Merchant

The U.S. is closer to EMV readiness than many realize, and it may not cost as much as previously feared, suggests a newly crafted “roadmap” to U.S. adoption of EMV chip-and-PIN technology.

The Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai has expanded the use of its closed-loop Nol Card, which commuters have been using to pay for Metro fares, road tolls and parking in Dubai, a spokesperson confirms to Payments Source.

Global Payments Inc. has promoted James R. Hicks to president of its Global Payments Asia Pacific Ltd. unit, where he will oversee the merchant processor’s payment operations in 11 Asian countries, the Atlanta-based company announced Feb. 11.

Cineplex Entertainment, which supports 132 theaters in Canada serving more than 70 million visitors each year, is giving consumers the option to pay for tickets from their PayPal account, the Toronto-based company announced Feb. 11.

MasterCard Worldwide launched a beta version of its developer’s portal early last month, but the card brand has invited only about 1,000 programmers to participate, a MasterCard spokesperson said Feb. 10.

Vendors often tout their products in press releases and through other efforts seeking publicity. But sometimes they choose to keep things relatively low key.

Zumogo, ProPay Inc.’s new social-media payment tool for mobile phones, leaves out vital information that ProPay says some competitors leave in.

First Data Corp. plans to support the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed new debit interchange rules with a two-tiered pricing structure for its Star PIN-debit network, and it expects slow but steady revenue growth ahead, company executives told analysts Feb. 2.

U.S. consumers average credit scores dropped two points to 667 since January 2010, as credit card debt fell by 9% to $7,200 in the same period, according to data Credit Karma released Thursday.

Visa Inc. is furthering its e-commerce strategy by buying a payment platform for online games.