Merchant

T-Mobile USA Inc. is the latest wireless carrier to allow its subscribers to charge purchases of online games, songs and videos to their phone bills.

Debit card issuers scrambling to ensure they have appropriate fraud-protection strategies in place before new debit-interchange rates kick in Oct. 1 are likely to confront some dilemmas, some analysts suggest.

The electronic-payments industry has come under unprecedented government scrutiny in the past 18 months, and it is unlikely to let up any time soon, contends a top official from the Electronic Transactions Association.

With 2.6 billion China UnionPay cardholders and 1.2 million Elavon Global Acquiring Solutions merchants worldwide, the math simply added up for an agreement that would enable Elavon merchants to accept UnionPay cards, an Elavon executive says.

Much has been made on Capitol Hill of the “unchecked” powers of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the lack of oversight of its work. Actually, the agency’s powers are quite circumscribed by the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act that created it.

One of the most significant challenges to widespread adoption of Near Field Communication-enabled mobile payments has been determining how the card brands, issuers, mobile operators and handset manufacturers will divvy up transaction revenues.

To help distribute its Serve digital payment and wallet service, American Express Co. on Aug. 1 announced a deal in which Verizon Wireless will integrate the platform into many of its mobile phones and tablets.

After years of discussion, the acquiring industry is preparing to offer a credentialing system that proponents say will certify a professional’s mastery of a defined standard of practice and “quantify expertise.”

A federal court has halted an online operation that allegedly debited consumers’ bank accounts without their consent when consumers visited the defendants’ Web sites seeking payday loans.

American Express Co. and Verizon Wireless will integrate Serve, Amex’s digital payment and commerce platform, on many Verizon mobile phones and tablets, the companies announced Aug. 1.