Cards

As competition heats up for mobile-wallet providers, the various underlying technologies are starting to show whether they have long-term viability.

Long after the 2004 unveiling of the Payment Card Industry data security standard, many merchants remain unaware of it and know little about the threat data thieves pose, says Bill Farmer, CEO of Mako Networks.

Bank of America said it will contribute a total of $738 million to settle a price-fixing case brought by retailers over credit-card swipe fees.

PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker agreed to settle allegations that they used prepaid cards to launder money.

SCVNGR, the mobile-payments provider behind LevelUp, will use its latest venture-capital infusion to sign up national restaurant chains as it ramps up efforts to expand nationwide.

First Data, which processes about half of all U.S. card spending, recently identified that debit spending again overtook that of credit cards. Now another trend is emerging: PIN-debit use is growing much faster than signature debit and credit.

Higher One, the college-payment processor founded by three Yale students, is seeking a buyer and has contacted private-equity firms, said three people with knowledge of the discussions.

As Google expands its mobile wallet to more phones and, with yesterday's update, potentially more banks, consumers have more opportunities to try it — and to encounter its limitations.

A fresh update to Google's mobile wallet allows users to make payments from any credit or debit card, a move that fundamentally changes the company's approach to working with issuing banks.

Sometimes even being upfront about market conditions can land a company in potential hot water.

Payments security providers and mobile card reader vendors alike will watch with much interest from the sidelines as iZettle AB tries to resolve its restrictions from Visa Europe for processing Visa transactions in the company's core market.

Starting today, the mobile payments company iZettle is saddled with a major restriction in not being able to accept Visa transactions in parts of Europe. Its problem serves as an example to rivals in the U.S. and overseas.

Wright Express Corp. continues to extend the reach of its virtual cards tied to travel, announcing today a partnership with the Australian operations of Webjet.com, an electronic manager and marketer of travel and related services.

MasterCard reported a 15% jump in second-quarter earnings this morning, standing in contrast to the loss Visa reported last week due to expenses both companies incurred in offering a multi-billion dollar antitrust settlement to a merchant class action.

PURCHASE, N.Y. – MasterCard reported a 15% surge in second quarter earnings this morning, shaking off expenses related to the record antitrust deal it and Visa entered into last month with merchants.

U.S. payment-card industry rivals have decided to come together, at least for a few days, to better navigate the gargantuan task of migrating to the modern EMV chip-card standard by 2015.

Recent acquisitions combined with rising transaction volume helped Cardtronics post double-digit second-quarter gains in revenue and net income.

John MacIlwaine, a former executive at Visa and Green Dot, has been named the chief technology officer at the peer-to-peer loan facilitator Lending Club Corp.

Many large merchants expressed outrage at the apparent laxity of the Federal Reserve Board's finalized rule that will allow non-exempt debit card issuers to collect a 1-cent fraud-prevention adjustment on debit card transactions.

Deposit automation, or envelope-free deposit technology, has helped the leading ATM makers drive sales the past five years, primarily among the largest U.S. banks. Now smaller banks are buying the technology to help them catch up to their larger rivals.