Payment processing

Visa Inc.’s devotion to signature-based contactless transactions has caused one large retailer to take a stand against the card network, and it also poses an obstacle to adoption of EMV cards in the United States, says an industry analyst.

Global Payments Inc.’s North American merchant-services revenue grew 10.5% during the payment processor’s second quarter. ISOs largely drove the growth with their “strong performance ... as evidenced by U.S. transaction growth of 19%,” Paul Garcia, Global chairman and CEO, said during a conference call with analysts last week.

MasterCard Worldwide today announced the availability of a merchant data service called MasterCard Advisors Merchant Solutions.

Total online transactions and spending volume in the U.S. rose again during the recent holiday shopping season compared with a year earlier, while the average transaction amount fell for the second consecutive year, according to new data Chase Paymentech released Jan. 12.

U.S. Bancorp's merchant acquiring unit, Elavon, has started a hosted payment gateway it calls Fusebox.

Gemalto has increased its capital investment to become the majority shareholder in mobile-payments firm Netsize, the company announced Tuesday. Amstercam-based Gemalto has an option to buy the company at a later date, but it did not disclose terms of the transaction.

The fee structure of eBay Inc.’s Bill Me Later instant credit service might violate a consumer-protection law in California, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP alleges. The Seattle-based law firm last week said it filed a lawsuit against the San Jose, Calif.-based company on behalf of consumers and is seeking class-action status.

Mophie, a Paw Paw, Mich.-based provider of technology accessory products such as smartphone batteries, last week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas unveiled details regarding its payment card reader for Apple Inc.’s iPhone (see story) , according OhGizmo.com, a technology blog.

Two point-of-sale terminal makers on Jan. 11 announced product updates. Ingenico S.A. says its new iSC350 payment terminal can display full-motion video on its consumer-facing screen with stereo sound.

Does the world need another automated clearing house processor?

Warning that the weak U.S. economy will continue to drag down consumer spending this year, Wells Fargo & Co. issued a blanket downgrade of the transaction processing segment.

Large retailers’ efforts to attract more business are adversely affecting transaction fee revenue at Global Payments Inc., the processor said Jan. 7 when announcing its earnings for its fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30, 2009.

3Delta Systems Inc. has become a participant in a merchant-services referral deal for the 19,000 members of the National Association of Credit Management, Chantilly, Va.-based 3Delta announced last week.

PSCU Financial Services this week reported a record year for debit and credit card transactions processed despite the economy and the turmoil in the nation’s financial markets.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. and Visa Inc. on Jan. 8 announced they have reached a settlement agreement in which Heartland will pay up to $60 million to Visa Inc. card issuers for damages sustained from the 2008 breach into the payment processor’s network.

Visa Inc. is expressing disappointment that Best Buy Co. recently decided to stop accepting its contactless payWave cards. But Visa on Jan. 8 noted the retailer continues to accept Visa contactless and traditional payment cards as magnetic-stripe transactions.

Ingenico SA on Jan. 7 joined its peers in the payment terminal-manufacturing industry in offering merchants enhanced data-security support throughout the transaction process.

VeriFone Holdings Inc. announced yesterday it will deploy its taxi payment terminals in South Africa through an agreement with iMobilise Transportation Systems, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based point-of-sale terminal maker.

The share price of MasterCard Inc. fell Thursday after the company was downgraded.

PowerPay, a provider of e-commerce and point-of-sale payment-processing products, will offer to its customers a terminal from Transaction Wireless, a mobile-commerce and marketing provider, under an agreement between the companies announced this week.