Merchants like programs that cover their credit card acceptance costs. So do ISOs and acquirers, some of which see a big opportunity in programs that help merchants with surcharging. Surcharging for credit card transactions or offering a cash discount may have obvious benefits for merchants, but these programs also carry …

From leases lopsided in acquirers’ favor to a bevy of bogus fees, dodgy ISOs, sponsoring banks, processors, and leasing companies are exacting a moral as well as monetary cost on the industry. Here’s what’s going on—and how to clean it up once and for all. Picture this. You’re at a …

Once known for mainly hiring sales people, the most innovative ISOs nowadays are on a hiring binge for techies. What’s behind this shift? By Kevin Woodward and Jim Daly \”Disruptor” is one of the favorite nouns in American business nowadays, so much so that it’s almost a cliché. But the …

(An Open Letter to the Electronic Payments Industry) n On October 16, 2013, I delivered a keynote address to the Strategic Leadership Forum of the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) on my views of the evolution of the payments industry.  At the beginning of this address, I told the audience that …

Merchant processors can expect federal regulators to continue cracking down on their industry, Robert O. Carr, chief executive of Heartland Payment Systems Inc., predicted in a speech Wednesday at an acquiring-industry conference. The reason for stepped-up federal oversight, Carr said, is that independent sales organizations haven’t policed themselves effectively. He …

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The Electronic Transactions Association on Thursday released what it called “guiding principles” that would govern how payment card networks communicate with and implement operational changes that affect merchant acquirers. The guidelines ask the networks to release changes to interchange schedules and operational rules just twice a year and give processors …

After five months of discussion, the Canadian government is out with the final draft of its Code of Conduct for the payments industry. The merchant-friendly code is supposedly voluntary, but proposed legislation could force it upon payments companies that don't adopt it on their own by May 17. “Payment card …

Discover Financial Services now has more than 100 bank card merchant acquirers booking small to medium-sized merchants for its network, the company reported today at an investor presentation in New York City. Discover predicts that those acquirers will enable Discover acceptance in 97% of their new merchant sales in 2010's …