Expect more big banks to follow Wells Fargo & Co. and Wachovia Corp. in switching their debit processing business from Concord EFS to Visa, according to an industry analyst. John Gould, director of consumer credit research for TowerGroup, a payments research company, says in the process of moving their debit-processing …

Microsoft Corp. and Vodafone Group PLC are working together on technology standards that would allow personal computers to exploit wireless networks for functions ranging from user authentication to payment to text messages. A company that sells online games, for instance, could use the new mobile Web specifications to accept micropayments …

Issuers of debit cards tied to flexible-spending accounts may be breathing a sigh of relief now that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unit of the federal Department of Health & Human Services has sent a letter to a marketer of one such card exempting its product from …

Diners visiting Texas Roadhouse restaurants will soon be able to tap on digital offers in the Texas Roadhouse app thanks to a newly announced deal with Sparkfly, a retail services provider. In related point-of-sale news, Merrco Payments Inc. launched its expanded PayHQ service in the United States. Merrco specializes in …

Point-of-sale and payments-platform provider Lightspeed Commerce Inc. said Thursday it is exploring “strategic alternatives” in the wake of reports the company might put itself up for sale. “While it is the long-standing policy of Lightspeed not to comment on market rumors, the company notes the recent media reports concerning a …

Reaction from the payments industry to the Justice Department’s announcement Tuesday that it is suing Visa Inc. over antitrust issues involving its debit card business was swift and pointed. As expected, representatives of the payments industry denounced the lawsuit as baseless, while representatives of the merchant community and legislators friendly …

The U.S. Department of Justice’s 71-page complaint accusing Visa Inc. of monopolizing U.S. debit networks goes into great detail about the company’s pricing strategies and attempts to get merchants and card issuers to direct their debit business toward Visa. Those efforts have been quite successful. Referring to Visa’s so-called “moat” …

The biggest question the payments industry is wrestling with this week is whether the U.S. Department of Justice is about to sue Visa Inc., apparently over debit card issues. The financial wires were abuzz with speculation Tuesday morning that the DoJ could file an antitrust lawsuit before the day is …

Bluefin Payment Systems LLC expects its deal with processor Moneris Solutions Corp. will significantly streamline Canadian merchants’ payment card security through what the parties say is an enhanced point-to-point encryption solution. Under the terms of the deal, announced last week, Moneris will include point-to-point encryption (P2PE) capabilities in Bluefin’s PCI …

Acquirers and independent sales organizations wanting to improve their standing among merchants should take note of four trends affecting payments today, according to Bill Dobbins, head of acquiring and enablement at Visa Inc. Dobbins, speaking at the Western States Acquirers Association conference in Las Vegas this week, outlined why the …