Merchant

In my dreams, I can walk up to any cashier and make a payment by waving my hand over a terminal, much like Obi Wan Kenobi's "These aren't the droids you're looking for" trick in Star Wars. And that's all I would have to do.

It's not just merchants, issuers and technology companies that are using mobile technology to sell new payment services. As a business software provider, Intuit has been uniquely positioned to link its products to a number of payment initiatives.

Square, which made a short-lived attempt at digital gift cards in late 2012, is debuting a new gift card service today with a heavy emphasis on an older payment instrument: plastic.

A Georgia-based collection agency and seven employees are facing fraud charges after a federal investigation revealed tactics that prosecutors believe convinced more than 6,000 people to pay the firm an estimated $4.1 million in purported debts, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

The mortgage delinquency rate continued its robust decline, falling for the 11th straight quarter, according to TransUnion's latest mortgage report.

Apple Pay's launch about a month ago was accompanied by an almost unprecedented amount of hype and media attention, but it takes more than buzz to shift the world to mobile payments, and Apple's job is far from over.

Dallas officials are supporting a lender called Community Loan Center of Dallas that is designed to allow participants an alternative to the payday lending industry that the city has long battled and heavily criticized.

A TransUnion analysis reveals consumers are moving to different homes at higher rates in the latter part of each year, suggesting that collection agencies might consider updating consumer contact information an additional time.

Law enforcement officials in the Albany, N.Y. area are warning people about a collection scam involving an operation that claims to be from the IRS.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York said Thursday that a voicemail message stating a call is from a debt collector, along with a return phone call where the voicemail message's intended recipient is disclosed to a third party, does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.