Merchant

Visa Inc. no longer will require merchants outside the U.S. to annually validate their compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard if three-fourths of their transactions comply with the EMV chip-and-PIN standard, the network announced Feb. 9.

Debt buyer Asta Funding Inc. on Wednesday reported a decline in revenue due to a sharp drop in cash collections for its fiscal year first quarter ended Dec. 31.

U.S. Bancorp’s Elavon Inc. merchant-processing unit has Class B-certified Hypercom Corp.’s SPOS32 EMV payment software on Hypercom’s T4200 and M4200 payment devices in Canada, the Phoenix-based terminal maker announced Feb. 9.

For the fourth consecutive quarter, TransUnion's Credit Risk Index (CRI) declined - indicating consumers were less of a credit risk in 2010 compared with the previous year, the Chicago-based credit bureau reports.

Merchants using direct marketing services from Marketing Architects Inc. will be able to determine faster whether a consumer’s payment card is valid through a new authorization service the company is using from VeriFi Inc.

As the mobile-payments ecosystem continues to take shape, Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, is dipping its toe into the pool for the first time through a partnership with a Singapore-based trusted service manager for financial institutions, retailers, transit operators and mobile-service providers.

Telefónica O2 UK Ltd. is adding its name to a growing list of wireless carriers planning to launch Near Field Communication initiatives to enable consumers to use their smartphones to initiate payment at the point of sale.

U.S. consumers are spending more on their credit cards after two years of cutting back, according to the Federal Reserve's G.19 report released Monday. The first increase in credit card debt since the financial crisis began is a sign Americans are gaining confidence in the economy.

Technology is driving down the rate of fraud for banks, though the cost to consumers for identity theft crimes is going up.

Maas Global Solutions Corp. has become the exclusive processor for Pride Payments Network LLC after making a “significant investment” in the merchant acquiring independent sales organization, the companies announced Feb. 5