Merchant

SAN DIEGO–Mobile payments actually could increase the use of cards instead of replacing them with phones, an analyst said May 11 during a panel discussion on the future of merchant acquiring here at the Electronic Transactions Association’s Annual Meeting & Expo.

PIN-pad tampering at Michaels Stores Inc. occurred over a three-month period and so far has affected “fewer than 100” customers’ debit card accounts, but credit card data also may have been exposed, the retailer said May 13.

VeriFone Systems Inc. and Hypercom Corp. are considering the sale of Hypercom's U.S. point-of-sale terminal business to an "alternative buyer" in response to an antitrust lawsuit the U.S. Justice Department filed against the companies May 12.

After the mobile-purchasing system in Apple Inc.’s iPhone game Smurfs’ Village led Apple to set new spending restrictions for mobile apps, the game’s developer has followed up with further restrictions for the game itself.

VeriFone Systems Inc. and Hypercom Corp. say they believe their merger can be completed in the second half of 2011, despite a civil antitrust lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice filed against the companies May 12.

The news that Isis is seeking to expand its model by working with traditional card systems reveals the importance of wide cooperation in developing an NFC payments ecosystem.

The question of whether an exemption for banks with less than $10 billion in assets is sufficient protection from the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed new rules for debit-interchange pricing loomed larger than ever during a May 12 Senate Banking Committee hearing during which a lawmaker grilled the nation’s top two banking regulators.

WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Senators this morning he is doubtful whether the Fed can develop a rule adequately protecting credit unions and small banks from the cuts in debit fees mandated for the biggest banks.

SAN DIEGO–A future fraught with change is coming into focus, with electronic messages replacing merchants’ ads in the local Gazette, mobile payments proliferating and even the smallest retailers getting an affordable opportunity to link the point of sale to inventory replenishment.

SAN DIEGO–No one has brandished a crystal ball, but payment-terminal makers here this week at the ETA Annual Meeting & Expo still have had plenty to say about the future.