Will Hernandez

The gift and loyalty services company SparkBase LLC is using $3 million in new funding to hasten the development and deployment of its technology platform and mobile services.

U.S. issuers have finally begun their move to the EMV standard, but the differences in their approaches highlight how many obstacles still remain.

Spanish police have arrested three computer hackers who allegedly breached Sony Corp. networks affiliated with the PlayStation 3 video game console and the company's streaming music and video service.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. is updating its offerings to what it views as a final frontier of micropayments: commercial laundry machines.

Continental Prison Systems Inc., which provides kiosks that perform financial transactions for prison inmates, has reached a 10-year agreement with Rikers Island, New York's main jail facility.

A social initiative from the British government now includes a plan to enable charitable donations through automated teller machines.

Barclaycard and the wireless network operator Everything Everywhere Ltd. have officially launched the U.K.'s first contactless mobile payment system, but its success could hinge on merchant acceptance.

The wireless network operator Orange is offering what it says is the first major contactless prepaid debit card in the U.K.

The National Consumer Law Center has singled out prepaid card issuers, particularly U.S. Bancorp and JPMorgan Chase, for charging what the consumer group says are unnecessary costs tied to debit cards issued for unemployment benefits.

Prepaid debit card providers might gain customers by adding mobile remote deposit capture services because underbanked consumers see value in the technology, according to a survey.

Meta Financial Group Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter profit dropped 48.1%, to $2.7 million, from a year earlier. Revenue for the Storm Lake, Iowa, provider of prepaid cards retreated 39.4%, to $29.1 million, in the period, which ended March 31.

As the U.S. determines how to adapt to payment technology trends spreading around the world, the timing of any changes may be influenced more by cost than anything else.

Sony Corp. said it would consider reimbursing financial institutions for the costs associated with reissuing credit cards that might have been compromised in last month's breach of its PlayStation Network.

Cardtronics Inc.'s first-quarter net income rose 55%, to $6.5 million, from a year earlier. The Houston ATM independent sales organization attributed the results in part to the addition of 250 machines to its existing base.

Sony has warned its video-game console users that their credit card information might have been compromised in a recent breach that affected the PlayStation's online network.

Acculynk Inc. is changing the pitch around its e-commerce debit payment system as it anticipates the effects of interchange regulation.

The emerging global markets that lack broad access to financial services likely will represent the greatest potential for mobile payments initiatives.

American Express Co. is positioning its undisclosed investment in the mobile payments company Payfone Inc. as the next step in adding additional functionality to the card brand's new Serve digital wallet product.

Financial institutions that are taking a wait-and-see approach to mobile payments risk falling behind early investors as the market begins to take shape, according to research published by Fiserv Inc.

Visa Europe's plan to annually invest $144.2 million into mobile payments and e-commerce illustrates the card association's view of those areas as opportunities for growth.