Economy

A San Francisco-based startup called Card.io is offering software that enables cell-phone cameras to scan credit card information, thus moving ecommerce from the Web to mobile phones and creating a new product for ISOs to sell to merchants.

NACHA, the Herndon, Va.-based electronic payments association, has joined the Interactive Financial eXchange Forum and intends to participate in the forum’s Liaison and Interoperability Working Group, which launched this spring to help achieve interoperability in external standards and communications.

Trustwave has released file integrity monitoring software that checks for additions, modifications or deletions of sensitive files or other stored data, the company announced June 21.

Merchant groups say a U.S. Justice Department settlement does not go far enough to prevent Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide from engaging in anti-competitive practices.

Visa Inc. says its business "remains solid" in the face of pending restrictions on debit card interchange fees.

Isis, the wireless carrier-led mobile payments joint venture, plans to test its service in Austin, Texas, next year, according to a June 22 announcement.

Joining the growing ranks of payments processors rolling out advanced data-encryption services to help protect cardholders at the point of sale, Elavon Inc. on June 20 announced a portfolio of products and services it has dubbed Safe-T Suite.

ISOs and agents should provide meaningful information instead of aggressive sales pitches when using social media – such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – to communicate with customers, experts agree.

PayLeap LLC has appointed Rod R. Katzfey chief operating officer with responsibility for business operations, business development, sales and customer care, according to the Warsaw, Ind.-based processor.

WASHINGTON–The Federal Reserve Board is scheduled to issue its final rule on a controversial swipe fee provision next week, according to a public notice released June 21.

Harbor Community Bank has signed an agreement to receive credit card acceptance, check-guarantee and recurring-payments services for hundreds of business clients through US Merchant Services Inc., the companies announced June 16.

Bluebird Soft Inc. plans to unveil a portable point-of-sale terminal this week at the Retail Asia Expo in Hong Kong, the mobile computing manufacturer announced June 14.

ISOs are benefiting from the recent formation of TSYS Merchant Solutions, which was created when Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, bought First National Merchant Solutions from First National Bank of Omaha, the top executive of the combined company said in a June 17 phone interview.

Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions, or W.net, is seeking contributions to help continue its work of providing information, mentoring and networking opportunities for women in the acquiring business.

The Federal Reserve’s proposed cap on debit fees should be barred because it is “discriminatory” in that it singles out the nation’s biggest banks and credit unions, lawyers for Minnesota’s TCF Bank told a federal appeals court June 16.

Visa and MasterCard have developed services for merchants to determine which cards cost more to accept — rekindling the debate over whether small banks will suffer under the Durbin amendment. ISOs and agents will receive the services for free and may mark them up and sell them to merchants.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc.’s merchant clients could save up to $2,000 annually as a result of pending limits on debit card interchange fees, an executive at the processing company said June 16.

Lawyers for Minnesota’s TCF Bank will tell a federal appeals court in St. Louis this morning that the Fed’s proposed cap on debit fees amounts to an unconstitutional “taking” of its assets.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions has changed its name to Vantiv LLC, the company announced June 15.

Payment-terminal manufacturer Ingenico S.A. will provide 40,000 of its EFT930G payment terminals to Indonesia-based PT Bank Mandiri Tbk under a deal the companies announced June 14.