With its core daily-deal market getting crowded, market leader Groupon Inc. recently made two moves that position the company as a rival of independent sales organizations, value-added resellers, PayPal Inc., and others trolling for mobile-payments transactions from small merchants. In October, Chicago-based Groupon rolled out its Breadcrumb service, a point-of-sale …

The obituaries for debit card rewards may be premature. Of the 100 largest issuers of debit cards ranked by debit purchase volume, 37 now offer a rewards program, down from 52 three years ago. But 19 issuers with $10 billion or more in assets still offer a program, despite a …

Cybercriminals have introduced a new version of a notorious malware threat that is not only harder to detect but also more capable of stealing card numbers, PINs, and other sensitive information. This latest variant of the so-called Zeus Trojan malware includes a change that makes it virtually invisible to programs …

Not content with restrictions on debit card interchange, merchants are now targeting bigger game. A set of major antitrust cases could be just the opening salvo—and a trial is set to start in September. By Linda Punch While the card networks and banks are still wrestling with the repercussions from …

  By Lauri Giesen   Now that the Durbin rates are in place for debit cards, questions are swirling about debit’s growth prospects, the fate of PIN debit and of the small-ticket market, and the implications for prepaid cards.       Imagine a world where banks try to get …

  By Karen Epper Hoffman   Disbursing government benefits via prepaid cards has become an increasingly popular outlet for public agencies seeking operational efficiency and banks hoping to find new avenues to revenue and client retention.       For the beneficiaries of government benefits, “getting carded” is arguably a …

  By Peter Lucas   With transactions leveling off, independent ATM networks are gearing up to offer a host of new services aimed at the unbanked and the offers-obsessed.       Increasing ATM transaction volume is a tall order these days. Growth in total transaction volume has slowed to …

  BY Linda Punch   New IRS reporting requirements for processors and merchants take effect soon. The extra work involved is one formidable obstacle for the acquiring business. Another one is the IRS itself.       When Congress passed a new law requiring merchant acquirers to report merchants’ electronic-payment …

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  Why Prepaid Cards Need Marketing TLC Regulation, public ignorance about prepaid cards, and negative publicity worry prepaid card executives, according to a recent survey. Researchers from Boston-based Aite Group LLC polled 24 senior executives during March’s Prepaid Expo USA conference in Orlando, Fla., and asked them to rate their …