Payment processing

Acculynk Inc. has worked over the past two years to position its PaySecure product as the standard for Internet PIN-debit transactions. It now plans to bring the same payment technology to smartphones.

U.S. Bancorp had expected to wait to see how other financial institutions reacted to recent legislative and policy changes that have or will affect revenue before deciding on the course of action it takes.

Merchant processor Chase Paymentech LLC’s new Safetech Fraud and Security Solutions suite of services will rely on VeriFone Systems Inc.’s VeriShield Protect product for advanced encryption services, VeriFone announced Jan. 19.

American Express Co. is closing customer-service centers in Madrid, Spain, and in Greensboro, N.C., because the locations have become too understaffed to maintain, the New York-based company announced Jan. 19.

Starbucks Corp.’s Grande-sized mobile payments trial has gone Venti.

Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC has rolled out a suite of services called Safetech Fraud and Security Solutions, the New York-based merchant-processing unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced Jan. 18.

Gemalto NV is participating in a Near Field Communication payment pilot in Japan that launches this quarter, the France-based technology provider announced Jan. 18.

Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC has agreed to supply ATM and debit card transaction processing and other services to six credit unions, the Cincinnati-based processor announced Jan. 18.

Citing improved credit quality and higher overall purchase volume, Citigroup Inc. on Jan. 18 reported a $623 million profit for its Citi-branded credit card operation for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31; the unit reported a $51 million loss during the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 71%, to $4.07 billion from $2.38 billion.

MasterCard Worldwide will be the exclusive brand of the Transport for London’s Oyster card wallet as the international card brand hopes to raise consumer awareness of its PayPass contactless-payment service, MasterCard announced Jan. 17.

Global Payments Inc. will provide multi-currency processing services to merchants in the United States and Canada through a deal with Planet Payment Inc., the Atlanta-based merchant processor announced Jan. 18.

Punjab & Sind Bank Ltd. has awarded a contract to HCL Infosystems Ltd. to provide smart card technology support for a rural financial-inclusion project, according to a regulatory filing by the state-owned bank.

UniCredit Group has awarded GmbH a three-year contract to supply electronic-payment services for banks in UniCredit’s international banking network, the Germany-based technology provider announced Jan. 17. The contract took effect Jan. 1.

Discover Financial Services' execution of its long-expected "mobile wallet" will define its role in mobile commerce, a future where consumers make contactless payments with their cell phones and receive wireless deals as they enter stores. "Unlike existing mobile technologies that are transactional in nature, the mobile wallet truly facilitates mobile commerce," predicts Gloria Colgan, Discover's svp of emerging payments.

Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, for the first time is extending health care payment services to Puerto Rico through an arrangement with Paytech Corp., a Puerto Rico-based e-commerce transaction processor, the two companies announced Jan. 13.

Fleet card provider and processor Wright Express Corp., which over the past few years has focused on building an international presence, is setting its sights on new regional opportunities, including Latin America, Mike Dubyak, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, tells PaymentsSource.

First Data Corp.’s decision to consolidate its merchant and card-issuer processing operations could help the payments company trim costs and better seize opportunities stemming from pending debit card regulation, analysts said Jan. 13.

Compliance with Payment Card Industry data-security standards is a top concern among smaller merchants, but many remain unaware of the scope of their potential liability regarding data breaches and are unclear on specific requirements, new survey data released Jan. 12 suggest.

WASHINGTON – In a rulemaking process turned upside down, credit unions and community banks exempt from the Federal Reserve Board’s proposal limiting debit card interchange fees are dominating the comment process, while the big institutions coming under the rule have yet to weigh in (see story).

Pitney Bowes Inc., perhaps best known for manufacturing postage-meter machines, has created a free online bill-payment system designed to help consumers not only to receive, view and pay bills, but also to manage other important financial communications.