David Heun

Google can’t underestimate the importance of its maiden voyage with Google Wallet and the lessons the company learned in being one of the first to offer payments through cellphones in the U.S.

Despite recent scrutiny of mobile point of sale devices, the mobile payments category as a whole has generally carried a promise of initiating a safer transaction through the use of biometrics, device ID, geolocation and other factors.

The retailer-driven Merchant Customer Exchange initiative to create a common mobile wallet had good intentions, but it overlooked the nature of retail itself — that each company has to differentiate itself to lure customers.

When engaging in an increasingly competitive credit card rewards and benefits market, issuers have to make sure their programs and pitches to consumers are as simple as possible. But that's hard to do when perks range from points and rewards to the very materials used to build the cards.

Risk management and payments technology provider linked2pay says paycosmos has become the first independent sales organization to offer its merchants the Instant Merchant Settlements service.

After 20 years of working with a clunky, time-consuming 3-D Secure authorization method for online purchases, the wheels are finally in motion to get the upgraded 2.0 version in place for merchants and banks, granting access to more data for spotting fraud.

American Express is entering the arena of wearable payments in offering the Amex Band to cardholders attending the US Open tennis tournament in New York.

Domestic card growth has not lived up to the bank’s expectations, even after its Costco coup. So it is making changes here to get product development, payments technology and card portfolio management on the same page worldwide.

For Citigroup, a change in how it plans to operate in the U.S. is all about streamlining operations so its global network can be on the same page regarding product development, payments technology and card portfolio growth.

Processing.com has 25 acquiring banks lined up as its transaction network, creating a safety net for dealing with high-risk merchants.

In a move that could speed up the process of eliminating passwords, the EMVCo specifications body is opening its test platform for EMV 3-D Secure messaging to security providers.

Facebook in May placed Marcus in charge of a blockchain initiative, which would likely include some of the same work that is taking place at Coinbase.

PayNow Corporate enables corporations, businesses and government agencies to pay and receive funds instantly by linking a unique entity number to their Singapore bank account.

Cash discounting, or informing customers that items in the store are priced less expensively if purchased with cash, does not have the legal barriers of straight surcharging, which is simply charging more for products to cover card fees.

Visa has continued to establish a more complete B2B offering, working through its Visa B2B Connect blockchain payments service to help companies establish application interfaces and platforms to handle business transactions more efficiently.

The onset of artificial intelligence and machine learning could serve as the safety net some companies need, providing a different and more thorough twist on traditional underwriting and credit checks.

The company has tested Harbortouch Bar & Restaurant software at 50 locations and has informed independent sales organizations the service is ready to deploy for restaurant clients.

The partnership targets home improvement and some health care merchants that accept American Express. These merchants will be able to drive more sales by providing financing options for large purchases.

Business owners are understandably reluctant to allow employees, contractors and freelancers take the company credit card. But asking them to use a personal card raises other issues, such as scanning receipts for reimbursement.

One way for acquirers and independent sales organizations to stand out in a highly competitive field is to devote a part of their business to worthy causes.