CardinalCommerce Corp., a major player in the business of enabling alternative payments for merchants and processors, entered the nascent business of online PIN debit on Tuesday with a product it says requires little to no integration work by merchants, gateways, processors, or networks. The Mentor, Ohio-based company says it has …

In an apparent first in the debit card market, MasterCard Inc. has a struck a deal with Delta Air Lines Inc. to build a national network of issuers of Delta SkyMiles cobranded debit cards bearing the MasterCard logo. Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc. currently is the sole issuer of Delta debit …

Rising interest in contactless mobile payments via micro Secure Digital (SD) cards has led to the introduction of a feature that will let banks personalize SD cards for payments in a matter of minutes. The new feature, which can be used in a branch or other office, has the potential …

Hammered by the worst economic downturn in decades, consumers have been abandoning credit cards in droves, instead using debit cards as their plastic of choice. But new research suggests card issuers will soon have to revamp their credit card programs and beef up prepaid card marketing to offset an expected …

Forming a mutual-aid society of sorts, mobile-payments technology provider Obopay Inc. and payment processor First Data Corp.’s Star electronic funds transfer network on Wednesday announced that Obopay’s new Mobile Money for Banks service would incorporate Star’s Expedited Transfer Service. The arrangement potentially gives Obopay as it ramps up its U.S. …

When eBay Inc. late last month announced it will no longer allow so-called third-party checkout services after June 30, 2011, the San Jose, Calif.-based online auctioneer’s policy shift attracted plenty of attention. Less noted was a decision, announced at the same time, to allow payment gateways other than PayPal to …

Facing strong competition from up-and-coming open-loop prepaid cards and maturity in some of its subcategories, closed-loop prepaid cards still managed to grow 7.1% last year, according to a new study from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator estimates load volume on closed-loop cards, which are issued by or for …

While Apple Inc.’s iPhone remains the iconic smart phone for mobile payments, some recent research reveals that the Android platform produced by rival Silicon Valley denizen Google Inc. is mounting a serious challenge in shipments and usage of the mobile Web. In a development with importance to e-commerce merchants and …

With its acquisition of mobile-terminal maker Way Systems Inc., VeriFone Systems Inc. picked up a small, struggling company facing plenty of competition in the market for mobile point-of-sale hardware and services. But the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal kingpin also bolstered a linchpin strategy in its efforts to diversify beyond POS …

While banks, card networks, and wireless carriers jockey for position in the nascent market for mobile payments at the point of sale, the digital-content business is quickly establishing itself as a fast-growing mobile-payments market. That’s thanks to the rapid spread of mobile broadband networks and smart phones, a new report …