While tales of unemployment, foreclosures, and other economic woes abound, some payments-industry reports indicate that consumers are coming out of their shells and spending more than they did a year ago, though the picture is still mixed. JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday reported that its mega merchant-acquiring subsidiary Chase …

TCF National Bank’s federal lawsuit against the controls on debit card interchange contained in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law draws scant sympathy from retailers who have been battling against card interchange, including a merchant and entrepreneur who has been leading a crusade against the pricing mechanism for years. “It’s nonsense,” …

Banks are abandoning their dreams of ATMs generating profits and instead returning to their original focus of using the machines for customer service, according to new findings from First Annapolis Consulting Inc. Linthicum, Md.-based First Annapolis spoke with executives from the nation’s 10 largest banks by assets about their ATM …

TCF National Bank, a top 10 debit card issuer, on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the so-called Durbin Amendment, which, as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill Congress passed in July, will regulate debit card interchange beginning next year. TCF alleges the debit card provisions …

Merchants are most likely to remain compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards and avoid data breaches if they adopt security as a lifestyle, according to a study released earlier this week by Verizon Business. Verizon Business provides audits and other PCI-related services. When we've seen people be …

The U.S. Department of Justice and seven states on Monday sued Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc., and American Express Co. over their merchant-acceptance policies, especially those that restrict discounting for other cards or payment forms. Visa and MasterCard immediately announced a settlement, but AmEx said it would fight. The antitrust lawsuit …

Mobile payments are barely out of the starting gate, but fraudsters are quickly discovering the new channel’s potential for making a dishonest buck, according to new research from LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Fraud losses from mobile payments as a percentage of total revenue were 1.13% compared with 0.83% for online-only merchants …

With 5,100 small and mid-sized businesses already using its E3 end-to-end encryption terminals, Heartland Payment Systems Inc. early next month will roll out its E3 magnetic-stripe reader for PC-based payment applications. The E3 wedge is a small, mag-stripe-reading wedge that plugs into the USB port of a personal computer or …

A rash of debit card fraud has hit customers of the discount supermarket chain Aldi, though its extent and methodology have not been divulged. Criminals obtained customers’ PINs and card numbers in the Midwest to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals in other states, especially California. Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi’s case is different …

With the holiday shopping season only weeks away, the nation’s biggest retailers are falling short in their offerings of virtual gift cards, according to research released on Thursday. Of the country’s 100 biggest online merchants—many of which also operate large brick-and-mortar chains—only half offer virtual cards, which are gift “cards” …