Technology

WASHINGTON–The American Bankers Association on March 5 unveiled a task force to develop strategies to ensure an efficient payments market.

LAS VEGAS–The number of EMV payment smart cards shipped worldwide passed the 1 billion mark in 2011, the Smart Payment Association announced here March 5 at the inaugural Cartes in North America Expo & Conference.

Plastic cards likely aren’t going away anytime soon, so some card networks and issuers are creating ways to make cards more valuable to consumers, such as by enabling them to provide access to multiple accounts.

Some tweaks to its travel-related fraud-protection strategies helped an Iowa credit union last year to reduce its credit card charge-offs by 16%.

The fight against fraud is an ongoing one for most banks, particularly as fraudsters figure out increasingly cunning ways to defang the security walls that bankers build.

Malaysia is proceeding with a government-backed initiative that would let citizens pay for government services using their mobile phones and tablets.

The ways riders can pay–and play–inside New York taxicabs are expanding.

Maybe it’s the Ides of March for the mobile-payments industry.

Younger consumers have the keenest interest in banks’ mobile-payments services, but most adults overall still have cold feet when it comes to paying with their phones.

For small merchants who want to accept mobile transactions, Apple Inc. makes the go-to machines, the iPad and the iPhone.