Payment processing

Payments processing giant First Data reported this morning that debt service incurred from its huge 2007 takeover by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. continues to create big losses–$1.02 billion for 2010–even as lucrative fees earned from debit interchange are helping stem the red ink.

In the mobile banking business, a one-size-fits-all approach just doesn't cut it, as Firethorn Holdings LLC found out.

A boost in payments processing and demand for technology outsourcing from banks helped Jack Henry & Associates Inc. raise its fiscal second-quarter revenue by 15% from a year earlier to $242.6 million.

SafetyPay Inc. will provide JetPay LLC with a worldwide payment platform that provides additional value and access to a suite of alternative payment options, Coy Lynch, JetPay vice president, noted in Feb. 1 press release announcing the companies’ partnership.

Several groups are continuing to push for a pan-European EMV smart card to compete with cards sponsored by Visa Europe and MasterCard Worldwide. But whether a new card scheme actually will emerge remains as murky as when the efforts first were launched several years ago.

An underdeveloped, diverse and fragmented Indian payments market represents an opportunity for companies to help bring stability to that market, a new report from Mercator Advisory Group suggests.

Companies providing payment gateways, loyalty programs, and authorization and related services for Visa-branded transactions have improved their compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, Visa Inc. announced Jan. 27.

Prepaid card processor FNDS3000 Corp. has closed on a $500,000 private placement, the second scheduled portion of a $2.5 million, non-brokered equity financing agreement entered into in October and led by Sherington Holdings LLC, the Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.-based company announced Jan. 31.

This story was updated from its original version.

Fawry Banking & Payment Technology Services Ltd. has signed a partnership deal with online prepaid payment provider cashU Inc. to support over-the-air reloading of cashU card accounts, the two Egypt-based companies announced Jan. 27.

For nearly every sales force in nearly every industry, selling based on price can be a losing game; someone is always willing to sell for less.

That Apple Inc. is targeting mobile payments is a foregone conclusion, but that doesn't mean banks must take a defensive approach.

Various terminal makers have come out with their own devices and services designed to support payment card acceptance using mobile phones. But one independent sales organization has decided to do so on its own, and at least one observer says the company could succeed with the proper marketing.

The PCI Security Standards Council is seeking to broaden the scope of industry participation as it empanels its third set of new advisory board members since the initial board convened in 2007.

North Alabama Bank will use ACH Federal’s automated clearinghouse processing services to support its business customers, ACH Federal announced Jan. 26.

Barclaycard and wireless-network operator Everything Everywhere Ltd. this summer plan to launch the United Kingdom’s first contactless mobile-payment system, the companies announced Jan. 27.

For the second consecutive year, North American online merchants improved their fraud-management performance, demonstrating they can counter crooks’ efforts when using appropriate fraud-prevention systems, new research suggests.

NuVision Networks Corp. has upgraded its campus card program suite to enable students and faculty to order from participating local shops online using their card’s closed-loop prepaid account, the company announced Jan. 25.

Mobile banking in rural India received a huge push this month with the country’s two biggest banks signing agreements with the two largest mobile-network operators in India for the launch of mobile platforms designed to bring banking services to more consumers.

A panel within the Reserve Bank of India formed in April has released recommendations for fighting ATM, POS and online fraud.