In a move that could bring mobile payments based on near-field communication (NFC) to a wide array of financial institutions, MasterCard Inc. on Thursday announced it will provide its PayPass contactless-payment technology to mFoundry Inc., a Larkspur, Calif.-based vendor of mobile-banking software. MasterCard also invested an undisclosed sum in mFoundry, …

  One of the many questions the Durbin Amendment has raised—and that won’t likely be answered for months, perhaps years—is just what will become of the movement to bring PIN debit to online purchases.   After all, much of the rationale for PIN debit, from the online merchant’s point of …

  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 …

  Discover can point to some major triumphs since it was launched by Sears a quarter-century ago, not least its success in taking on Visa and MasterCard. But a fast-changing payments landscape offers no assurance of future success. Discover’s plan: It pays to network.   By Jim Daly     …

n By Jane Adler   Retailers and consumers are shifting from plastic to virtual gift cards, drawn by instant availability and ease of distribution. Is the tangible gift card on its way out?       With holiday sales in their sights, retailers are expanding their gift card offerings with …

If the best present for a merchant acquirer is more transactions to process, 2011’s Christmas has already arrived. Various reports from acquirers, payment processors, and research firms indicate that electronic transaction volumes are up sharply over 2010’s levels despite the gloom that still colors most economic news. Dallas-based Chase Paymentech, …

The prepaid card industry is marching to new frontiers as November heads toward a close. Intuit Inc. on Tuesday is expected to launch a prepaid Visa card for new merchants in its GoPayment smart-phone-based service, and the Federal Reserve Board approved prepaid card program manager Green Dot Corp.’s plan to …

  With the holiday-shopping season set to kick off on Friday, a startup in San Diego has launched a Web site that lets consumers buy gift cards at 10% of face value. The remaining balance, the company says, comes due only when the cards are redeemed. The site, from Moola …

  n n n n n n n n n n n n n

  Open-fare payments for public transportation got a big boost when the Chicago Transit Authority announced it had awarded a $454 million, 12-year contract to Cubic Transportation Systems to build and maintain a payment system that accepts contactless cards. The CTA, which provides about 500 million rides a year, thus …