With the Isis mobile-payments venture having announced yet another delay, it remains unclear just what is causing the holdup and when the service will launch. And, say observers, time may be growing short for the venture, which is backed by three of the country’s largest wireless carriers. “I don’t know …

A 2-year-old startup that allows consumers to use prepaid cards augmented with funds from participating merchants is expected to launch its product commercially next week following a nearly nine-month pilot in the Bay area. Emeryville, Calif.-based Marqeta Inc., which has already signed up about 250 merchants, is banking on the …

The National Retail Federation announced on Tuesday that it is ready go to court to challenge the controversial proposed settlement to a massive group of merchant lawsuits against the bank card networks and some leading banks over card interchange. The NRF’s entry into the fray is the latest indication of …

Financially struggling contactless card technology provider ViVOtech Inc. insisted just over a month ago when it sold its hardware business that it was staying in operation and focusing on software. But now the company appears to be headed toward liquidation. A document sent to creditors and others with a financial …

The financials looked good, but the Fates seemed to be spinning some entangling threads for VeriFone Systems Inc. during the leading point-of-sale terminal maker’s third fiscal quarter ended July 31. There was the challenge to VeriFone’s big win in Washington, D.C., where the company’s taxicab payment and media systems are …

Two recent deals by startup Square Inc. indicate that the specialist in mobile payments for part-time sellers and tiny businesses is moving up the merchant ladder. In mid-August, San Francisco-based Square introduced a $275-per-month fixed pricing plan that may appeal to higher-volume, established small businesses. That announcement came shortly after …

Gideon Samid • Gideon@AGSgo.com It looked strange some years ago when a known underworld figure became conspicuously inactive transaction-wise, offering the FBI very little to investigate. This oddity, along with several others, continued for some time until the mystery was solved. It turned out that his trade was going on …

Jim Daly Five years after its momentous leveraged buyout, has First Data transformed itself into a toned-up competitor while confined to what some might say is debtor’s prison? On Sept. 24, 2007, Wall Street’s legendary Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. took leading payment processor First Data Corp. private in a …

Born of the transformed world wrought by Durbin, Visa’s new acquirer fee is either a rational response to changed economics or a diabolical exercise of raw power, depending on whom you ask. By John Stewart Bruce Reisman is an angry man. “I’m not a happy camper. I’m constantly looking for …

Peter Lucas With big banks like Chase and Citibank aggressively promoting remote deposit capture, consumer demand for the product is skyrocketing. As a result, more and more banks are using it as a tool to acquire and keep customers. It’s been a long time since banks have had a customer-acquisition …