ProPay Inc., the only third-party payment processor chosen by eBay Inc. to handle transactions under its new all-electronic payment policy, says it is looking to the arrangement for big growth but hasn't yet worked out any projections for how much volume it will generate. “We see this as a growth …

When eBay Inc. announced its all-electronic payments policy last month, the move triggered what an eBay executive calls a “mixed” response, at best, from the online marketplace's sprawling seller community. But the policy changes go beyond banning checks and money orders on eBay. They include requirements that will force third-party …

Merchant transaction volume increased by a healthy 11% at processor First Data Corp. in the second quarter, but a marked shift by consumers toward debit cards and spending at big discounters lowered margins at the card industry's biggest processor. Debit's growth has been outpacing credit's for years, but in a …

The share of bills consumers pay the old-fashioned way via the regular mail continues to decline, according to the U.S. Postal Service's most recent annual study about what goes through the mails. But despite the gains of electronic bill payments, the availability of free bill-pay service at most banks may …

Regulators seeking to rein in so-called remotely created checks aren't going far enough to contain the risk these payment devices pose?particularly when they are processed electronically, says one payments expert. “I think they should ban them,” says George F. Thomas, chief executive at Radix Consulting, Oakdale, N.Y., and a former …

Online auctioneer eBay Inc. and its PayPal payments service are generating headlines this week for enhancing their coverage of buyers' and sellers' losses when sales go bad. Less noticed but also important for merchants, however, are the enhanced risk controls for merchants that PayPal is quietly rolling out. Dubbed Fraud …

Online sellers trying to sort out the plethora of alternative-payments choices?and make decisions regarding which, if any, to accept?should begin by asking questions about what business problems they are trying to solve, a retail executive said at an e-commerce trade show on Wednesday. “Once you understand what problem you're trying …

Despite intense market-development efforts by tech vendors, processors, and some banks, mobile banking and payments still suffer from consumer distrust, according to results of an international survey released this week by Blue Bell, Pa.-based technology-services provider and server manufacturer Unisys Corp. Unisys, which commissioned a survey of more than 13,000 …

Some high-profile payment-industry technology providers are reporting increases in their operating measures but are still struggling to make a profit in 2008 as they expand or try to compete in a tough market. –Boosted by demand in North America for countertop terminals and more networking and other services revenues, point-of-sale …

It's the new, old payment system. That's essentially how an electronic-payments startup called eLayaway LLC is billing itself as it prepares for bigger things following two years of testing and a low-key rollout to merchants and consumers. Tallahassee, Fla.-based eLayaway's slogan is “credit is overrated.” Its system allows consumers, once …