The increasing popularity of depositing checks via mobile devices could end up saving financial institutions offering the service a good deal of money, according to a recent study. But, while cost savings from mobile check capture are real, there are offsetting factors, says an expert not connected with the study. …

A judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday gave the Federal Reserve Board a week to indicate its position about a possible interim rule for implementing the Durbin Amendment, the part of 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act that regulates debit cards, after ruling late last month that the Fed’s current regulations do not …

By Jim Daly The U.S. virtual-currency market grew 52% in 2012 and this year it could more than double to $10.9 billion in purchases, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. What’s more, virtual currency is moving beyond its online-game moorings and into more real-world settings, though …

In one of the most dramatic developments of the year in the electronic-payments business, a federal judge on Wednesday struck down the Federal Reserve Board’s pricing and routing rules for debit card transactions, arguing the banking regulator misinterpreted federal law. The rules, which implemented the Durbin Amendment to the 2010 …

Fresh from the launch of its GoBank mobile-banking product, Green Dot Corp. on Tuesday announced new marketing and distribution deals not only for GoBank but also for its core prepaid card program. Green Dot cards will be sold through 20,000 more retail stores, including locations belonging to Dollar Tree, Dollar …

Discover Financial Services has been in the spotlight over the past year because of its high-profile effort with PayPal Inc. to bring the online-payments leader’s service to millions of physical merchants. But that’s just one iron Riverwoods, Ill.-based Discover has in the fire. On Monday, the Allpoint surcharge-free ATM network …

Intuit Inc.’s sale of its financial-services division, which it announced on Monday, will likely narrow the Mountain View, Calif.-based software giant’s focus in the electronic-payments business, leaving it with an established stake in merchant processing and mobile acceptance. Intuit agreed to sell the financial division to private-equity firm Thoma Bravo …

Fearing that security worries could hinder mobile payments and other digital-payments channels, a handful of major banks are building a server-based switch that will mask consumers’ banking information when they perform transactions. Tentatively called Secure Cloud, the so-called thin switch is under construction at The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC, …

Elizabeth Whalen So far, usage of so-called open-fare payment systems is low, and now transit agencies will confront new problems implementing them. As the hardware for accepting payments on public-transportation systems in many cities nears obsolescence, transit authorities are planning upgrades that allow riders to pay fares with something they …

Lauri Giesen The ranks of regional EFT networks have dwindled from more than 100 in the 1980s to about 20 today. What are the smaller ones doing to stay alive—and thrive? In the mid-1980s, the United States had about 150 electronic funds transfer networks. Apart from their often colorful names—bygone …