Bank technology

Smart Transaction Systems Inc. has developed a retail gift card that uses a special type of bar code readable by many smartphones that can direct them to view the card's transaction history and other details.

Person-to-person payment is expected to be one of the big next deployments for mobile financial services, and ING Direct is an early adopter of the latest incarnation of the technology, becoming the first major financial institution to enable U.S. customers with iPhones to use them to send money to one another.

Fiserv Inc. is rolling out investment account management services that it says will allow its clients' retail investors to bring in third-party accounts from other management services and expand the ability to view their overall performance.

While some technology vendors recently reported weak bank demand for hardware and software licenses, S1 Corp. said license sales helped boost its overall revenue in the first quarter.

How many times have you heard a technology service provider say "It's hosted in the cloud"? Is that really all there is to it? Just put it in the cloud and off it goes?

MoneyAisle.com has launched an online marketplace for unsecured personal loans and financing for boats and recreational vehicles.

Entrust Inc. has begun offering a mobile software development kit for users of its IdentityGuard authentication system.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. is adding merchant accounts and processing more transactions for its established merchants, thanks to a sales streamlining and a healthier economy.

First Data Corp., like other processors, is looking to capitalize on the Durbin amendment with its PIN debit network and the development of new "steering" services for merchants.

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. joined other large technology vendors in reporting an improved sales environment on Tuesday, posting an 11% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue and a bigger backlog of future sales. Its net income rose 5%, to $33.1 million.

More details trickle out about Sony's data breach; new malware attack focuses on users of Apple's Safari browser; Twitter user's blog is modified by hackers to serve up malware.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. is pushing its debit processing network to banks and credit unions as they await the outcome of pending caps on interchange fees.

Technology vendor Fidelity National Information Services Inc. said Tuesday that growth in processing revenue and electronic payments services helped the company increase its first-quarter revenue 12% from a year earlier to $1.4 billion.

Total System Services Inc. has bought TermNet Merchant Services, an Atlanta merchant acquirer. TSYS, of Columbus, Ga., said on Monday that it will integrate TermNet into its TSYS Merchant Solutions division, which is the name the company gave to a joint venture with First National Bank of Omaha that it bought out early this year.

BankAtlantic Bancorp Inc. announced a system for mobile banking access through text messages. The text message service, announced Monday, is provided by Intuit Inc.'s financial services business.

The electronic bill management provider Bill.com Inc. announced Monday that it would integrate its system with Sage Group PLC's Peachtree accounting software.

The software vendor Open Solutions Inc. on Monday officially announced the availability of a service that allows its financial institution clients, resellers and other partners to develop their own applications to augment the company's core processing system.

A Virginia circuit court has awarded $5.3 million in damages to Online Resources Corp.'s former chief executive and chairman in an employment lawsuit he filed against the banking technology vendor.

A host of new mobile payment applications promise many of the perks of near-field communication technology, without the costly hardware.

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