Payments

VeriFone Systems Inc. is taking its PayWare Mobile point-of-sale service outside the United States for the first time and is adding acceptance for EMV chip-and-PIN cards and Near Field Communication-enabled devices, the company announced Feb. 14 at Mobile World Congress in Spain.

The recession has caused consumers to change how they mentally account for money, including how they use credit cards, Susan Menke, vice president and behavioral economist at Mintel Comperemedia, noted during a recent Web seminar on consumer spending trends.

WASHINGTON – Traditional enemies credit unions and banks will mount a joint lobbying campaign this week as Congress weighs their pleas to save the lucrative revenues they earn from debit cards.

PayPal Inc. is pushing to expand use of mobile-wallet services as it stakes out its turf in the mobile-payments market, executives said Feb. 10 during a presentation at parent eBay Inc.’s analyst and investors day.

Vendors often tout their products in press releases and through other efforts seeking publicity. But sometimes they choose to keep things relatively low key.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers are expected to press the case of credit unions and community banks asking for the Federal Reserve to ease off proposed price restrictions on debit interchange during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee next week.

The ability to initiate payments with mobile phones has captured the imagination of many groups, including consumers, merchants, payment card brands and wireless carriers.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Pvt. bank has become the 10th bank in India to launch the Internet Mobile Payment Service in India, a spokesperson for the Karur-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

As the mobile-payments ecosystem continues to take shape, Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, is dipping its toe into the pool for the first time through a partnership with a Singapore-based trusted service manager for financial institutions, retailers, transit operators and mobile-service providers.

Telefónica O2 UK Ltd. is adding its name to a growing list of wireless carriers planning to launch Near Field Communication initiatives to enable consumers to use their smartphones to initiate payment at the point of sale.

French bank Crédit Agricole SA has selected Gemalto NV to support its deployment of Near Field Communication mobile-payment services in Nice, the France-based technology provider announced Feb. 8.

Two apps are better than one when launching mobile check-deposit services, at least for now, some banks say.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank Pvt. bank has become the 10th bank in India to launch the Internet Mobile Payment Service in India, a spokesperson for the Karur-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Sage Payment Solutions Inc. hopes to capture a new group of retail customers with the launch of a mobile service that provides small and midsize merchants lacking storefronts a low-cost option to accept credit and debit cards, the company announced Feb. 7.

Seeking to cater to its consumers who do not have Apple Inc. iPhones or Google Inc. Android smartphones, TD Bank NA last week launched a mobile-banking application for Research In Motion Inc.’s BlackBerry devices.

SAN FRANCISCO – Visa said last week it will allow merchants to offer discounts or other incentives to steer customers to a particular form of payment, including to a specific network brand or to any card product, such as a “non-reward” Visa credit card, under terms of its settlement of an antitrust suit brought by the U.S. Justice Department.

Zumogo, ProPay Inc.’s new social-media payment tool for mobile phones, leaves out vital information that ProPay says some competitors leave in.

In yet another sign 2011 promises to include an avalanche of Near Field Communication-related announcements, LG Corp. is jumping on the bandwagon. That should shock no one, one analyst contends.

CashEdge Inc. is linking to NYCE Payments Network LLC to allow for real-time person-to-person payments.

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Space Coast CU and the Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon are partnering for a running-themed VISA debit card featuring a group of runners competing in the 2010 Melbourne Marathon Weekend, timed to coincide with the annual race being held this weekend.