Payment processing

Credit card issuers failing to promote recurring-payments options appear to be missing a significant opportunity to establish a fixed source of revenue and a means to reduce charge-offs.

Which has their heads in the clouds? Merchants and consumers who fear a lack of data security in a cloud-based payment system? Or the vendors selling the systems that assure they are safer than centralized security platforms?

In a trend that gained strength the past year, payments and fraud-protection software and hardware providers continue to view Latin America as a land of opportunity.

Verizon Wireless plans next month to impose a $2 fee for every payment subscribers make over the phone or online with their credit cards, the telecommunication company announced Dec. 30.

Security managers guarding bank account, credit and debit card data should take protective measures up a notch in 2012, new research suggests. Perhaps even two notches.

China UnionPay has signed an agreement with BesTV Network Television Technology Development Co. Ltd. to support bill payments initiated on consumers’ televisions. But it faces a market that is becoming less reliant on TV for information.

Alipay (China) Technology Co. Ltd. has expanded the scope of its existing collaborative agreement with China Everbright Bank Ltd., the companies announced earlier this month.

A check-imaging technology provider has settled its federal patent-infringement claims against U.S. Bancorp for undisclosed terms.

When Anthony Salas counted the number of point products and services that Anchor Bank was managing to drive its information-technology infrastructure, the number was far more than a dozen.

The stream of receivables and payables determines healthy cash flow, but for many businesses getting a clear, up-to-date picture of cash flow is next to impossible.

A Northern Michigan gas-station owner wanted to give his cash-paying customers the freedom to fill their cars’ tanks first, then pay. But when dishonest drivers skipping the payment process became a problem, he decided to take a different approach.

After the sale of U.S. Central Federal Credit Union’s electronic banking services to Co-op Financial Services, National Credit Union Association on Dec.22 said it will move forward with plans for an orderly wind-down of the other U.S. Central services in 2012.

EBay Inc. has acquired BillSafe, a provider of purchase-on-invoice technology in Germany, the online-auction provider announced Dec. 22.

Cobranded cards, which fell out of favor somewhat when the consumer losses soared during the recession, are poised for a rebound, if First National Bank of Omaha’s plans are any indication.

Eastern Europe gets a bad rap when it comes to payment card data security, but the region does not experience considerably more hacking-attack incidents than do other parts of the world. But it is a main source of such incidents, an industry analyst contends.

As banks reinvest in technology to serve the small business segment, vendors are stepping up their offerings to meet the demand.

Various banks have been rolling out technology to automate interactions with small businesses, ranging from remote deposit capture to social media.

With no governing body regulating the payments industry in the United States, card data security for online service merchants can be an iffy proposition.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has regained its financial footing since its infamous 2008 security breach and the ensuing flood of lawsuits, but analysts say recent court rulings in the case leave some important liability issues unresolved.

Persuading consumers and merchants to shun the traditional way to pay and accept payment for goods and services using plastic remains Dwolla Corp.’s chief goal. But the company also is working to plug some holes in its service.