Technology

Payleven, a mobile payment venture from the Samwer brothers' Rocket Internet incubator, started selling its mobile chip-and-PIN mobile card reader last week and received hundreds of orders for the new device.

For mobile payments and analytics provider Bango.net Ltd., a recent shot in the arm from investors represents a chance to expand into emerging markets and help offset the company's costs for preparing for the next generation of BlackBerry phones.

Diebold leaders conveyed a message of contrition to investors during the ATM manufacturer’s fourth quarter 2012 earnings call, acknowledging that change is needed and promising further organizational changes and structural cost reductions to improve performance.

American Express says it is working with Twitter to expand its cardholders' ability to shop over the social networking site.

Atlas Payment Processing has been solidifying direct bank relationships over the last decade, both domestically and offshore, carving a niche in high-risk transactions. Now, Atlas is suggesting acquirers send such business their way instead of turning it down.

A MasterCard Inc. "mobile preparedness" study in 2012 indicated that Singapore, Canada and the U.S. were the countries most prepared to offer payments technology and innovation to serve willing consumers. But the study also showed the U.S. ranking 10th when it came to "consumer readiness" for adopting mobile payments.

The PCI Council’s directions for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards are expanding as mobile commerce grows and when combined with local differences in diverse markets, the new guidance statements can be a compliance challenge for issuers that operate in multiple nations. The use of “compliance-as-a-service,” or CaaS, to provide managed monitoring and compliance updates to keep up with changes is an emerging option for large card issuers.

The balances on outstanding auto loans reached $782 billion, the highest mark since January 2009, according to Equifax's latest National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

With its existing base of mass-affluent customers and ongoing efforts to attract a broader set of customers through efforts like its Bluebird prepaid card and new merchant-branded products, American Express Co. is positioned to lead the transformation of the payments industry.

EBay’s foray into mobile wallets via its PayPal unit is drawing consumers’ attention—giving it an inroad to compete with myriad other entrants flooding the mobile payments market, according to PayPal’s Mark Lavelle.