Payment processing

Merchants sued Visa and MasterCard in 1996 when the card networks forced them to "honor all cards," and though the suit settled in 2003, the wounds are reopening with the spread of mobile wallets.

The National Retail Federation wants the Federal Trade Commission to do more than merely check up on the companies that routinely assess merchants for compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

Consumers, banks and merchants all want faster payments, but new technology only seems to be making the process slower.

When TableSafe launched in 2011 under the name Viableware, it was a simpler time in payments technology and the company had a simpler product to offer — a tablet-like check holder that lets customers complete card payments without leaving the table.

Working to help corporations streamline their processes for business-to-business transactions, Total System Services Inc. has launched a new commercial payment product leveraging virtual account numbers.

While the current phase of the U.S. chip card migration is still far from the finish line, attention is turning to the 'next' EMV migration at gas stations, which figures to be just as challenging.

Heartland Payment Systems has leveraged newly purchased merchant marketing company Beanstalk Data to build a restaurant analysis service.

Total System Services Inc. has announced an agreement with Featurespace to apply machine-learning technology to fight fraud.

Visa's rules for card acceptance exceed 800 pages — plus supplements — and MasterCard's are nearly 300 pages. But even though the card networks have explained their expectations in painstaking detail, the difference between strict rules and mere guidelines is much blurrier when finally given to the merchant.

Back in 2014, Dekkers Davidson, then CEO of the Merchant Customer Exchange, declared that the mobile wallet venture would draw inspiration from Uber and be just as disruptive to financial services as the popular ride-sharing app was to the taxi industry. But Uber's success stems largely from its decision to make payments invisible, whereas MCX was developing its CurrentC wallet to do just the opposite.

When Walmart switched on Walmart Pay this week at 600 stores in two states, it marked the beginning of a new era, when merchants finally take the reins in mobile payments — and, by extension, the future of digital commerce.

The Merchant Customer Exchange, a retailer-backed mobile wallet venture of over three years in the works, has postponed its plans for a national rollout of its mobile wallet.

Stadiums, concert halls and other entertainment settings have long been venues in which terminal providers like NCR or Oracle would likely have units in place, offering a vast array of functions tailored to those businesses.

Square, which has been aggressively adding merchant services to enhance its mobile payments product, has added an invoice scheduling feature to add flexibility to merchant payments.

Like any long-term relationship, Walmart and Visa have had their ups and downs. Sometimes these interactions were solely between the two companies; but many times, Walmart and Visa's conflicts gave a voice to the entire retail and payments industries.

While Walmart's lawsuit against Visa this week centers on authorization and routing methods, the Debit Network Alliance LLC — a group of independent debit networks — is also taking issue with EMV routing in addressing how terminal software is handling the choices presented to consumers.

Walmart and Visa have had a long and volatile relationship, and the retailer's latest lawsuit against the global card brand gives voice to a struggle that many other companies are too small to fight.

To expand the reach of its global e-commerce services, Ingenico ePayments is building up a vast network of connections to merchant acquirers, hoping to gain a competitive edge as the demand grows for omnichannel payments.

Merchants that now accept EMV-chip cards at the point of sale are not happy with the user experience, and First Data sees itself in a position to help.

Global EMV consultant and system tester Fime will provide end-to-end certification services for terminals and acceptance systems using the Discover Network and Diners Club International payment applications.