Retailers

MasterCard is establishing a foundation for mobile wallets in Europe by requiring the continent's merchants to accept contactless payments by the end of the decade.

If you can't beat them, join them — and join them fast. The other mobile wallets that already exist on Apple's ecosystem, such as LevelUp and Softcard (formerly Isis), are quickly working to integrate with Apple Pay and the iPhone 6 rather than try to defeat them.

Apple has a long list of supporters for its new mobile wallet, including a few key companies that had already thrown their hats in with PayPal and MCX. Retailers' support of Apple makes NFC a more likely prospect for PayPal mobile payments going forward.

Yapital Financial AG in Luxembourg is integrating its cross-channel payment system into the platforms of VeriFone Systems and the Ingenico Group.

TransFirst Inc. has drawn interest from potential buyers including CVC Capital Partners Ltd. and Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, people familiar with the matter said.

Most ISOs don’t promote automated clearinghouse (ACH) payments to their merchants. In fact, if you asked a random salesperson in the payments industry to explain what an ACH payment is and how it works, you would most likely get an incorrect answer.

VeriFone is developing a number of uses for the video screens on its point of sale terminals, which can display advertising and other content.

The unveiling of the next iPhone is imminent, and with it Apple is expected to announce plans for a mobile payment system with the support of the major card networks, retailers and banks. But what, exactly, would go into such a system?

Merchant acquirers and processors are looking at a far different payments landscape in light of recent and anticipated developments from the Merchant Customer Exchange, Apple, Amazon.com and other companies.

Apriva says it has "future-proofed" its services for merchant acquirers by connecting to a digital currency gateway and developing a universal point of sale application that will handle upgrades on EMV-enabled terminals.

Lavu Inc. is taking its iPad-based point-of-sale system from the restaurant dining room into the hotel lobby through Lavu Hospitality.

Amazon has hired Visa executive Nick Talwar as general manager of Amazon Lending, according to a report in ReCode.

First Data India is leveraging Roam's mobile platform to launch its own branded chip-and-PIN mobile card reader in the country.

Merchants now operate in many channels, presenting challenges for merchant service providers to locate payments technology that's flexible, easy to deploy and ready to accommodate emerging security mandates.

Amazon's launch of a mobile card reader should force many mobile point of sale companies to reevaluate whether their own offerings are distinct enough to ensure their survival.

Square is seeking to gain about $200 million in funding, with part of that coming from the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, according to CNBC.

Sequent has patented a payment system that allows merchants to simultaneously accept several types of cards with a single tap of a mobile device at the physical point of sale, with the goal of making mobile wallets more user-friendly.

First Data has a number of payments initiatives planned for the next year in Brazil, where the mix of mobile and card adoption suggests big potential for electronic card payments.

By adding data analytics to its Square Register platform, Square Inc. says it is giving merchants of all sizes the kind of tools that larger retailers use to increase sales.

VeriFone is targeting a wide range of markets for its taxi and merchant applications. The company has reached an agreement with Bharti Airtel Group in Africa and, separately, entered taxi payment deals in Turkey and Mexico.