Merchant

The results of a nine-year study of consumers enrolled in debt settlement programs show consumers realize financial benefits and have a higher probability of success since regulatory reforms took effect in 2010.

Fundera, which runs a website where small-business owners can shop for loans, has raised $11.5 million in new equity funding.

Atlanta-based bitcoin payment processor BitPay has suffered a phishing attack costing the company $1.8 million.

Community banks will soon have a new way to lend to each other, though it is unclear how eager they might be to participate.

The operators of a fraudulent collection scheme will be banned from the collection business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, resolving charges that they illegally processed more than $5.2 million in payments for phony debts.

It's no secret that restaurants are going to be slow to adopt EMV relative to other retail categories, but in the past two months more dining establishments have begun to focus on the business-side issues and changes to customer interaction brought on by chip cards.

The two-sided retail payment network ecosystem is undergoing a tectonic shift. Distinctions between e-commerce, mobile commerce and payments at the physical point of sale are starting to blur, and a range of digital wallet platforms are changing the way that customers make purchases and payments. It may therefore be time for interchange 2.0.

The mobile technology craze is starting to sweep up loyalty programs, placing pressure on banks to brush up the reward redemption experience to meet consumer expectations.

PayPal's previous efforts to come to the physical point of sale about three years ago never managed to topple the entrenched payment methods. Now the company is taking another stab at it, securing an arrangement with Macy's Inc.

Ontario Systems has been acquired by private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners, the two companies announced Wednesday.