The PCI Security Standards Council this week updated its standards governing point-to-point data encryption (P2PE) and card-reading devices for the point of sale, ATMs, kiosks and mobile devices. One of the key changes in the new Version 2.0 of the P2PE standard will make it easier for security-solutions providers to …

Possibly as soon as later this year, the processing giant will undergo a mammoth IPO. Here, a payments-industry analyst sizes up what the company can offer investors. The world’s largest payment processor, First Data Corp., is girding for an initial public offering, likely later this year. It promises to be …

By John Stewart While payments startups are enjoying a record flood of investment capital, venture-capital and private-equity firms aren’t the only investors spotting opportunity in these companies. Directly or through their venture arms, established companies like MasterCard Inc. and Google Inc. are pouring cash into startups as well, either to …

First Data Corp. has added the Clover Mini to its roster of tablet-based point-of-sale products, the Atlanta-based processor announced Tuesday. The device has the same capabilities as the countertop-sized Clover Station, but in a 7-inch screen. The Clover products offer merchants the ability to add a wide variety of apps …

Judging from new Federal Reserve data, April was a month of joy for merchants and credit card issuers as consumers spent more on their credit cards, but for consumer advocates and financial advisors it may have been a month of angst as they saw foolish consumers take on too much …

By John Stewart Wednesday’s announcement by MasterCard Inc. that its MasterPass digital-payments service has signed up home-furnishings and décor e-retailer Wayfair, along with several Wayfair properties and mobile apps, threw into relief the progress the two giant general-purpose card networks are making in e-commerce and in-app payments. Once the province …

By Jim Daly U.S. credit and debit card issuers will have about 150 million more EMV chip cards in circulation by year’s end than predicted last summer, according to the latest forecast from an industry group promoting the conversion of U.S. card payments to smart cards. The Payments Security Task …

By John Stewart The Durbin Amendment’s transaction-routing requirements, which have been in effect now for three years, are widely thought to have benefited merchants by increasing competition for debit card traffic. But PIN debit networks that aren’t owned by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. were expected to benefit as well …

Processing giant First Data Corp. didn’t manage to record a second consecutive profitable quarter, but its financial picture did continue to brighten. Simultaneously, First Data officially launched two new, smaller-footprint products in its Clover line of mobile point-of-sale technology. The Atlanta-based company on Monday announced it had taken a $112 …

When it comes to Apple Inc.’s popular Apple Pay mobile-payment service, some players might figure it’s better to be late than never to participate at all. Issuer Discover Financial Services says consumers will be able to use Discover credit and debit cards with Apple Pay beginning this fall. Apple Pay …