Finance

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued a Texas man over claims he operated a Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin, the virtual currency that has recently attracted investors including Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

The federal government says it may build databases of credit card transactions, hotel records and Internet searches as part of counter security measures.

American Express does not expect the discount rate it charges merchants to fall under the jurisdiction of regulations being considered by the European Union to place caps on interchange fees.

For the past two weeks, Visa, MasterCard and Discover have been meeting with each other and with regional debit networks to hammer out the business agreements necessary to route debit transactions on EMV-chip cards in the U.S.

Businesses that provide payments services to companies that collect or use consumer data should closely watch the FTC’s recent lawsuits against two processors and fully assess the legal risks that might be associated with their business relationships.

Financial institutions with at least $10 billion in assets knew they would take a hit to their revenue when the Durbin amendment capped interchange pricing. But smaller issuers, who were exempt from the cap, have seen a drop as well.

"Bitcoin." Just mentioning the digital currency brings about either a passionate discussion by enthusiasts or vehement criticism that near-anonymous payments are for criminals. In the following interview, serial tech entrepreneur Andreas Antonopoulos talks about the digital currency's rise to fame and the consequences of its popularity.

The European Union is investigating MasterCard over the bank fees it charges on credit and debit-card payments made by customers based outside the 27-nation bloc.

The fragile Bitcoin economy will change drastically as companies scramble to obtain the proper licensing in response to guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which categorizes administrators and exchangers of virtual currencies as money services businesses.

The checklist for routine maintenance on the three automated teller machines owned by First Community Bank and Trust of Beecher, Ill., contains one head-scratching item: the maintenance worker is regularly required to take a photo of the machine to keep on file at the $147 million-asset bank as a defense in potential lawsuits. Now Greg Ohlendorf, the bank's chief executive officer, can cross that mundane task off the list.