. on Thursday opened scores of its application programming interfaces to thousands of outsiders worldwide, including merchants, banks, and technology companies. The new program, called Visa Developer, embraces some 155 APIs and includes …

A new study of smart-phone users shows awareness and usage of Apple Pay is slightly down from last spring, providing yet more evidence that the much-touted mobile-payments service from Apple Inc. hasn’t set the world on fire. On the plus side, the December survey of 1,279 consumers for First Annapolis …

Public-transportation agencies increasingly are turning to mobile-ticketing apps to attract riders and lower fare expenses. Mass-transit riders once read newspapers as they commuted to work. But hop on any commuter train, subway, or bus nowadays and you’re more likely to see passengers using smart phones to read news reports, listen …

The crucial role in-app payment plays in mobile-wallet usage emerged in high relief last month in a report showing that almost one-third of all Apple Pay credit card transactions made in the previous five months by surveyed consumers occurred within a merchant app rather than in a store. Over the …

Public-transportation agencies increasingly are turning to mobile-ticketing apps to attract riders and lower fare expenses. Mass-transit riders once read newspapers as they commuted to work. But hop on any commuter train, subway, or bus nowadays and youäó»re more likely to see passengers using smart phones to read news reports, listen …

The crucial role in-app payment plays in mobile-wallet usage emerged in high relief last month in a report showing that almost one-third of all Apple Pay credit card transactions made in the previous five months by surveyed consumers occurred within a merchant app rather than in a store. Over the …