Merchant

Cielo, a payments company based in Brazil, announced July 2 that it is buying a U.S. company, Merchant e-Solutions.

Collection agency Resurgent Capital Services LPA and affiliated debt buyer LVNV Funding LLC will pay $1 million to Maryland regulators and agreed to dismiss several thousand collection cases to resolve alleged violations of federal and state collection laws.

The Federal Trade Commission won a $2.6 million federal court judgment against three defendants behind a scheme that charged consumers high upfront fees and failed to deliver the mortgage modifications they promised.

When Joe Randazza first began filing National Payment Card Association patents seven years ago for decoupled debit products and processes, he admits he "didn't have the vision to foresee a future with smartphones."

American Express plans to begin issuing secure chip cards in the U.S. this year, and it has released a timeline for merchants to follow in accepting those cards. Like every other network's roadmap, Amex sticks closely to the plan Visa announced last August.

Google's most recent update to its mobile wallet's online pricing seems to stray from the product's focus at the point of sale. It's the latest in a series of twists and turns in Google's payments strategy.

To hear Dan Wagner tell it, one would think the CEO of London-based mPowa was ready to enter the ring for a prizefight against all comers in the world of mobile card-based payments.

Almost a year ago, the telecommunications companies backing the Isis mobile wallet venture were clear that they would rely on Near Field Communication. But as technology advances, there may be wisdom in adopting an alternative.

Merchants may feel overwhelmed at the abundance of new payment technologies, and they are understandably worried about investing in the wrong one. Terminal vendors are hoping to address those fears.

Though ZooZ is now the exclusive payment option for merchants that use the mobile commerce platform provider MobiCart, this week's agreement linking the two tech companies is, paradoxically, about providing access to as many payment options as possible.