Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty submitted his budget plan to Parliament late last week, and his proposals have merchants celebrating. That's because the government is floating the idea of regulating the payment card networks and, by implication, credit and debit card interchange. “There was good news for retailers in yesterday's …

In its effort to become a major supplier for merchants seeking to use their iPhones from Apple Inc. as payment card-accepting terminals, VeriFone Holdings Inc. already has announced a major marketing initiative for its PAYware Mobile system that includes a software application on Apple Inc.'s iTunes App Store and a …

NetDeposit LLC, which this week announced it will support a mobile remote deposit capture product from San Diego-based Mitek Systems Inc., expects to have the service ready for financial-institution clients “some time” in the third quarter, says Chris Styga, executive vice president of the financial-service solutions group for the Salt …

The joint merchant-acquiring venture announced Monday by Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) and First National Bank of Omaha marks a major change in strategy by both companies. The deal, scheduled to close April 1, marks the first time TSYS is taking an ownership interest in a merchant portfolio. And for …

The concept of the reloadable general-purpose prepaid card is a familiar one to those who work in the prepaid card industry, but it hasn't caught on with the general public, according to findings from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. A Mercator survey of 1,012 adults last May and June found that …

Processing volume hit some turbulence last year, but that didn't stop Universal Air Travel Plan Inc. from pursing its goal of adding merchants to its airline-owned network. Washington, D.C.-based UATP last week reported that LQ Management LLC's La Quinta Inns & Suites has become the first hotel chain in the …

U.S. card issuers are starting to worry about problems some of their high-spending and corporate card customers are having using their magnetic-stripe cards in countries that support the chip-and-PIN standard, according to executives who spoke on Tuesday at a smart card conference. Whereas the issue hardly seemed apparent only a …

Various payment alternatives will continue to grow in volume and claim more share of Web-based sales, but the dramatic gains of recent years will moderate as credit cards stage a partial comeback, according to a forecast released this week. Alternative payment methods, which have proliferated in variety over the past …

While hoping that it's seeing the light at the end of its long data-breach tunnel, Heartland Payment Systems Inc. also is restructuring its sales force in an effort to boost flagging productivity. The Princeton, N.J.-based merchant acquirer fired 98 low-performing relationship managers in November, but is in the process of …

While many bankers and even technologists may regard handset-based electronic deposits as esoteric, consumers seem not only familiar with the product but favorably inclined toward it, according to a survey by Mercatus LLC, a Boston-based consulting firm that follows mobile banking and payments. The survey, conducted in December among more …