Cards

As retailers increasingly harness social-networking websites such as Facebook to market their brands, payment companies are seeking ways to capitalize on the trend.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has entered a $41.1 million agreement with MasterCard Inc. to settle claims stemming from the 2008 security breach of the Princeton, N.J., company's processing systems.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D.-Iowa, has dropped plans to try to place a 50-cent cap on ATM surcharges, the National Association of ATM ISOs and Operators, a trade group representing ATM independent sales organizations, published in a May 19 bulletin.

The payments industry should not view consumers’ changing spending habits coming out of the recession as a threat but instead as an opportunity to provide new products and services to meet customer needs, Chris McWilton, president of U.S. markets at MasterCard Worldwide, said earlier this week during a keynote speech at the 22nd annual Card Forum and Expo in Orlando.

Financial institutions generally view fraud and regulatory pressure as their key challenges this year, according to the Pulse electronic funds transfer network’s 2010 Debit Issuer study released this week.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on May 17 announced what it claims to be the only cash-back incentive for customers using general-purpose reloadable prepaid debit cards. Consumers who use the company’s Visa-branded MoneyCard for gasoline purchases will receive 1% cash back nationwide through Dec. 31.

VeriFone Holdings Inc. has changed its name. The point-of-sale terminal maker now is called VeriFone Systems Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based company announced May 18.

Cardtronics Inc. temporarily shut down nearly 4% of its U.S. company- and merchant-owned ATMs in February after FBI agents arrested the owners of a New York-based armored-car service and charged them with fraud, according to a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing from the Houston-based ATM independent sales organization.

John Shepherd-Barron, who is credited with inventing the world’s first ATM and the four-digit personal identification number concept for accessing the machines, has died. The 84 year old passed away May 15 at a hospital in Scotland, but relatives did not disclose his death until May 19, according to published reports.

NCR Corp. on May 17 renewed its agreement to provide online banking services for Old National Bank, an Evansville, Ind., financial institution, that expects its online banking customers to double in the next year.

ORLANDO — How is a gift card different from a prepaid card?

Despite negative economic winds and the effect of tough new regulations, credit card companies should realize there are ways to adapt and stay positive in the current environment, Peter Vaughn, senior vice president of global brand management for American Express Co. told audience members during Tuesday’s keynote speech at SourceMedia Inc.'s Card Forum and Expo in Orlando.

MasterCard Worldwide’s new tiered-interchange rates will cut Cardtronics Inc.’s ATM operating gross profit by nearly $2 million during the remainder of the year for transactions routed over MasterCard’s Cirrus network, Cardtronics said in a May 7 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

IPayment Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based payment processor, is reselling Roam Data Inc.’s RoamPay mobile-payment services, Roam Data says. RoamPay can be loaded onto cell phones and used to accept credit and debit card payments.

Axis Bank has entered into separate deals with two third-party service providers for the setting up and management of more than 5,000 ATMs over the next 18 months, the Mumbai-based bank says.

Interchange fees are the largest component of merchant card-acceptance fees, and the merchant lobby has been waging an aggressive political campaign to get government to curb them.

The private-equity firm Permira has reportedly teamed up with American Express Co. to bid for Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC's Global Merchant Services division, a person familiar with the situation said Monday.

Banks have devoted much of their mobile banking efforts to making apps for Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone, but a rival system may be more important to consumers who handle their finances by phone.

WASHINGTON — Senate lawmakers are considering adding an amendment to the regulatory reform bill that could force banks and other automated teller machine operators to cap their processing fees at 50 cents.

Global Payments Inc. is expanding into the Philippines with its HomeCurrencyPay product. The addition is the latest in Global Payments’ expanding Asian services.