Payment processing

Two of Japan’s major contactless mass-transit payment card systems will become interoperable next year, significantly expanding the systems’ reach, Central Japan Railway Co. said on August 11.

Payment processor RBS WorldPay Inc. has class A certified Way Systems Inc.’s way5000 mobile point-of-sale device for use on its network.

Credit unions are expanding beyond Apple's iPhone to develop mobile banking applications for other devices, in particular those running the Google Android operating system.

Transaction Network Services Inc. said last week that it will supply gateway services for Continental Airlines Inc. to process payments for reservations made online.

MasterCard Inc. Thursday fired what analysts say is the next shot in the payments industry’s battle to gain ground in the burgeoning e-commerce market with its planned $520 million purchase of DataCash Group PLC.

Visa Inc.’s most recent statistics of merchant compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard shows that 100% of the largest U.S. merchants—those processing more than 1 million annual Visa transactions—have validated their point-of-sale systems as not storing prohibited data.

Checks may be getting an extended life now that financial institutions are developing and rolling out mobile remote-deposit capture technology as part of their mobile-banking applications, observers say.

MasterCard Inc. on Thursday said it agreed to buy London payments technology developer DataCash Group PLC for $520 million in a move aimed at growing its e-commerce presence.

Banks' budgets for technology spending are loosening, but the overall sales environment is a "mixed bag," Jack Henry & Associates Inc.'s top executive said Wednesday on an earnings conference call.

Online Resources Corp. said it has signed up more than 40 utilities for its bill payment services in the past six months.

Certain definitions within new Internal Revenue Service rules requiring payment processors and merchant acquirers to track merchants’ transactions and report them to the IRS beginning next year are creating additional hassles, some industry observers say.

Mitek Systems Inc. on Aug. 18 announced it has received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its mobile remote-deposit capture application.

The city government of Hong Kong recently ordered officials for Octopus Cards Ltd to cooperate with an investigation surrounding the inappropriate sharing of customer data related to a rewards program for mass-transit fare-payment cards, according to local media reports.

Legions of potential investors want to buy a piece of the merchant-acquiring business, but most independent sales organizations would prefer not to sell. Both camps appear to believe the industry represents a safe haven in hard times and promising opportunities during a recovery.

Acculynk Inc. Aug. 17 announced that the NetWorks Inc. electronic funds transfer network would support the company’s Internet PIN-debit payment service.

Using a payments technology company's transaction gateway service, some merchants and product makers are creating promotions that can be tied to such details as an item's stock-keeping unit or serial number.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. announced Friday that its Brazilian joint venture with Banco Bradesco SA has entered a 10-year deal to provide processing and other services for the banking company.

The Internal Revenue Service on Aug. 13 released its rules for how acquirers and processors should report their merchants’ credit, debit and gift card transactions to the agency beginning next year.

A point-of-sale breach disclosed this week at an Austin, Texas, restaurant only affects that restaurant, says Heartland Payment Systems Inc., the restaurant’s payment processor.

Hoping to build on its solid foundation in Europe and Latin America, SafetyPay Inc. this month announced plans to test its online payment platform in the U.S. through a retail pilot program.