Merchant

WASHINGTON – With the toughest campaign of his career on tap, Montana Senator Jon Tester collected tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from credit unions, banks and other interests before the Senate Banking Committee, just days before Tester lent his name as co-sponsor of a bill to delay the controversial rule cutting debit fees.

Visa Inc. plans to unveil an improved fraud detection system Monday for CyberSource Corp. customers that it says will cast a wider net than its earlier technology.

The Federal Trade Commission said Monday it has issued its 33rd annual report to Congress describing the agency’s law enforcement and other efforts to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive and abusive debt collection practices.

Encore Capital Group Inc., a consumer debt buyer, unveiled Monday a "Consumer Bill of Rights" - a document to "codify the company's commitment to conduct business ethically, engage in respectful and constructive dialogue with consumers, and play a positive role in consumers' financial recovery."

A severe security breach at EMC Corp.'s RSA Security may threaten the thousands of banks that use its technology.

The expanding array of services offering merchants advanced encryption of sensitive payment card data is causing competition to heat up among purveyors already jockeying for dominance by touting each product's specific advantages.

Zong Inc. said March 17 that its mobile carrier billing service is now available for video game consoles, interactive television services, mobile websites and other channels.

Responding to growing concerns about cardholder data being exposed when merchants process payments over the telephone, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council on March 18 announced guidelines for handling and storing card data within audio recordings at call centers.

More ISOs and agents could begin mining an overlooked “merchant” category. The Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council has begun using AppNinjas Inc.’s Swipe Credit Card Terminal for iPhone to accept credit and debit cards from consumers buying members’ cookies.

ISOs and agents are continuing to offer processing services for mobile acceptance devices despite the risk some say might arise from a lack of technical standards.