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As preparations continue for the migration to the EMV chip-card standard in the United States, payments companies must ensure that point of sale terminals are compatible with both card networks’ standards and the myriad card issuers on those networks.

Mobile apps from Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts may prove useful for on-the-go coffee guzzlers, but their approach may not translate well to other retail environments. A few companies are taking a different approach to modernizing payments for sit-down restaurants and other merchants.

Chase Card Services eliminated the expiration for the cash back rewards that it offers on five credit cards it markets to members of the U.S. military.

In an effort to foster innovation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching a data driven initiative that will intially involve several financial-services startups.

Powa Technologies, Europe’s answer to Jack Dorsey’s Square, is considering an initial public offering after its U.S. competitor raised $200 million from investors including Starbucks.

Citigroup is offering price-conscious shoppers a new way to save – by promising partial refunds on certain credit card purchases if it can find a better deal.

Bitcoin enthusiasts, playing off the holiday tradition of Black Friday sales, held their own Bitcoin Friday last week, leading to a spike in Bitcoin transactions at some — but not all — participating merchants.

Visa Inc. continues to bolster its V.me digital wallet service, announcing that 50 more banks and credit unions will adopt the service.

Bank of America is launching a Square-like card-swiping device for smartphones called Mobile Pay on Demand. The service will be marketed through B of A’s Atlanta-based joint venture with First Data, Bank of America Merchant Services.

Small retailers still aren’t catching on to the Payment Card Industry data security standards, according to recent survey results.

Expanding its partnership with ChinaPay, Western Union is allowing institutions of higher education and universities to accept student fees and international tuition in the Chinese Renminbi.

Discover Financial Services’ Pulse PIN-debit network has joined the card brand’s EMV migration timetable, establishing requirements for point-of-sale acquirers and processors to handle smart-card payments.

Consumers will be able to use their mobile phones to complete EMV-compliant mobile payments for online transactions if MasterCard Inc.’s current testing with ING Group employees in the Netherlands expands.

Recently launched Shpock wants to facilitate the buying and selling of products listed online, but the system was designed to deliberately omit payments from the process.

There is no single definition of a “mobile wallet.” Each product differs vastly in its choice of technology, audience and the basic type of payment upon which it was built — but most fit into a few simple categories.

A federal judge granted preliminary approval Friday to the proposed settlement of a massive lawsuit brought by retailers against Visa, MasterCard and banks that issue their cards.

Google has reinvented its mobile wallet a few times, and its latest reinvention, a rumored plastic card, raises questions about the mobile-pay product’s direction.

For retailers, buying a new point of sale payment system is becoming as easy as buying a stapler or a sheaf of paper. Staples has begun selling several pieces of hardware revolving around NCR’s point of sale system called Silver.

At first, payments players were wary of the LevelUp mobile-pay system, but the startup behind it is fast building relationships with the very companies it could potentially disrupt.

Hundreds of retailers opposed to Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.’s proposed $7.25 billion settlement of a merchant fee price-fixing case will try to convince a federal judge the deal should be thrown out.