Payment-processing software specialists hoping to find new business through independent sales organizations may have a new way to reach those often-elusive customers. The channel comes in the form of an agreement between Denver-based technology provider IP Commerce Inc. and eProcessing Network LLC, a gateway with links to major payment processors, …

In a development that ViVOtech Inc. is touting as a major vote of confidence in contactless payment and mobile transactions via near-field communication (NFC) technology, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based maker of contactless readers and mobile wallet software has closed a $22.5 million funding round. ViVOtech had announced the so-called Series …

Amid reports about tightening credit, First Data Corp. shareholders today approved the $29 billion sale of their company to private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. According to a First Data release, more than 98% of the shares cast voted in favor of the buyout. Shareholders will get $34.00 in …

The nascent market for electronic transactions in self-service machines should get a sizable boost from a Federal Reserve rule change set to go into effect Aug. 6, an industry observer notes. The rule change could also foster the development of contactless transactions at these machines, laying the groundwork for payments …

Confirming long-standing industry speculation, Columbus, Ga.-based bank-holding company Synovus Financial Corp. on Tuesday said it would consider spinning off its processing subsidiary, Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), to Synovus shareholders. Assuming a spin-off eventually happens, TSYS will have played a key role in 2007's major processing-industry restructuring that will take …

Volume for Internet payment processor PayPal Inc. climbed 21% in the second quarter, to 172.9 million transactions, and the San Jose, Calif.-based company continues to make steady inroads with e-commerce merchants away from eBay Inc.'s online auctions, according to statistics filed last week by eBay, PayPal's parent company. Off-eBay volume …

A startup company managed by former executives from online travel agency Orbitz LLC plans to release in the fourth quarter a software product that will let online merchants manage the gamut of transaction fraud issues, from front-end screening to automated order review to chargeback processing and, eventually, back-end collections and …

More large merchants now meet the dictates of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI, according to new numbers from Visa U.S.A. At the same time, Visa, the biggest payment-card network, is turning its security attention to small merchants, the source of the majority of data breaches. Visa and …

It's the summer of change in the executive suites of some major payment-industry companies. Two days after No. 1 processor First Data Corp. named a new chief executive, struggling payment-terminal manufacturer Hypercom Corp. announced that William Keiper, its chief executive for not quite two years, would leave his post Aug …

PayPal Inc.'s much-anticipated mobile-commerce service made its official debut this week in a development PayPal executive Kevin Dulsky calls a “game-changing” event for the electronic-transactions business. The launch of PayPal Mobile Checkout, which claims at least 20 merchants signed up so far, follows weeks of speculation about the m-commerce version …