ISOs

Cashiers now may activate entire packs of cards at once instead of swiping each card individually under a service First Data announced July 11.

Wincor Nixdorf AG is changing its U.S. business model, shifting from a centralized unit based in Austin, Texas, to a more dispersed structure.

The financial-services industry often characterizes mobile-payment systems that mimic the capabilities of Near Field Communication chips as “bridge technology,” but they may turn out to be a bridge to nowhere.

He who controls the terms of a debate often controls its outcome. In the case of debit card fees, it's a she who has had a subtle and powerful influence.

The total value of mobile payments for digital and physical goods as well as for money transfers and Near Field Communication-enabled transactions will grow to $670 billion by 2015, up from $240 billion in 2011, according to a new Juniper Research study.

Nine out of 10 prepaid cardholders describe themselves as “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their prepaid cards, but the industry could do more to keep customers for the long haul, new research suggests.

When Discover Financial Services launched its “Peggy” television commercials late last year, the card brand had no idea the the character would take on a life of its own.

Online and mobile-payments startup Dwolla Corp. is building a payment network called Grid that company executives believe is more secure than MasterCard Worldwide’s and Visa Inc.’s card networks.

The marketplace is beginning to take shape for mobile card readers with the June 29 disclosure that VeriFone Systems Inc. plans to introduce a card-reading accessory for tablet computers this year, one analyst says.

A new social-networking site not only offers independent sales organizations and agents an array of opportunities to boost revenue and earnings, but also controls a pool of cash available to the industry through loans, backers claim.

ISOs can play a role in any merchant cash advances they sell. The opportunity is called co-funding or syndication, and it enables an ISO to fund a portion of the advance–up to 50 % in most cases. The monthly payback percentage becomes an additional income channel.

Mobile-payments startup Square Inc.’s $100 million venture-capital avalanche, which it announced June 29, could mean that the company’s transaction volume is gaining significant momentum despite its lack of profits, one analyst contends.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday suggested raising the debit interchange fee cap to 21 cents per transaction but gave banks leeway to charge even more if they meet certain fraud prevention standards.

Intuit Inc. has bought the mobile banking assets of Mobile Money Ventures, a joint venture of Citigroup Inc. and SK Telecom Co. Ltd. it has worked with to develop mobile banking services.

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.