Payment processing

Citibank India announced the launch of a mobile and tablet card reading device today developed by Ezetap Mobile Solutions.

Amazon.com Inc. has added an in-app purchasing feature for games and other programs developed for the Web, Mac and PC.

Seth Priebatsch, the 24-year-old founder and head of the mobile payment system LevelUp, has made his company a serious player in the emerging payments market — yet he also sports the less-than-serious job title of "chief ninja." The nickname, he explains, has much to do with his approach to running a business.

Walmart and the other Merchant Customer Exchange members recently announced they would opt for a software-based mobile wallet instead of one based on Near Field Communication hardware. Is this a blow to NFC's future or does the technology have enough supporters to eventually change how people pay?

As the U.S. continues its conversion to EMV chip-card technology, the Durbin amendment's requirement for supporting multiple debit networks is presenting yet another challenge to overcome.

Many companies are trying to repurpose iPads as payment terminals. Leaf, a Cambridge, Mass.-based startup, instead created a commerce-specific tablet for small-business owners.

The concept of making anonymous online transactions is in the spotlight because of the prominence of the digital currency Bitcoin, but most consumers remain uneasy with the cryptocurrency's instability and risk. An alternative for the privacy-minded might sprout from Tor, or The Onion Router.

Square has built its reputation as a quick and simple way for micro-merchants to accept card payments, but the company says it has proven it can serve the more demanding needs of larger retailers.

Payments acquirer WorldPay US is working with Discover Financial Services to allow merchants with brick-and-mortar stores to accept PayPal at the point of sale.

The mega-retailers' Merchant Customer Exchange venture argues that the mobile-payment system it is developing will appeal to retailers in a way no other mobile wallet can. That’s leaving some companies divided on which mobile approach is best—MCX's focus on gaining retailer acceptance or the emphasis on consumer adoption championed by Isis and others.

PayPal Inc., pushing ahead with its drive to become the payment option of choice at the point of sale, has entered an agreement with hardware maker NCR Corp.

Jumio Inc. has released an Android version of its Netswipe Mobile technology for accepting card payments with a phone's camera.

"We're open to partnering and playing with the existing networks, but not under the existing rule base," says Jamie Henry, senior payment director of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. "The existing rules that are in place for card-based payments are not going to be acceptable for mobile-based payments."

Heartland Payment Systems has signed a multi-year contract extension with ABM Parking Services to continue processing payments at ABM’s parking locations nationwide.

Fiserv, the third-largest provider of financial services technology on the FinTech 100 ranking, Monday announced it has acquired Open Solutions, a smaller provider of core banking software. The purchase price was $55 million, and Fiserv assumed approximately $960 million of debt.

VeriFone Systems announced Jan. 14 a suite of payment products, including an iPad mini version of its Payware Mobile card reader, a similar sleeve for the iPhone 5 and VeriFone HQ, a cloud-based system that allows retailers to monitor their terminals and manage their brands.

A German banking committee has approved an Ingenico SA payment terminal as the first to accept contactless payments in the country under a new contactless pay system called giorgo.

Retailers are looking to payments technologies to empower them to provide a more personalized shopping experience, one that improves consumer engagement at the point of sale and helps build customer loyalty, according to experts who spoke Sunday at the National Retail Federation’s annual convention in New York.

The chief executive officer of First Data Corp. is resigning, the company said Friday.

Ingenico SA agreed to offer Shift4 Corp.'s gateway offering as part of the French terminal maker's point-to-point encryption portfolio.