Kate Fitzgerald

Issuers' aggressive efforts to close credit cardholders' accounts last year shrank portfolios and will probably cut into profits this year, according to an analyst.

The Denver mobile loyalty and gift card technology vendor took the wraps off a system last week that consumers can use to make purchases with their phones.

First Data Corp. hopes to challenge terminal makers with an encryption service that it contends goes further than rival offerings.

Mastercard Worldwide’s MasterCard Advisors consulting arm has named Kevin Stanton president. Stanton previously was president of MasterCard’s Canada region.

No official movement is afoot to switch to EMV in the U.S., which is becoming increasingly Balkanized as the only major global region not moving to the more-secure chip-and-PIN technology. But a Visa Inc. executive is among experts suggesting that, though issuers, acquirers and merchants may be resisting the shift for a variety of reasons, EMV technology itself is not the biggest obstacle preventing the U.S. from adopting the standard.

Time may be running out for contactless “tap and go” payment to prove itself as a viable concept as it languishes some five years after the technology’s U.S. launch.

As alternative payment schemes continue to proliferate, some contenders this year are aiming to rise above the fray by combining fresh shortcuts to achieve the desired scale with uncommon payment technologies not easily copied by rivals.

Visa Inc.'s plan to add mobile phone payments capabilities to handsets that are available now could provide a shot in the arm for contactless payment.

The severing of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Starbucks Inc.'s cobranded Duetto credit card relationship is another sign of the industry's refocusing on core products.

MasterCard Inc.'s credit card transactions are not being cannibalized by the growth in debit card use, according to Chris McWilton, its president of U.S. markets.

MasterCard Worldwide’s credit card transactions are not being cannibalized by the growth in consumer debit card use, Chris McWilton, MasterCard president of U.S. markets, today told analysts at the Credit Suisse Financial Services Forum in Miami.

Visa Inc.'s announcement Monday that it will expand to most merchants its No Signature Required program for magnetic-stripe transactions of less than $25 could be yet another pothole in the road to adoption of contactless payments in the United States, observers say.

The world’s largest payment-terminal manufacturers expect to see a modest uptick in demand this year after a lengthy, recession-driven sales slump. France-based Ingenico, along with U.S.-based VeriFone Holdings Inc. and Hypercom Corp., all are cautiously optimistic about this year’s sales outlook, partly because of new data-security mandates that will require certain merchants to replace existing terminals.

The Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode online card-security protocols are weak compared with other available options, a report concluded.

U.S. financial companies may be overestimating the technical hurdles of adopting the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications, according to payments executives.

Cardtronics Inc. has appointed Steven A. Rathgaber CEO, replacing Jack M. Antonini, who left last year. Rathgaber previously was president and chief operating officer of NYCE Payments Network LLC.

Fear of foreign manufacturers one day invading the United States and other developed markets with low-cost hardware is another headache plaguing the world’s top payment-terminal makers (see main story).

The world’s leading payment-terminal manufacturers expect to see a modest uptick in demand this year after a lengthy, recession-driven sales slump. France-based Ingenico, along with U.S.-based VeriFone Holdings Inc. and Hypercom Corp., all are cautiously optimistic about this year’s sales outlook, partly because of improving economic trends in certain global regions and new data-security mandates that will require certain merchants to replace existing terminals.

Credit and debit card issuers face another tough year this year as the economic recovery continues, consumers keep the brakes on spending, and new legislation and data-security rules kick in. But even as they plug holes that could lead to data breaches, adjust business plans to comply with new card rules and monitor the ongoing debate over interchange rates, issuers eagerly are watching and preparing to experiment with new mobile-payment initiatives.

PayPal Inc. may face its most crucial test this year as it seeks to broaden its reach.