Payment processing

Max Levchin, a PayPal founder, is launching a new mobile-payments startup called Affirm.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has positioned its merchant processing unit to provide far more services to merchant clients through its 10-year partnership with Visa Inc., a deal which potentially shifts more power to the issuer.

Total System Services has agreed to provide processing services for MLS Direct Network.

JPMorgan Chase plans to launch Chase Merchant Services, a payments partnership with Visa, this year.

Today’s modern payment systems have their genesis in a number of older ventures that plied everything from the Web to biometrics to enable digital commerce. Some are gone, and some have evolved unrecognizably into their current form. Here’s a look.

The 16-month contract extension was signed Feb. 20, just one day after TSYS announced its purchase of NetSpend, one of Green Dot's top rivals.

The chip-and-PIN version of PayPal's Here mobile card reader is set to debut overseas this year, but the splash will be felt in the U.S. as well.

Square's sales pitch has largely been based on the ease of plucking its mobile card reader of a retail store's shelf and suddenly being able to accept swiped card payments. But for some merchants, it hasn't been so easy.

VeriFone Systems Inc. shares tumbled as much as 35 percent after the maker of credit-card terminals forecast second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates, amid weak economic conditions in Europe.

Square Inc. is introducing hardware designed to work with its mobile-payment software, seeking to replace cash registers by companies including NCR Corp. and stepping up competition with eBay Inc. and Intuit Inc.

Many merchant payment systems lack the technology needed to safely store card data, resulting in 70% of merchants not meeting data security requirements, a new report says.

CoreFirst Bank and Trust is under pressure on two fronts when it comes to payroll cards. It faces strong competition from large banks and other rivals, as well as a heavy state and national regulatory burden.

For the processor Total System Services, buying the prepaid card marketer NetSpend is transformational. For NetSpend it's going to be business as usual, the companies say.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council has published its latest data security guidance for merchants accepting payments with smartphones or tablets.

St. Louis may not be the obvious launching spot for payment technology, but Radnor, Pa.-based FreedomPay bypassed the nation's most crowded cities to instead launch the Vibe mobile wallet in the Show-Me state.

Coinbase makes it simple to buy and sell bitcoins via a bank account, but plays only to the low-fee, frictionless nature of Bitcoin and fails to leverage its unique privacy aspects.

The Currency Cloud says it has the answer for companies dealing with the costs of completing an international payment.

PayPal has attracted some big names to accept it at the point of sale, but it has a long way to go before its digital wallet is a part of everyday consumer life. A recent partnership with the fuel pump technology company Gilbarco Veeder-Root has the potential to change that.

Merchant service providers need to be aware that payment gateway technology is likely to provide answers to most of the questions merchants may ask when navigating the dizzying array of new payment rules and technologies.

It's not going to garner the attention that Square Inc.'s pact with Starbucks created, but Square's latest deal shows it's still eager to brew partnerships with coffee shops.