Technology

Heartland Payment Systems has signed a five-year expanded contract agreement with ConocoPhillips, the merchant processor announced Dec. 14. The companies have worked together for 20 years.

Various technology and banking analysts have identified mobile banking as a hot area for new and expanded information-technology investment, with Ovum and Celent, for example, both placing mobile high on their list of bank IT priorities for the next year.

First Data Corp. has introduced Global Gateway e4, an online payment gateway that offers what the company says is safe and reliable processing for card-not-present transactions, the transaction processor announced Dec. 13.

Payment Card Industry data-security standards continue to fail merchants in their most vulnerable hour, as one restaurant chain might have prevented a credit card fraud scheme if it equipped its payments systems better to address third-party intrusions, a security expert contends.

The silence is almost deafening.

FleetCor Technologies Inc.’s latest acquisition puts the number of company buys at more than 40 within the past eight years as the fleet fuel card pursues a global growth strategy.

Mobile and online payments startup Zipmark has secured $2 million in funding from a group of venture capital firms and others, the company announced Dec. 14.

WISeKey S.A. and The Bancorp Inc. are hoping to give greater peace of mind to customers who conduct transactions online.

Though the mobile-payments market is still nascent, the early successes seem to be those developed by technology companies and mobile-phone carriers–not banks. A new product from Sequent Software Inc. might level the playing field.

Fleet fuel card provider FleetCor Technologies Inc. has acquired AllStar Business Solutions Ltd. from United Kingdom-based The Arval Group for US$304 million (£194 million or 229 million euros), the companies announced Dec. 13.