Technology

Isis has had a big week, as 45 partners of the GSM Association mobile operator trade group agreed to support the joint venture’s preferred payments model: Near Field Communication that uses SIM cards used in many mobile phones.

In light of recent Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council recommendations regarding advanced encryption, acquirers and processors are giving greater attention to the hardware-security module used to protect card data while transactions are processed, a technician who specializes in security devices suggests.

As major U.S. cities with complex transportation systems explore converting to an electronic fare-collection structure that would accept open-loop contactless cards, mobile payments are becoming a factor in future planning.

More consumers might try making mobile payments if more large merchants supported them, new survey data suggest.

3G Direct Pay Ltd. has signed agreements with telecommunication operators Safaricom Ltd. and Airtel Ltd. to provide immediate transaction settlements for the two African companies’ funds-transfer services, the e-commerce firm announced Nov. 16.

Mobile-payment proponents let out a collective groan when Apple Inc.’s latest iPhone 4S lacked a Near Field Communication chip.

Like a pop star who sells more records posthumously, the Google Checkout payment service may prove most beneficial to Google after it is phased out.

Visa Europe plans to develop more loyalty programs for card issuers and merchants through its investment in data-analytics firm Beyond Analysis, the company announced Nov. 15.

Can using multiple branding terms to describe a payment process help an issuer to achieve its own brand loyalty and clarify its product message, or would doing so confuse customers?

The U.S. is in a balance-sheet slowdown: overleveraged households are tightening their belts and holding back on consumption, thereby choking off the economy's main engine.