David Heun

Encryption has become a political hot potato for the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council as it compiles a list of validated encryption vendors and services — and leaves off some companies that say they deserve to be recognized as secure.

Mozido LLC is buying its way into China, giving it a head start as big companies like Apple also eye the country's payments market.

Thirty-four percent of merchants interviewed late last year for an Aite Group research report on EMV readiness had never heard of the U.S. migration to EMV-chip payment cards, despite the fast-approaching October 2015 deadline set by the card networks.

Discover, the only major U.S. card brand not connected to Apple Pay, is thus one of the few major credit card issuers not shoehorning Apple into its ads. But Discover has never been one to ignore a marketing opportunity.

As the Federal Reserve and other entities push toward developing a faster payments system in the U.S., it has become increasingly apparent that a good place to start is through debit networks.

PayPal is starting the year without its vice president and general manager of retail and prepaid of the past four years.

It may take years for most small merchants to accept EMV-chip cards in the U.S., but the country's ultimate goal of adopting the secure payment technology is coming together faster than what was seen in other EMV markets.

In a term often reserved for interior design, women's fashions or ballroom dancing, Apple Pay users call the mobile pay system "elegant" because of how easy it is to use.

Acquirers are being encouraged to alert merchants to a new remote malware attack called "Ghost" that allows hackers to take over a network.

Payment technology provider Adyen is establishing Bitcoin as a payment option for consumers playing online games from U.K.-based Jagex.

Corporate credit cards have long been favored for expenses, but are not appropriate for all situations and are not available to all employers and employees. Just as prepaid cards have brought more of the unbanked into the financial system, stored-value cards could also push past the limitations on credit card-based expense systems.

No matter how the European payments landscape looks after the European Commission's new version of the Payment Services Directive takes effect, merchants can almost certainly expect lower rates for accepting card transactions.

The telco-backed mobile wallet Softcard is at a significant crossroads. Though it once saw the debut of Apple Pay as an opportunity, Apple may actually be edging its rivals out of the market, and Softcard's next move will decide not only its own fate but also the strategies of the banks and merchants that could benefit from its technology.

The introduction of Apple Pay has also thrust Near Field Communication-based contactless payment technology out of the wings and into the spotlight.

Apple Pay has secured a dominant position at the point of sale, with two thirds of all U.S. contactless payment volume coming through Apple's new mobile wallet, according to Apple CEO Tim Cook. But this may not be the boost to mobile payments that many experts have long predicted.

Mobile payment and commerce provider Mozido LLC is bringing on a former MasterCard executive as its president for global markets.

Amazon.com's decision to quietly shut down its digital wallet app last week shows an uncharacteristic caution on the part of the e-commerce giant. Merchants throughout the Web use the company's e-commerce services, but the mobile and digital payments world is considerably more cutthroat.

The 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open PGA tour event at TPC Scottsdale has become golf legend because it is the only time on the tour in which fans cheer and jeer each tee shot as if at football game.

Janell Thompson and Katarina Maloney say choosing the "wrong" name for their company was all it took to run afoul of banks and be labeled as co-owners of a high-risk business.

MasterCard will remove the current block on U.S.-issued card transactions in Cuba starting March 1, 2015.