Payment processing

The FTC's move to hold payment processors responsible for the deeds of unscrupulous merchants could result in higher prices or fewer choices for small businesses and consumers.

By entering a partnership to develop new mobile money platforms with global wireless carrier Telefónica, Monitise Plc is expanding the reach of its mobile payments and banking technology beyond financial institutions and traditional payments companies.

The "nuclear football" allows the president to order a nuclear missile attack from any location, and ZenithSecure took its idea for a new data security vault straight from the playbook for protecting those launch codes.

Users of the currency exchange Ripple Network can now make payments in any currency directly to all Bitcoin users, including 8,500 Bitcoin merchants, through a partnership with BitStamp.net.BitStamp.net allows the Ripple Network to convert currencies into bitcoins by accepting payments in any currency and paying merchants in bitcoins. The offering, called Bitcoin Bridge, was announced at the Bitcoin London conference July 2.

Advertising industry payments have become challenging to manage, as expanding media outlets create diverse cash flows between clients, ad agencies and media outlets.That complexity is driving a partnership between AnchorOps, a company that partners with advertising and media agencies to provide electronic payments, audits, reconciliation and software development and Wex, a provider of corporate payment products. The two companies have launched AnchorOps ePay, which customizes payments for advertising and media buying agencies.

Members of the EMV Migration Forum are recommending a single common debit code for EMV transactions in the U.S. and plan to provide details later this summer for how the payments industry can implement it.

Intuit Inc. said Monday it has agreed to sell its online and mobile banking division in a $1 billion deal that doesn't include its payments technology for merchants.

Innovation to Commerce Inc., a cloud-based payments processor, will power prepaid card programs for DMS Banks & Trust Ltd., a Cayman Islands bank that provides offshore financial services.

California’s financial regulator has baffled observers by sending a cease-and-desist “warning letter” to the Bitcoin Foundation. Did the Golden State’s bureaucrats blindly send out letters to any organization it could find with the word “bitcoin” in its name?

Total System Services closed its $1.4 billion acquisition of NetSpend on July 1, in line with its previously disclosed schedule for closing.

Card processor and merchant acquirer Clearent is working with Reward4Schools to help the Missouri-based community rewards provider reach a national audience.

Big banks are developing a system to make mobile wallets more secure by walling off customer account information from merchants and other third parties. Citigroup, U.S. Bancorp and other members of The Clearing House, an industry trade group, are jointly working on the technology. Their aim is to address some of the rampant data-security concerns surrounding digital payments. The system, dubbed Secure Cloud, essentially aims to provide a protective layer to customers who use the mobile…

Birch Coffee has used Square's mobile card reader for its delivery service for about two years, and was one of the first to switch to the new Square Market e-commerce site ahead its launch.

MasterCard has begun offering U.S. merchants and developers Simplify Commerce, a product of MasterCard labs, the Purchase, N.Y. card network's research and development lab.

Payments startup Clinkle has attracted a long roster of Silicon Valley investors for its new payments technology, which is expected to debut within the next year.

CCBill has developed a portal to help merchants analyze data produced by payments to spot purchasing patterns and other trends that can tie past transactions to future business strategy.

It's been an eventful year so far in the payments industry. Exciting new technologies, dramatic executive turnover and ongoing courtroom drama have defined 2013's first six months.

Square Inc. has hired Gokul Rajaram to head software development for the Square Register app as the company's Product Engineering Lead.

Payoneer, a global payments company, entered partnerships in Latin America with three of the region's largest freelance marketplaces, Nubelo, Workana and Adtriboo.

Vantiv and Planet Payment have launched the Pay in Your Currency service at 85 Billabong locations in the U.S.