Payment processing

Merrick Bank Corp. has signed on to offer Secure Vault Payments to merchants through its ISO network, and sources say the fledgling payment method may become available to 17 million consumers before the end of this month and to 50 million by year’s end.

Co-op Financial Services launched a new service this morning that will enable credit unions to remotely control the marketing and operational content of their ATMs.

Continued weakness in the gaming sector and consumer revolving credit, coupled with the loss of Harrah’s Entertainment’s casino business, the company’s largest customer, late last year, created some first quarter financial difficulties for Global Cash Access Holdings Inc., the company announced May 10.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve is planning to amend its proposal to cap debit fees at a higher rate, setting a compromise in the heated controversy between merchants and banks and credit unions while at the same time threatening efforts by banks and credit unions to delay implementation of the rule.

Meta Financial Group Inc.’s fiscal second quarter profit was cut in half from a year earlier as the Storm Lake, Iowa-based provider of prepaid cards continued to deal with penalties from the Office of Thrift Supervision stemming from one of its credit products.

While restaurants experienced a slight increase, small and mid-sized brick-and-mortar merchants experienced a 3.09% decline in overall credit and signature-debit card sales during the first quarter ended March 31. This marked the 14th consecutive quarterly decline, new research suggests.

Banks in the Pacific Island nation of Fiji should invest in educating their customers on the use of ATMs and payment card terminals, the Consumer Council suggests in a May 5 report.

VeriFone Systems Inc., the nation's largest maker of point of sale terminals, is introducing a new one that could make it as easy for merchants to accept alternative payments as it is to take Visa or MasterCard.

PayNearMe Inc. has launched a bill-payment function for its cash payment system that works with bar codes printed on billers’ statements.

Socialwise Inc. is furthering its promotion of its BillMyParents alternative payment system through its partnership with skateboarding star Rob Dyrdek.

Mitek Systems Inc. said it added two large banks to its roster of clients using its mobile check-deposit technology during the quarter ended March 31, as its market share in the category continues to grow.

First Data Corp. announced May 9 it has named Mark Herrington executive vice president of global product management and innovation, and appointed him to the company’s executive committee.

PayPal Inc. could lose a substantial amount of transaction revenue if pending caps on debit interchange are applied to the alternative payments company, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets said in a research note Thursday.

As U.S. Bancorp upgrades its mobile banking offerings, it is also stepping up its use of mobile data business intelligence to target sales and personalize customer service.

Despite a United Kingdom Office of Fair Trading investigation looking into the debit and credit card fees the country’s airlines charge, easyJet Airline Co. Ltd. continues to increase its debit card fees for flight bookings, PaymentsSource has learned.

Visa Inc. plans revisit its incentive agreements with issuing banks after the Federal Reserve Board finalizes its capped rate for debit card interchange this summer, executives for the card brand told analysts May 5 during a conference call to discuss fiscal second-quarter earnings.

U.S. merchants now may process magnetic stripe, e-commerce and EMV chip-and-PIN payments using Yespay International Ltd.’s cross-border payment service, the London-based company announced on May 4.

The National Payments Corp. of India has received permission to expand the scope of its interbank mobile funds-transfer service to include payments, the authority announced May 5.

When it comes to overdraft protection, Bank of America Corp. is learning customers really do want a say in the matter.

Cardtronics said this week TA Associates, the venture fund that financed the creation of the nation’s largest ATM operator, severed its ties with the company after it sold most of its shares, with Michael Wilson, managing director of the Boston investment firm, resigning from the Cardtronics board.