A pair of companies specializing in stored-value products for the underbanked population are reaching beyond prepaid cards to extend credit and savings options to their cardholders. Next Estate Communications Inc., which launched its Green Dot Financial Network to support check-cashing and prepaid cards, already offers its cardholders a program to …

Technology that allows consumers to pay at the point of sale by waving or tapping a card or other token took a major step forward today with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s announcement that it will issue millions of cards equipped with the technology starting this summer. Following on the …

Microsoft Corp. is working on new authentication software that will identify consumers to merchant sites on the Internet and initiate payment processing. The software, which the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is calling InfoCard for now, will be released to developers for feedback by the end of the month, according to …

In a bid to make purchasing its Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates more efficient for networks, VeriSign Inc. today said it will begin offering three-year certificates next month. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said the new, longer-term certificates will save customers as much as 24% from the cost of currently …

Mer-Tec Inc., an online transaction processor based in Lewisville, Texas, will switch on a micropayments service next week for handling online payments and rights management for digital content, with an emphasis on song and video downloads. The service, which Mer-Tec calls SecureCastle, will open with about 10 independent artists as …

A spin-off of Discover Financial Services Inc. by its parent, Morgan Stanley, won't likely change the card network's strategy, but an acquisition of the newly independent company would likely occur soon after the spin-off, leading to probable changes in direction at the 20-year-old card company, including a possible break-up, according …

Although it's a minuscule portion of the total value of retailer-issued gift cards sold in the U.S., the nascent aftermarket for these cards is set for a boom, according to recent research by TowerGroup Inc., Needham, Mass. About 4,500 cards are currently available for auction on a number of recently …

Boston-based Vayusa Inc., which markets its m-commerce service under the name MobileLime, has had discussions with a national retailer and restaurant chain about offering its m-commerce network nationally. If successful, the deals could pave the way for MobileLime to reach the 172 million or so mobile users in the U.S. …

Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co.'s decision to roll out a biometric payment system to all 85 stores in its chain was driven by both transaction-cost savings and customer interest, a senior executive for the Charleston, S.C.-based grocer says. In related news, Pay By Touch, the San Francisco-based company whose system Piggly …

There are 25 million people in the U.S. who have a regular income but don't have a bank account, says Vero Financial Group, Lake Oswego, Ore., and now the 2-year-old company has developed a card-based, biometric system to cash checks for this market that cuts transaction time and cost while …