Credit

While the U.S. inches toward adoption of the EMV chip-card standard, some card makers and issuers are finding they need to move faster than others.

It's not going to garner the attention that Square Inc.'s pact with Starbucks created, but Square's latest deal shows it's still eager to brew partnerships with coffee shops.

Visa's launch of a plug-and-play mobile money platform speaks to a rapidly maturing trend of using mobility to spread financial services to underbanked consumers and developing countries.

Western Union Co., the world’s biggest money-transfer business, fell after the company forecast continued revenue declines in 2013.

Payleven, a mobile payment venture from the Samwer brothers' Rocket Internet incubator, started selling its mobile chip-and-PIN mobile card reader last week and received hundreds of orders for the new device.

For mobile payments and analytics provider Bango.net Ltd., a recent shot in the arm from investors represents a chance to expand into emerging markets and help offset the company's costs for preparing for the next generation of BlackBerry phones.

Diebold leaders conveyed a message of contrition to investors during the ATM manufacturer’s fourth quarter 2012 earnings call, acknowledging that change is needed and promising further organizational changes and structural cost reductions to improve performance.

American Express Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth I. Chenault netted $15.4 million before taxes from the exercise of stock options and the sale of restricted shares.

American Express says it is working with Twitter to expand its cardholders' ability to shop over the social networking site.

A MasterCard Inc. "mobile preparedness" study in 2012 indicated that Singapore, Canada and the U.S. were the countries most prepared to offer payments technology and innovation to serve willing consumers. But the study also showed the U.S. ranking 10th when it came to "consumer readiness" for adopting mobile payments.

With its existing base of mass-affluent customers and ongoing efforts to attract a broader set of customers through efforts like its Bluebird prepaid card and new merchant-branded products, American Express Co. is positioned to lead the transformation of the payments industry.

Apple is said to be developing a “smart” wristwatch that includes mobile payments functionality.

ERN is launching a product that attempts to meld issuer and retailer spending details to produce real-time offers at the point of sale. It faces plenty of competition in its efforts to bring granularity to marketing.

As card fraud progressively moves to e-commerce, more vendors offer merchants the tools to monitor their progress in thwarting cybercrooks — and the information collected in protecting their data also helps merchants promote sales.

From the start, mPowa CEO Dan Wagner has talked about partnerships being the key to getting his company’s chip-and-PIN mobile card reader into the hands of merchants – and eventually becoming a formidable foe to the likes of Square Inc. in the U.S.

After a frustrating year of knocking on doors, Sandra Young still couldn't persuade merchants to sign up for transaction services. She then decided to dedicate herself to a chore not many independent sales organizations or sales agent relish – convincing gas station owners and managers to accept card payments at the pump.

Despite some glitches that are hampering vigorous adoption, the companies targeting mobile payments are finding success in forging brand connections. The problem is their connections are with narrow constituencies, and are often based on competencies beyond mobile payments.

ShopKeep, which provides an iPad point of sale system, began supporting payments from SCVNGR's LevelUp loyalty and mobile payment system this week. One early adopter is already reporting success with the combined system.

Merchants shouldn't have their heads in the clouds when it comes to data security — especially when they rely on cloud computing to handle payment card data.

Merchant objections to the proposed $7.25 billion swipe-fee settlement are likely to mount following another delay in an appeal ruling.