David Heun

Western Union Co. and Atlanta-based SunTrust Bank have launched a global money transfer and bill payment service that will also allow customers to send money to load prepaid cards and pay bills at more than 1,500 bank agent location in the southeastern U.S.

Mercury Payment Systems LLC plans to upgrade its closed-loop gift card system so that any small to mid-size merchant can offer gift, loyalty and reloadable prepaid options to customers in one card.

Despite regulatory and legal uncertainties that could affect the U.S. EMV chip-card migration, MasterCard Inc. is telling its acquiring banks and merchants that it intends to stick to its October 2015 deadline.

The new Square iPhone case, designed with accessory developer Griffin Technology, kicks off a program that encourages the development of accessories for Square payments hardware.

Total Merchant Services says it will expand its tablet-based point of sale and cloud-based offerings after acquiring Registroid LLC and its products.

The Target Corp. data breach just before the holiday shopping season triggered another round of rhetoric on the merits and shortcomings of chip-based cards. But the breach's direct effect on merchant EMV plans is largely up in the air.

Following the lead of other retailers, the National Retail Federation filed an appeal Jan. 2 of a U.S. District Court ruling to approve the years-long class action against the card brands that resulted in a $5.7 billion swipe-fee settlement.

Following the lead of other retailers, the National Retail Federation filed an appeal Jan. 2 of a U.S. District Court ruling to approve the years-long class action against the card brands that resulted in a $5.7 billion swipe-fee settlement.

The processor Global Payments Inc. now allows merchants to accept donations at the point of sale through an agreement with Digital Processing Solutions.

From a consumer's perspective, the Merchant Customer Exchange mobile payment initiative ended 2013 in much the same way as it ended 2012 - with many big-name merchants signed on, but no product available to make payments in stores. Behind the scenes, MCX has made greater strides.

Google Wallet users can now activate the accompanying plastic Google Wallet card through the mobile app, a process that will become increasingly common as mobile payments advance, experts say.

Google has made more progress by splintering its payments strategy in 2013 than it did when it tried to provide a single, unified product.

Guardian Credit Union plans to offer its members the Buzz Points merchant-funded debit loyalty program, which emphasizes social media interaction.

On Track Innovations Ltd. plans to concentrate more time and money on its payments division after closing the sale of its SmartID business to SuperCom Ltd. last week, the Israel-based payments technology provider says.

Guardian Credit Union plans to offer its members the Buzz Points merchant-funded debit loyalty program, which emphasizes social media interaction.

Google Wallet users who request the accompanying plastic card can activate that card through the wallet's mobile app, a process that will become increasingly common as mobile payments advance, experts say.

Don't let Target's breach of 40 million payment cards overshadow a much scarier incident at Adobe that affected up to 153 million accounts.

A recurring theme for Federal Reserve Banks in 2013 had a familiar - and highly complicated - ring to it for the payments industry. The Fed banks want faster payments in the U.S., but the larger retail banks want to preserve their investments in earlier technology.

Don't let Target's breach of 40 million payment cards overshadow a much scarier incident at Adobe in recent months.

Decoupled debit cards, which draw funds from an account at a separate issuer, are typically framed as a low-cost alternative to cards issued by credit unions and banks.