Credit

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.

Teaming up with PayPal is consistent with other Discover Financial Services agreements that stress the card brand’s payments strategy of being “the most flexible partner for a number of other players,” Discover Chairman and CEO David Nelms says.

The telecommunications companies behind the Isis mobile wallet joint venture have had Salt Lake City in their sights as a testing ground for the past year. But recent delays in the Isis rollout have opened the door for direct competitor Google Wallet to continue to gain as much momentum as possible with its mobile pay system.

The date for U.S. merchants to start benefiting from preparing early for EMV smart card technology at the point of sale lurks next week. Unfortunately, the future of payments technology won’t come into clearer focus for merchants that quickly.

A provision within the hotly contested settlement between merchants and credit card networks could potentially slow PayPal’s bid to become more widely accepted at grocery stores, restaurants and other retailers.

New players are disrupting the established order and taking market share from independent sales organizations. This rapid pace of change in payments may drive many ISOs out of business, speakers said at an industry event.

Bankers “wake up in the middle of the night” worrying about data breaches in the U.S. payment system, a Citigroup executive said this week.

Spire Payments will partner with technology investor Newland Computers in developing future products and rolling out a new line of point-of-sale terminals.

Discover Financial Services (DFS) earned $621 million for its third quarter ended August 31, 2012, up 3% from the same period year earlier, the company said Thursday.

Credit card indicators are looking good, with August numbers showing charge-offs decreasing for most asset-backed securities trusts.

Barclaycard U.S. has hired a new chief financial officer and chief marketing officer to its executive team.