Bullish on the prospects of electronic wallets residing on smart phones equipped with near field communication (NFC) chips, leading point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc. says that topline revenues from software, services, and equipment for NFC wallets could increase in the United States between $100 to $150 million, 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 …

  Jim Daly   The odds may be growing that Internet poker and possibly other forms of online gambling will become legal. That would mean new transaction and revenue opportunities for payment processors.   Just say the words “online gambling” to payments-industry executives, and most run for cover. Next to …

  Kevin Barry   Finding another, unaffiliated PIN-debit network is now mandated by law, but it also makes sense strategically and tactically. Issuers must act quickly, though, to realize the full advantage of the move.   In the past, card issuers have largely partnered with debit networks and promoted authentication …

  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 …

  American Express Co. will step up marketing of its Serve digital payment system early in the third quarter, following encouraging results from a pilot in Eugene, Ore., says David Messenger, executive vice president of online and mobile, American Express. “We’ve done a market test in Eugene and got some …