Peter Lucas Acquirers routinely lose merchants lured away by offers of lower-cost processing. Result? More acquirers are marketing their own branded POS terminals as a way to boost retention. Ask a merchant acquirer how much it charges a retailer for a point-of-sale terminal and the frequent response is that it’s …

Karen Epper Hoffman Economic crises notwithstanding, U.S. payments companies are finding growth potential in Europe, South America, and Asia in traditional services and new niche offerings alike. Despite the seemingly constant stream of bad news about the potential collapse of the euro, economic crises throughout most of Europe, and faltering …

Steve Mott Banks and merchants aren’t natural enemies—they’re only set at odds by the distortions created by the current payments system. In fact, most banks and retailers have much to gain, and little to lose, by working together on a new system built on mobile payments and marketing. (Editor’s note: …

Linda Punch A consensus is forming that regulations specific to mobile payments are coming, but questions about when, who will be involved, and exactly what issues they’ll address are far from settled. With mobile payments increasingly capturing headlines and consumers’ imaginations, can the attention of lawmakers and regulators be far …

A new Georgia law allows non-bank payment processors to charter their own merchant-acquiring banks. Will this charter upend the traditional sponsorship model in the U.S.? By Jim Daly Already a major center for payments companies, Atlanta’s gravitational pull in the merchant-acquiring industry could strengthen thanks to a new Georgia law. …

The card payment system was built on top of a network that was great for its day but no longer suits a modern economy, says Ben Milne, who argues it’s time for something faster and better. When the bottom of the technology stack is 40 years old, it can stand …

With EMV chip card payments coming and mobile wallets using near-field communication already here, merchant acquirers are beginning to roll out their own hardware and software to handle the new technologies. This week, the big merchant acquirer Chase Paymentech introduced its “Future Proof” point-of-sale terminal and earlier this month, Merchant …

Citing “ever-increasing student college expenses,” Heartland Payment Systems Inc. reported on Tuesday that it would eliminate three fees on its student-aid prepaid card. Heartland’s move comes a few weeks after the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), a prominent consumer advocacy group, issued a report highly critical of the …

The Visa Debit train in Canada picked up speed this week when one of the country’s major banks, TD Canada Trust, introduced a debit card that uses the Visa network for card-not-present and international transactions. TD Canada Trust brings to three the number of Canadian banks offering Visa Debit since …

With a number of startup companies now offering bill-pay capability based on smart phones, old-line payments companies are starting to respond with services of their own, relying on their reputations as established players in electronic payments. One of the first is The Western Union Co., which this week introduced a …