In its latest update about the U.S. conversion from magnetic-stripe to EMV chip cards, Visa Inc. said more than 3.1 million merchant locations accepted chip cards as of June versus only 392,000 in September 2015. The number of Visa chip cards increased 214% in that time to 499.7 million. Some …

Merchant processor Payment Data Systems Inc. said its FiCentive prepaid card subsidiary will provide program management and processing and develop Web and mobile applications for University Fancards, which offers university-branded gift and reloadable prepaid cards. Speedpay Inc., Western Union’s bill-payment unit, has adopted a customer-guidance tool based on artificial intelligence …

Worldnet TPS Ltd. launched GoChipNow, a service for virtual-terminal merchants to convert to EMV chip card acceptance. VSoft Corp., which specializes in information-technology products for financial institutions, said it will integrate a payment service from Payrailz into its digital banking platform. Total investment in startups specializing in artificial intelligence, an …

Payment-industry incumbents, particularly the global credit card networks and their allied banks and processors, can’t rest on their laurels lest fast-growing mobile and non-card payment systems in much of the world leave them in the dust. That was the conclusion of payments researchers Friday who spoke at the Mobile Payments …

Online-shopping site jClub Inc. said its customers can check out with a single click on mobile or desktop devices using the Google Pay button. Google Pay is a 3-year-old mobile-payment service from Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit. Facing growing concerns about privacy protections on its popular Venmo person-to-person payments service, executives …

Despite its detractors, the so-called gig economy that relies on freelance workers looks like it’s here to stay. And Lyft Inc., a leading ride-share provider that’s a major player in the gig economy, would like to see the payments industry evolve to meet the gig economy’s needs. Ashwin Raj, the …

Priority Technology Holdings Inc. said it purchased PPS Northeast, a former independent brand licensed office of Priority Payment Systems for an undisclosed amount. Payments provider CellPoint Mobile said its payment platform is now available to users of Runtriz’s hotel point-of-sale software for hotels and casinos. NACHA, the governing body for …

Samsung Pay launched in South Korea three years ago Monday, and on Tuesday Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. marked the anniversary by releasing some numbers for the mobile-payments platform. Widely known as one of three “Pays” that rely on near-field communication technology for in-store transactions (Apple Pay and Google Pay are …

Contactless fare payments are still booming on London’s massive public-transportation network, but it’s a different story in the United States despite years of talk and testing. The latest figures from Transport for London, the agency that oversees the United Kingdom capital city’s subways and buses, show an average of 1.48 …

Payment-processing technology company Pineapple Payments has acquired payment-gateway provider Transax for undisclosed terms. The deal represents the fifth acquisition this year for Pineapple, which says it is processing $3 billion in annual volume for more than 13,000 merchants. Payments-technology provider linked2pay introduced what it calls instant merchant settlements for credit …