Payment processing

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.

Someday, such a thing as an alternative payment no longer may exist.

Visa Inc. may be preparing to debut its ties to Google Inc.’s Google Wallet mobile-payments scheme in London at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, sources suggest.

Zions Bancorp of Salt Lake City has selected Fiserv Inc. to support multichannel digital payments for its retail and business customers.

Heartland Payment Systems has signed a five-year expanded contract agreement with ConocoPhillips, the merchant processor announced Dec. 14. The companies have worked together for 20 years.

First Data Corp. has introduced Global Gateway e4, an online payment gateway that offers what the company says is safe and reliable processing for card-not-present transactions, the transaction processor announced Dec. 13.

Payment Card Industry data-security standards continue to fail merchants in their most vulnerable hour, as one restaurant chain might have prevented a credit card fraud scheme if it equipped its payments systems better to address third-party intrusions, a security expert contends.

The silence is almost deafening.