ISOs

Bank of America Corp. does not fear losing customers because of its controversial $5 monthly debit fee, Brian Moynihan, BofA CEO, recently told analysts.

With e-commerce becoming a bigger target for payment data theft, Global Payments Inc. intends to provide online merchants with another set of fraud-detection tools.

Merchants that use credit card terminals that do not accept PIN transactions or use mobile card readers can have the devices tested for the use of advanced encryption for data protection, says the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

WASHINGTON — One day after introduction of a bill to repeal the new debit interchange cap, supporters of that cap struck back Oct. 13 by calling for an antitrust investigation into whether banks and trade groups are colluding on prices.

Nearly 350 members of the merchant-acquiring industry have applied to take the first test for the new Certified Payments Professional credential developed and administered by the Electronic Transactions Association.

Merchant Warehouse Inc. has found a way to help clear up identification discrepancies that interfere with new Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements.

Independent ATM operators and a trade association are charging in a lawsuit against Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide that the networks’ rules unlawfully prohibit ATM operators from offering lower prices for transactions over PIN-debit networks that are not affiliated with the two companies.

Seeking to become a major player in the growing school-meals payments arena, a Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. unit has announced the purchase of School-Link Technologies Inc., its fourth such acquisition in the last 10 months.

U.S. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Congressman Bill Owens (D-New York) plan to introduce legislation today aimed at repealing the debit card interchange rate-control provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the lawmakers announced.

A slight increase in the cost of processing purchases of less than $15 with a small issuer’s Visa debit card may prompt merchants to encourage customers to pay with cash, thus reducing residuals for ISOs and agents, industry observers say.

The merchant-acquiring industry is turning an Internal Revenue Service reporting requirement into a profit center, some analysts suggest.

A new blog can help ISOs and agents gain credibility with restaurant operators, the site’s owner says.

A Toronto-based payments gateway is providing consumers with a simpler way to make online purchases from mobile phones, and it is looking for ISOs to promote the product to merchants.

Transaction processor TransFirst has purchased RST Ventures Inc., an electronic payment processing services provider that does business as US Merchant Services, TransFirst announced Oct. 5.

SAN FRANCISCO–Entrepreneurs often start ISOs with the goal of someday selling their merchant portfolio for a large sum and retiring to live the good life.

Hypercom USA has changed its name to Equinox Payments LLC in a move that one analyst says should take no one by surprise.

Carla Balakgie has stepped down as CEO of the Electronic Transactions Association to take the same title at the National Automatic Merchandising Association.

Now that new Federal Reserve Board rules essentially have cut in half the interchange portion of the merchant acquirer expense for many debit card transactions, Global Payments Inc. plans to share “a significant amount of this” with its merchant clients, the company’s top executive told analyst during an Oct. 4 conference call to discuss fiscal first quarter earnings.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., took to the Senate floor yesterday in an impromptu attack on the $5 monthly fee Bank of America Corp. announced last week, demanding that BofA CEO BrianMoynihan justify the new fee, which kicks in next year.

Apriva LLC has released the Apriva Secure Communication Suite, which its ISS division designed to help secure mobile communications, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company announced Oct. 3.