The startling size of the TJX Cos. Inc. data breach–at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards compromised–has some electronic-payments experts wondering whether the card networks will ultimately succeed in winning merchant compliance with their data-security rules. “If a major U.S. retailer cannot have its house in order, how can …

It has been a busy week for mobile banking and payments, with an announcement from Firethorn Holdings Inc. about new bank and carrier signings; from Metavante Corp. about a joint venture to launch a U.S. mobile-payments service; from ViVOtech about a new service to allow over-the-air provisioning of event tickets; …

A survey released this week by a major trade association for corporate treasury officials raises an alarm about fraud in check and electronic payments and points to vulnerabilities in newer transaction channels, such as the Internet. “Payments fraud last year was pervasive and increasing,” says a report from the Association …

A well-financed startup company staffed by experienced card and marketing executives plans to launch in April an all-in-one, PIN-protected credit-debit-prepaid card with an acceptance cost that may resonate favorably these days with interchange-weary merchants: 0.50% of the sale. “One of our core tenets is to eliminate interchange altogether,” said Jason …

The bank card networks are staking out major positions in the business of reloading prepaid debit cards, in a move that leverages their existing networks and could give a boost to efforts to bring electronic financial services to the underserved consumer market. At the same time, their entry into reloads …

Tempo Payments Inc., the PIN-debit alternative network for retailers, has signed another large gas-station/convenience-store chain to its issuing ranks. Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip Corp. will offer a rewards card program in a phased rollout beginning in the second quarter involving 50 stores in an unspecified market, Tempo announced this week. Privately …

A recent survey indicates debit card issuers may be overreacting to database breaches that compromise card data held by merchants. Nine out of 10 debit card issuers have received notice in the last few years that their cards could have been compromised in a breach, and of these, some 87% …

10 Tipping Points for the Payments Industry Part 9 The very existence of 17,000 financial institutions in this country defies most conventional economic logic, which says efficient markets usually consolidate and concentrate around the biggest and best participants. But in the payments realm, bigger is not always better. That's why …

Visa USA's chief executive on Wednesday outlined a multimarket strategy for prepaid cards, while announcing that convenience-store titan 7-Eleven Inc. has joined Visa's fledgling prepaid reload network and calling for greater efforts to educate regulators about the unique characteristics of prepaid plastic. “There's an incredible opportunity [in the prepaid market],” …

Hackers frequently go free, but Coventry, R.I., police late Monday night arrested four California men suspected in the recent theft of debit and credit card data from PIN pads at grocery-store chain Stop & Shop Supermarket Cos. While the arrests are certainly good news to Stop & Shop and banks, …