When the Federal Trade Commission announced two days before Christmas it had leveled a preliminary consent order against Mastercard Inc. to correct what the agency saw as roadblocks the card company had erected against routing online debit transactions to competing networks, the move may have surprised at least some observers. …

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a probe into whether security tokens issued by Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. interfere with the ability of processors to route debit card transactions to alternative networks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Network choice for debit card transactions is mandated by the Durbin Amendment to the 2011 …

First American Payment Systems has agreed to a proposed federal court order requiring the processor to repay $4.9 million to small businesses affected by what the Federal Trade Commission called deceptive practices, according to the FTC. The settlement, announced Friday, was made in the wake of charges by the FTC …

With more merchants embracing omnichannel sales strategies that blend brick-and-mortar and e-commerce shopping, Blackhawk Network Inc. is enabling merchants to sell digital gift cards in-store.  With Blackhawk’s eGift card platform, merchants can engage customers at multiple marketing touchpoints throughout the store, such as gift card racks and gift card displays …

The Federal Trade Commission this week announced a settlement with an independent sales organization that processed $80 million in payments for “My Online Business Education,” or MOBE, a business-coaching and investment opportunity the FTC deemed fraudulent and shut down in 2018. Under an order and permanent injunction in U.S. District Court …

Fiserv Inc. and the former head of an independent sales organization will pay $40.2 million to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission stemming from alleged illegal actions committed by the ISO from 2012 to 2014 while it obtained processing services from First Data Merchant Services, whose parent company …