Credit

Payments consumers make to health care providers will soar by more than 40% over the next three years, creating a glut of opportunities for direct-billing service vendors, according to a new Aite Group report.

Wikileaks supporters briefly regained access to Visa Inc.’s payment gateway in a series of rapid midweek developments, but by July 8 the gateway closed again, observers say.

The college crowd isn't as hip with credit card issuers these days.

PayPal revolutionized how consumers pay for goods online. It's not about to be usurped by the mobile payments movement.

Serverside Group Ltd. said July 7 its patent for card customization, which it claims is being infringed upon by dozens of U.S. credit unions and banks, was maintained in an oral hearing by the European Patent Office.

In an analysis of email-based fraud released in late June, network giant Cisco quantified what newspaper headlines over the past year have made clear: cyberfraud has shifted from mass, generalized attacks to very specific spearphishing hits that harness stolen user information to dupe unwitting consumers (such as bank customers and credit and debit cardholders) into divulging account information.

In an effort to further cool down an overheating credit card market, South Korea’s financial regulator has announced new limits for card companies’ operations.

TransUnion plans sell up to $325 million in stock in an initial public offering. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, the Chicago-based company said it plans to use the proceeds to reduce “a substantial amount of indebtedness” and for general corporate purposes.

In an unintended consequence of the newly revised federal rules on cybersecurity, banks are likely to fare much worse in lawsuits over fraud losses.

In a move aimed at significantly expanding its card-brands’ acceptance in Europe, Discover Financial Services has forged a processing and merchant-acquiring agreement with First Data Corp. for international operations, a Discover executive tells PaymentsSource.

As a growing number of United Kingdom-based merchants adopt contactless payment technology as part of a broad regional effort leading up to the 2012 Olympic Games, specific retailers are seeing the technology’s benefits.

Wikileaks and Iceland-based data-hosting service DataCell ehf. say they will file a complaint on July 7 with the European Commission against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide if the payment companies continue to block their payment-processing.

Consumer credit card growth, which has been on the decline for about three years, could be showing signs of life again, according to data Equifax Inc. released July 1.

Western Union Co. has struck a deal that will make it a competitor, but also a potential partner, for banks trying to capture a bigger chunk of the business payments market.

To encourage online shopping, which faces resistance in India because of security concerns over using credit cards online, Axis Bank Ltd. has launched an e-Wallet card, the India-based announced June 29.

In an unintended consequence of the newly revised federal rules on cybersecurity, banks are likely to fare much worse in lawsuits over fraud losses.

To make health care transactions more transparent and simpler, Qatar is making the use of bankcards for the payment of health care bills mandatory at its hospitals and clinics.

Discover Financial Services’ shares fell as much as 3% July 1 after disclosing that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is reviewing its marketing of payment-protection and other fee-based products.

American Express Co. has inked sponsorship deals designating its brand as the official card of two major entertainment venues and three professional teams, the company announced June 30.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is reviewing Discover Financial Services’ marketing of payment protection and other fee-based products.