Technology

VeriFone Systems Inc.’s taxi business is taking on increased importance for the point-of-sale terminal maker.

Fledging mobile-payments company RegaloCard LLC announced May 26 a distribution agreement with IDT Corp. to place its card-based funds-transfer service in more than 150,000 retailers across the United States.

Deutsche Card Services GmbH this week signed an agreement to become the acquirer and service provider supporting Media-Saturn Holdings GmbH’s online commerce. The Germany-based electronics retailer says the deal will enable it to accept transactions online more securely.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers soon will be able to pay their utility bills with Apple Inc.’s iPhone as part of a pilot the San Francisco-based utility agreed to with bill-payments expediter Tio Networks Corp.

Payments experts are split on consumers' willingness to use phones to make purchases, or whether they know it's an option. While the analysts agree interchange policies are far too complicated, there is also concern that government mandates may not be the best way to make fees more equitable.

VeriFone Systems Inc. on May 26 reported net income of $20.2 million for the fiscal second quarter ended April 30, an 89% increase from $10.7 million the point-of-sale terminal maker generated during the same period last year.

Mirroring what others are saying about the future of Near Field Communication-enabled mobile payments in the United States, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston reveals in a May 23 report that widespread adoption of the technology will not occur for at least another five years.

Visa Inc. and Monitise PLC plan to form a joint venture to provide mobile financial services in India, the companies announced May 26. They expect the joint-venture deal to close in June.

Though legislation that would permit merchants to set minimum and maximum limits on card transactions remains pending in Congress, it is gaining a lot of attention among merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations.

First Data Corp.’s new chief Joe Forehand is wasting no time in shaking things up within the debt-laden processing company, as indicated by the company’s May 25 announcement of the unexpected departure of three top executives, including its recently hired chief financial officer, W. Patrick Shannon.