Retail & Commercial

It’s called Ventra and it’s going to allow Chicago commuters to make tap-and-go contactless card payments throughout the city’s transit system next summer.

BETHEL, Conn. -- Bank security provider BranchServ said this morning it has acquired CheckView Banking Security Solutions, a division of Checkpoint Systems that provides electronic security solutions for credit unions and banks.

David Zalman of Prosperity Bancshares has struck five deals in a little over a year. And he say he sees more opportunities than ever.

Park Sterling Corporation (PSTB) in Charlotte, N.C., said Monday it has completed its purchase of Citizens South Banking Corp. in Gastonia, N.C., for $83 million, the same day Capital Bank Financial of Coral Gables, Fla., announced the completion of its acquisition of Southern Community Financial in Winston-Salem, N.C., for $47 million.

Banks are upgrading their top executives' office space thanks to the record-low rate environment, the need for more room spurred by their rapid growth and the chance to grab the naming rights on high-profile buildings.Related Article: Suite Deals: Slow Economy Aids Banks' Office Space Projects

MetLife (MET) has another three months to tell regulators about its capital plans while it tries to sells its online bank to General Electric (GE).

The battle over interchange fees moves to its next phase Tuesday when a federal judge hears complaints from merchants that the Federal Reserve’s cap on the fees not go far enough.

Because Google Inc. stubbed its public relations toe earlier this year when a security firm “hacker” was able to gain access to the Google Wallet’s secure element in a smartphone and steal or wipe out PINs, it was no surprise the company made the leap to store card data in the cloud.

The credit card market is stabilizing and continues to grow, according to Equifax’s latest National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

The New York attorney general sued JPMorgan Chase (JPM) on Monday, charging that the Bear Stearns brokerage it bought committed fraud in the sale of hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities on the eve of the housing crisis.