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Payleven has elbowed its way into the crowded mobile card-reader device playing field by offering a chip-and-PIN reader that will first debut in Europe near the end of October.

The key to the success of Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the payments initiative formed by major retailers, may be merchants' motivation to stay in control of their customer relationships.

Investors on occasion are willing to roll the dice, but more often they support companies with potential for a powerful first step in the marketplace. They do not place Near Field Communication payments technology in either category.

Starbucks plans to accept purchases from the Square mobile wallet beginning next month, and it also plans to list all 7,000 of its company-owned stores in the Square directory, the Seattle-based coffee seller said.

Google updated the online portion of its Google Wallet product this week to allow micropayments for digital content, with a short window for refunds.

As new mobile-wallet systems appear and old ones fade, many are asking who will win the “mobile wallet wars.” According to the mobile-pay venture Isis, there may never be a clear winner.

Travelocity is using software tools from Jumio to accept card payments in its lastminute.com hotel deals app.

Prosper Marketplace, the online peer-to-peer loan facilitator, announced Oct. 3 that it hired Josh Tonderys, a former executive at Barclaycard US, to be its chief risk officer.

Investors and payment-industry participants declared the recent partnership between Discover Financial Services and PayPal Inc. a game-changer in payments. But will consumers agree?

Social media-based payments technology continues to gain traction as processing provider E2E Payments announced it will include social payment startup Buyvite as one of the payment options in its network, alongside traditional credit card, virtual terminals, mobile and other payments products.

Payments industry participants are stepping up to help nonprofits and NGOs improve their ability to collect and distribute donations around the world.

Everyone seems to want the success that Square has in the mobile payments marketplace, and Amazon appears to be the next in line to join the device fray.

It’s called Ventra and it’s going to allow Chicago commuters to make tap-and-go contactless card payments throughout the city’s transit system next summer.

The battle over interchange fees moves to its next phase Tuesday when a federal judge hears complaints from merchants that the Federal Reserve’s cap on the fees not go far enough.

Because Google Inc. stubbed its public relations toe earlier this year when a security firm “hacker” was able to gain access to the Google Wallet’s secure element in a smartphone and steal or wipe out PINs, it was no surprise the company made the leap to store card data in the cloud.

The credit card market is stabilizing and continues to grow, according to Equifax’s latest National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

Although American Express received lighter fines than the two previous credit card players targeted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, many believe the CFPB’s third enforcement action is its biggest statement yet.

Fidelity National Information Systems announced the introduction of its own global real-time payments network for domestic and international money movement for both retail and commercial trade.

It may not take long for a mobile phone carrier to start looking and acting like a bank for consumers seeking to use their phones to make payments or borrow money.

Mobile wallets promise simpler payments, but the road to get there has been bumpy and, quite often, bizarre.