Payment processing

CHICAGO -- In payments politics, it's difficult to imagine a topic that gets the blood flowing more than the EMV chip-card shift in the U.S.

It would have to take something big for consumers to flock to a mobile wallet en masse. Whether it meant to or not, California-based RadPad found out what consumers wanted, but it wasn't prepared for the aftermath.

If there is a takeaway from Citigroup's not-quite-stellar rollout of the Costco Anywhere Visa card, it is this: Even in modern times, the transition of large card portfolios from one issuer to another can prove disastrously complex.

There’s no way to gift-wrap the EMV woes for issuers and retailers around the upcoming holiday sales season.

Acquirers and independent sales organizations have long heard a similar refrain: Adjust to the fast pace of technology or perish.

Citigroup Inc. mistakenly sent e-mails to some active Costco Wholesale Corp. members telling them their wholesale club membership had lapsed and that their cards would be canceled, bringing a fresh headache to the new partnership.

They may seem like a relic from a bygone era, but dial-up terminals have shown surprising staying power in today's payments ecosystem.

Phillips 66 is the third major merchant to come aboard for JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s upcoming launch of Chase Pay—alongside Starbucks and Shell Oil—and the byproduct of this deal is an overhaul of the gasoline and convenience retailer’s existing, relatively bland apps.

Grocery stores are well-oiled machines, with the placement of every product carefully researched to guide the shopper from one item to the next. But even this process has some room for improvement.

Walmart Pay has been available nationwide at Walmart stores for several weeks, but consumers haven’t taken much notice — a foreboding sign for those hoping for a breakthrough with merchant-branded mobile payment apps.