The U.S. Department of Justice filed court documents Tuesday that move toward completion its challenge of Visa and MasterCard network rules limiting merchants’ ability to steer customer payments toward their preferred forms. Tuesday’s action is largely procedural as Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. announced settlements when the DoJ and seven …

Defenders of the debit card interchange status quo saw their last, best hope to delay draconian Federal Reserve regulations from taking effect go down to defeat Wednesday afternoon. An amendment in the U.S. Senate that would have delayed the Fed’s rules died on a 54-45 vote, six shy of the …

  When news broke last month about a major card-data breach at Michaels Stores Inc., an arts-and-crafts chain, two things came to mind: 1) this type of fraud seems never to end, with Michael’s being just the latest in a long and somber line of retail and processor breaches; and …

  All Signs Point to Credit Cards’ Recovery   After getting KO’d in the recession, credit card usage is back on its feet. While card issuers are more cautious than they were a few years ago, consumers who have credit cards are using them more frequently, and they are spending …

  Karen Epper Hoffman Outmaneuvered and outgunned by merchants, banks lost a key interchange battle last year with the passage of the Durbin Amendment. But lately they’ve gone back on the offensive in an all-out push to delay—and maybe kill—the new law. The passage of new card interchange fee rules …

  Linda Punch   So-called friendly fraud is hard to detect, hard to prove, and rising for some merchants. What are merchants, acquirers, and tech companies doing to reduce it?   It may be one of the most frustrating types of fraud encountered by a merchant. So-called friendly fraud—also known …

  Canada seems to have found a workable formula for rolling out EMV technology.   Can the U.S. learn from it?   By Peter Lucas   Payment card executives in the United States looking to follow a model for how to roll out EMV cards and terminals need look no …

  Take into consideration that, in today’s global e-marketplace, credit cards alone are no longer enough.   Getting consumers to part with their money online these days requires careful thought about checkout-page design and payment options, says Paul Bridgewater.   Paul Bridgewater is vice president of world payments for Digital …

Google Inc.’s entry in mobile payments and marketing, which the online search titan unveiled last Thursday, swept many observers off their feet with its comprehensive roundup of key players but also left a number of crucial questions unanswered. Experts agree, though, that the uncertainty swirling around these questions only underscores …

Google Inc. on Thursday officially entered what is rapidly becoming a highly competitive sweepstakes for dominance in the nascent business of mobile wallets. The Web search giant announced it is working with four partner companies and some 16 retailers to offer consumers a payments-and-rewards system based on its Nexus S …