Cards

Australian consumers and businesses would be able to transfer funds between bank accounts almost immediately, instead of waiting up to three days, through a service First Data is developing with Accenture and VocaLink.

WASHINGTON -- The National Retail Federation announced this morning its Board has authorized the group to go to court to block the proposed $7.2 billion settlement of a federal antitrust lawsuit over Visa and MasterCard credit card fees, adding a major new obstacle to the historic deal.

Despite the decisions by some of the leading mobile-payment providers to work within the existing infrastructure, investors are concerned that legacy players' operations soon might become obsolete. And VeriFone is serving as their poster child.

ATM operators have long expressed confusion about the migration to EMV chip-card technology in the U.S., since the card brands were focused mainly on point of sale terminals. MasterCard made things far clearer today with its announcement of an October 2016 deadline for a liability shift for ATM operators.

Google will no longer support the Google-branded virtual prepaid card built into Google Wallet as of Oct. 17.

Branch staff may provide credit and debit cards right away to customers under a new instant-issuance service from Fiserv.

Banks and credit unions that have watched from the sidelines as the likes of Square, PayPal and Intuit built a mobile-payments market from scratch now have their own product to offer — a product merchants can't get off a retail-store shelf or from an independent sales organization.

PreCash, which provides payment services focused on the underbanked, is launching a mobile wallet designed for that audience's unique needs.

Advanced encryption methods, mobile payment security and various other technologies figure to be major topics once again when the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council's participants meet this week.

ATM maker NCR plans to use its newly announced acquisition of Transoft to strengthen its existing cash-management offering and eventually bring an integrated cash-management service to financial institutions and retailers.

Discover is pushing aggressively to be at the heart of many mobile-payments initiatives. It's doing a lot that its rivals are not — but there are a few ways it might lose ground.

MasterCard has acquired Truaxis Inc., a Silicon Valley start-up that crunches payment data to target special offers and discounts from merchants to debit and credit cardholders.

Elan Financial Services' MoneyPass electronic funds transfer network is extending its surcharge-free ATM coverage to include 2,000 stores through Walmart's MoneyCenter Express machines.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council plans to recruit more soldiers in its ongoing war against fraudsters and cybercrooks. A new program allows any qualified individual to become a certified PCI Professional.

Visa cardholders will be able to receive immediate fashion offers via text message under a mobile-offers test Visa is conducting with Neiman Marcus.

VeriFone's stock price tumbled after the maker of payment terminals reported third-quarter sales that fell short of analysts' estimates, citing unfavorable currency swings, competition in Europe and a fire in Brazil.

Google, like its mobile-pay rival Isis, relies on phones built with Near Field Communication chips to support its mobile wallet. So the growing number of NFC-equipped phones should give the Google Wallet a strong boost — shouldn't it?

Wright Express, a leading issuer and processor of fleet and other prepaid cards, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Fleet One for $369 million in cash from private equity firms LLR Partners and FTV Capital.

Acculynk says it has hit "an absolute home run" in completing an acquisition that brings its online PIN-debit technology to small and midsize merchants.

Safeway, the second-largest grocery chain in the U.S., is planning an initial public offering of a minority stake in its Blackhawk Network business.