Cards

Despite brick-and-mortar merchants and restaurants still experiencing a year-over-year decrease in credit and signature-debit card sales, the decline is becoming more moderate, and is even increasing at high-end restaurants, as the economy continues to slowly recover, new research suggests.

Pivotal Payments says its integration with Pinnacle Cart, e-commerce software Desert Dog Marketing LLC designed for merchants to use on their websites, could help its sales agents increase their revenue by attracting more merchants.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corp. formally has cancelled the seven-year contract it had awarded Mumbai-based Kaizen Engineering Systems Pvt. Ltd. to provide a ticketing and smart card system for its bus and rapid-transit system.

First Data Corp. on Aug. 10 reported a net loss attributable to the company of $171.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30, down from the $195.9 million loss the transaction processor reported during the same period last year. Revenues totaled $2.61 billion, up 18.1% from $2.21 billion, driven by the formation of the Banc of America Merchant Services LLC alliance.

Mall Networks, a manager of merchant-funded rewards programs, reported Monday that its fiscal 2010 revenue grew by more than 100%, and announced its renaming as Cartera Commerce Inc.

PayPal Inc. is planning to turn off its PayPal Plug-In service, which lets users fund purchases at merchants that do not typically accept PayPal.

When members of BECU visit the credit union in person, chances are they will use an automated teller machine — because it has only two branches, BECU puts ATMs in the pilot's seat when it comes to the customer experience.

One of three suspects charged with using a high-powered thermal lance to cut open a Los Angeles Federal Credit Union ATM then empty the machine of almost $80,000 two years ago was sentenced in federal court Monday to 190 months in prison and ordered to pay $124,000 restitution, which includes the damages to the ATM.

Barclays Global Retail Bank India will add 30 ATMs to its network of 17 machines already deployed throughout parts of the country, according to a bank official who requested anonymity.

The $3 billion price Advent International Corp. and Bain Capital LLC will pay for an 80% stake in RBS WorldPay, the payment-processing arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland PLC, may point to an imbalance in value between privately held and publicly held payment processors, suggests David J. Koning, a senior research analyst at Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co.

Life Insurance Corp. of India Ltd. policyholders soon will be able to use their mobile phones to pay their insurance premiums, a spokesperson for the government-owned insurer tells PaymentsSource.

The mobile banking and payments company ClairMail Inc. said it had strong revenue growth in the second quarter.

PayPal Inc. has updated its mobile payment application for Android phones.

Online Resources Corp.'s newest chief executive said the online banking and bill-pay vendor will become a more focused company under his leadership.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC on Aug. 6 agreed to sell a majority stake in its lucrative processing business, RBS WorldPay, to two private equity firms for more than $3 billion.

Arizona state government officials are stepping up efforts to thwart criminals from skimming consumers’ credit and debit card information at gasoline stations in response to a recent uptick of such incidents.

Serverside Group Ltd.’s receipt this week of a European patent for its digital technology used to print customized payment cards on demand will protect its market but also may create competition as other companies develop and enhance similar technology, some observers say.

SocialWise Inc. is launching a marketing campaign for its BillMyParents online payment system through social network sites in early August that could reach 4.6 million followers of Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, Jim Collas, Socialwise president and CEO, tells PaymentsSource.

ILoveVelvet, a New York-based payment-technology company, says its new Velvet Suite products can enable merchants to use Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad devices as retail point-of-sale terminals.

ACH Federal will provide Web-based and customized automated clearinghouse processing services for Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based Beach Business Bank, the Chattanooga, Tenn.-based electronic payments provider announced on Aug. 3.