The movement among banks to waive or eliminate consumer fees on electronic bill payment is rapidly pushing the transaction channel into the mainstream of consumer payment products, according to the chief executive of Online Resources Corp. “Free works,” declared Matthew P. Lawlor, who is also chairman of the McLean, Va.-based …

The rapid growth of the market for stored-value cards issued to employees in lieu of paychecks has prompted a wide array of consumer and labor groups to petition the Federal Reserve Board to extend to payroll cards the consumer protections of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act. In a letter sent …

Keycorp, Cleveland, announced today it has signed the 100th contract in its agent-bank program for its ATM network. The contract, with Workman's Circle Credit Union, Cheektowaga, New York, calls for the institution's customers to have access to 289 Key ATMs in the state of New York. Under Key's agent-bank program, …

Today's announcement by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that the chain will begin accepting MasterCard International's signature-based debit card again, effective immediately, could spark more interest in non-bank debit networks among small and mid-size retailers, according to some expert observers. Although Wal-Mart and MasterCard refused to disclose terms of their agreement, it …

While the burgeoning digital song market has focused attention on the potential for micropayments in the U.S., a Canadian processor has signed about 1,000 online merchants, the most recent of which is Puretracks, Canada's first and largest purveyor of digital songs. Vancouver-based Paystone Technologies Corp., which was founded in 2001, …

The volume of checks processed by the Federal Reserve dove nearly 6% in the first quarter, reflecting the impact of various electronic payment methods on the nation's usage of paper checks. According to the latest data released by the Fed, the number of checks it cleared in the first quarter …

UniRush Financial Services, a unit of UniRush LLC, New York, today announced an agreement with Milwaukee-based processor Metavante Corp. that allows holders of its prepaid Rush Visa card to use cash accounts linked to the card to make electronic bill payments. The service went live Friday, UniRush says, and is …

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. is investigating a network glitch that caused “duplicate postings” Tuesday of debit card transactions secured by personal identification numbers at its stores, according to company representatives. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based supermarket chain, which operates 1,070 stores across 12 states in the Southeast, says the problem occurred from late …

With rising transaction costs leading many retailers to look at the automated clearing house as a less expensive form of electronic payment, at least one leading bank executive is publicly throwing cold water on the concept of proprietary retail debit cards based on the ACH. Jonathan Wilk, senior vice president …

PayPal may be getting close to processing payments for online song downloads, but it's not likely to be moving more broadly into micropayments any time soon. The San Jose, Calif.-based payment-processing unit of online auctioneer eBay Inc. finished adding functionality to its system last month to handle song payments and …