Technology

WorldPay UK Ltd., formerly RBS WorldPay, has extended its payment-processing agreement with McDonald’s UK, which operates 1,200 restaurants in the United Kingdom, WorldPay announced on March 24. Terms were not disclosed.

Acculynk Inc.’s PaySecure online PIN-debit payment system is now compatible with banks and credit unions on Shazam’s electronic funds transfer network, the company announced March 29.

Bank Freedom, a marketer of prepaid debit cards, has signed a new issuer that eventually will replace its existing issuer MetaBank. MetaBank notified the Newport Beach, Calif, company, a subsidiary of Prepaid Card Holdings Inc., last week that it would not be renewing its existing contract after it expires in November, Bruce Berman, Bank Freedom's chief executive, said Monday.

Citigroup Inc. plans to expand its business payments capabilities by joining Syncada, a supply chain processing network owned by Visa Inc. and U.S. Bancorp.

Tap Group subsidiary Tap e-Payment Services (HK) Ltd. will provide electronic funds transfer processing integration services to A.S. Watson stores in Hong Kong and China under a service agreement reached with Sino Payments Inc., the companies announced March 28. Tap Group is a venture partner of Sino Payments.

Imagine a stunned ISO executive standing amid the smoking ruins of a data breach and clutching a six-figure bill for the damages. Visions of such scenes are prompting ISOs to take a keen interest in helping their merchants comply with the Payment Card Industry data-security standards designed to prevent such catastrophes, observers say.

The Smurfs may have an important security lesson for banks and credit card networks getting into mobile payments.

Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. has joined the interbank funds-transfer service National Payments Corp. of India launched last fall. The Mumbai-based bank launched the service on March 24 for the bank’s customers across the country, an official at the institution tells PaymentsSource.

MasterCard Worldwide on March 28 announced a five-year “roadmap” for electronic payments in Australia that will require issuers and card-accepting merchants there to adopt its PayPass contactless-payment service beginning next year.

Visa said March 28 it is converting another $400 million of its Class B shares owned by credit unions and banks to replenish to its litigation fund that is expected to be used to pay a settlement in a pending antitrust suit.