Cards

Co-op Financial Services just finished an active week, announcing separate deals with MasterCard Inc. and The Members Group that built on past investments.

Cybercrooks have plenty of new tricks up their sleeves to steal card data from merchants. The attacks aren’t likely to let up, mainly because retailer payment and business systems remain a treasure chest for data pirates, a new study says.

Many merchants still don't take credit or debit cards, usually because of the cost. Two-year-old Plastiq aims to help these holdouts by shifting the cost of card acceptance to the consumer.

The 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, produced by the mobile operators group GSMA, was the launching point for many significant payments initiatives.

A New Jersey appeals court affirmed the airline industry's right to refuse cash in-flight, validating a strategy that began when airlines first accepted credit and debit cards onboard planes in the mid-2000s.

Nearly a month has passed since Visa Inc. offered its technology for the creation of a common debit code for EMV chip-card payments — a necessity under federal regulation. Yet it is becoming apparent that issuers remain in a waiting game that could last several more months.

Merchant-funded rewards provider fisoc hopes the communal element of Facebook mixed with special card offers can drive repeat payments volume for small merchants focused on their local communities.

Bitcoinstore, an online seller of computers, monitors, cameras and other electronics, opened for business recently with the promise of undercutting competitors who accept only conventional payments.

As ATM network operators add more complex payments functions, technology providers such as Fiserv and NCR are tweaking the underlying technology to better monitor the machines remotely.

Small businesses are often the toughest sell for payments automation, and WePay is attempting to boost its penetration into this market by offering a new native app for iOS that enables remote invoicing and credit-card charging.

SEATTLE – A leader of a Canadian group that skimmed ATM cards at Vancouver–area Starbucks and Dirty Apron cafes, then created counterfeit cards used to withdraw as much as $400,000 from Seattle ATMs, was arrested here last week and charged with bank fraud.

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – CO-OP Financial Services announced this morning it is extending its partnership with The Members Group to offer TMG’s reloadable prepaid cards to its credit union customers.

The sales pitch behind many mobile payment systems is convenience, but some companies are learning that when a payment system becomes too convenient, the backlash can last for years.

Within five years, companies in the card business will have to choose a new label for their trade, especially if they embrace current technology and trends.

Consumers are notoriously reluctant to choose new payment habits. This week, LevelUp and 20 retailers forced the issue by taking away their choice. The "credit card diet," which took place Feb. 26, involved 20 retailers in Boston and Washington D.C. They all refused credit cards for one day.

MasterCard is bringing its mobile PayPass contactless payment technology to Brazil, in partnership with Itau, TIM, Redecard and Gemalto.

As merchants and issuers weigh their digital payments options, traditional incumbents and new entrants alike are finding their offerings being scrutinized over how much they offer — and whether they even fit with the company's existing payments strategy.

The fast success of South Africa's Standard Bank provides a clue as to why mobile money is attracting so much attention from global payments providers as a way to expand services to underserved areas.

Could the cost of preparing the U.S. retail market for EMV smart-card technology over the next few years create problems for some retailers, adding to their burden in an already fragile economy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has positioned its merchant processing unit to provide far more services to merchant clients through its 10-year partnership with Visa Inc., a deal which potentially shifts more power to the issuer.