Technology

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly ceased filing lawsuits to collect consumer card and other debts around the nation, dismissing in-house attorneys and virtually shutting down a collections machine that as recently as nine months ago was racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in monthly judgments.

Commercial clients of Regions Bank now may expand the scope of the payment options available to their own customers under a deal the institution struck to support Secure Vault Payments, joining the 37 banks that already are members.

The number of companies caught in data breaches exposing consumers' credit, debit and bank account numbers is growing, but the best way to make amends to customers is not yet clear.

Though Facebook members generally reveal much about their private lives in what amounts to an open forum when posting information on the social media site, they are not as trusting when it comes to spending money on the site.

Intel Corp. is using an authentication system from SecureKey Technologies Inc. in its Ultrabook computers.

Acquirers may be wrong if they believe they can coerce small merchants into complying with security standards by charging them fees.

It appears it might take at least a few more painful payment-terminal tampering breaches like those Lucky Supermarkets and Michaels Stores Inc. experienced last year before U.S. merchants and card issuers take action to support EMV chip cards.

U.S. Bancorp has implemented the electronic payments system Secure Vault Payments with the Nebraska Child Support Payment Center for parents to make child-support payments online.

The sluggish market for credit card portfolios may pick up this year, if card losses continue to abate and potential buyers stay on the path of rebuilding capital.

Acquirers should mention security to merchants more often. A lot more often–every time they make a sales call, field a complaint, explain a regulation, solve a technical problem, send an email message, mail a monthly statement or launch a direct-mail campaign.