Credit

Credit bureaus and payment companies are testing ways to use social media – say, a Facebook Inc. post about a recently purchased Corvette – to verify a person’s identity and even assess consumer creditworthiness.

LevelUp has made constant changes to its mobile-payments technology as it has aggressively spread its system to new consumers and merchants alike. Today, it is in the process of eliminating issues by replacing its older systems and is promoting a white-label app to appeal to more merchants.

CardSpring and VeriFone Systems Inc. allow consumers' credit and debit cards to act as loyalty cards for redeeming digital coupons.

Visa issuers have put 3.5 million chip-based smart cards in the hands of U.S. consumers since the card brand announced its EMV-card migration roadmap in August of 2011, a Visa executive says.

Starbucks attributes the widespread use of its mobile payments app to a "seismic change" in how consumers use mobile phones and social media. The company expects a further surge in adoption as its rewards system expands to grocery stores.

Payleven's EMV-chip mobile card reader has found a spot on Apple Inc.'s retail shelves in Europe and on the company's website.

Total System Services Inc. will continue to process payments for U.K.-based Nationwide Building Society, considered the largest building society in the world based on its assets and 15 million members.

Financial-technology and payments company FIS has named its president and chief operating officer, Gary Norcross, to its board of directors.

Clip, which sells mobile payments technology in Spanish-speaking markets, has developed a mobile card reader.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. joined more than 30 of the biggest U.S. retailers in objecting to a $7.25 billion antitrust settlement with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over merchant fees, saying the deal is meaningless when card companies can continue to fix the charges.

Mike Passilla, JPMorgan Chase's new merchant services boss, didn't take a sledge hammer to the digital payment startups that are chewing away at incumbent payments companies, but his message was clear—Chase is one of the biggest guys on the block, and it plans to use its data and technology heft to win in the merchant acquiring game.

Retailers and the major card brands are throwing more legal punches at each other over the controversial proposed $7.25 billion swipe-fee settlement in a years-long anti-trust case.

New York City's newest public-transit option, which allows commuters to rent bicycles to get to work, got its first real road test today. Citigroup is contributing $41 million to be the chief sponsor and namesake, and MasterCard Inc. is behind the program's $6.5 million payment system.

In an increasingly crowded mobile card reader market, American Express Co. and Groupon have given a double-digit million euro investment to SumUp.

Google is adding a Chrome Wallet App to allow payments within apps that run in Google's Chrome browser.

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. sued trade groups and retailers that rejected a $7.25 billion settlement in a price-fixing suit and asked a court to rule that the card companies' fee practices weren't illegal.

Unresolved issues surrounding American Airlines’ contract with Citibank, which issues its co-branded frequent flier credit card, threaten to derail the bankrupt airline’s efforts to reorganize and merge with US Airways, according to court documents Citi filed on May 24.

IP Commerce Inc., a startup backed by Venrock Inc. and Intel Corp.'s venture-capital arm, is shutting its key business, which handles credit-card processing for companies including Groupon Inc., citing competition.

Charge Anywhere LLC will have gateway software available when small U.S. merchants need to accept EMV-chip card payments with their smartphones.

Blaze Mobile is developing a new Near Field Communication mobile phone attachment that attempts to build a more open mobile wallet by allowing consumers to choose from a series of payment accounts.