ViVOtech Inc., a payment hardware and software provider specializing in near-field communication (NFC) technology, on Thursday said it is interested in buying the U.S. assets of Hypercom Corp., the point-of-sale terminal maker in the process of being acquired by rival VeriFone Systems Inc., San Jose, Calif. Santa Clara, Calif.-based ViVOtech …

Mobile payments may be a nascent business fraught with uncertainty, but Starbucks Coffee Co. seems to have found a key to success. Last week, the company revealed that more than 3 million transactions have taken place on its smart-phone-based prepaid payments system, which became available in all U.S. company-owned stores …

With much of the payments industry and Silicon Valley tech press in a speculative frenzy about what Google Inc., Apple Inc., and Facebook Inc. might or might not do regarding mobile payments, a new study has come along indicating that consumers are complacent, arguably extremely complacent, about protecting personal and …

Retailers, other merchants, and processors are increasingly embracing online and mobile forms of gift cards and related prepaid products as they seek to give customers as many payment options as possible, according to executives who spoke at this week’s Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla.   “If you’re not in …

Only a year or so ago, allowing consumers to deposit checks using a smart-phone application seemed cutting-edge. Now, some financial institutions that have the most experience with offering mobile remote deposit capture are not only touting the success of the product, they are also warning their peers that the window …

Supposedly mature North America lately is sporting growth rates befitting a green-field market for leading point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc. VeriFone, which is moving ahead with plans to buy rival Hypercom Corp., late Tuesday reported that North American revenues increased 43% in its first fiscal 2011 quarter ended Jan. …

Jim Daly Small financial institutions use remote deposit capture to compensate for their lack of branches as they compete with big banks for depositors, but that’s not the only reason they’re deploying the new technology. Geography matters, but it’s not all that matters regarding 21st Century deposit gathering. The spread …

JPMorgan Chase & Co. plans to use Mitek Systems Inc.’s Mobile Deposit software in future versions of its QuickDeposit service for mobile remote deposit capture across multiple smart-phone operating platforms. The announcement furthered Mitek’s lead as the top vendor in the fast-growing mobile-capture niche. Citing confidentiality agreements with customers, Mitek …

Trends & Tactics Android’s Edge in the Smart-Phone Skirmish The splashy news in smart phones last month was Verizon Wireless’s announcement that it will start marketing the iPhone, breaking AT&T Mobility’s long-held exclusivity on Apple Inc.’s popular device. But there was quieter mobile news that will be of greater consequence …

The Gimlet Eye You Can’t Ignore Google for Mobile Payments It is instructive how fast the conversation about mobile payments has shifted from cell phones generically understood to what we have come to call smart phones. I suppose it was the advent of the “app” that did it, a profusion …