Ed McKinley

Acquirers could find themselves looking a lot like marketing firms in the near future.

Acquirers say they're signing up new merchants and retaining established customers with the help of software that bundles payment services.

"Operation Choke Point," the federal government's campaign against online payday lenders and collections agencies, is unjustly attacking third-party payment processors, an association official says.

While Diane Vogt Faro was "growing up" in the payments business, she helped the entire industry mature.

With a new CEO and an infusion of private equity funding, Cynergy Data plans to grow both organically and through acquisitions.

Nomad 2.0, a second-generation mobile EMV chip-and-PIN card reader from AnywhereCommerce, is designed to be a smaller and less expensive version of its 18-month-old predecessor.

The Electronic Transactions Association plans to keep expanding its advocacy, educational and networking efforts in the coming year.

Cynergy Data has named Afshin Yazdian as its new CEO, while outgoing CEO Kim Fitzsimmons will remain with the company as a member of the board and take on a strategic role with Comvest Partners, Cynergy's private equity investor.

Cardtronics Inc. (CATM) has signed a long-term agreement with Houston-based Landmark Industries, naming Cardtronics the exclusive provider of ATM services for Timewise Food Stores, a Texas convenience store chain.

Payment Alliance International and Iberiabank Corp. have agreed to brand ATMs in Rite Aid pharmacies in Greater Memphis.

The Federal Trade Commission should take more steps to police the acquiring industry and halt fraudulent practices, says Robert Carr, longtime CEO of Heartland Payment Systems Inc.

First Data Corp. and Clover Network Inc. are collaborating on the Clover Station, a point of sale and business management system for merchants.

Two payments industry veterans have come up with a way to make mobile phones and terminals communicate wirelessly without a conventional wireless or Near Field Communication signal.

Credit and debit card payments at vending machines could present a whole new realm of opportunity for independent sales organizations.

An ISO based in Southern California is using LeafPresenter point-of-sale tablets to differentiate itself from competitors and save money for merchants.

PCI services and merchant intelligence provider Sysnet Global Solutions is working with iScan Online, which specializes in security scanning of devices, to provide acquirers with new mobile security.

United Merchant Services Inc., a vendor of payment processing and point of sale systems, has received funding from The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to expand globally and to enhance its technology platform, client service and sales effort.

Columbus Data Services, an ATM processor, has completed MasterCard end-to-end certification for all Triton ATM products. As a result, CDS is now processing transactions that comply with the EMV-chip card standard on MasterCard networks.

As the Federal Trade Commission continues what it describes as an "ongoing crackdown on payment processors" allegedly engaged in fraudulent or deceptive practices, the merchant acquiring industry is ratcheting up efforts to respond to the ongoing enforcement actions and proactively address future oversight.

VeriFone Systems Inc. will soon bundle payments hardware, software, security and compliance into a payments-as-a-service product called VeriFone Point.