Retailers

By upgrading its compliance-reporting software, ControlScan Inc. plans to save independent sales organizations and merchant acquirers time and money when helping small-business merchants remain compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the data-security program provider announced Dec. 2.

Citigroup Inc.’s lucrative partnership with American Airlines is widely expected to weather the carrier’s bankruptcy process.

Casio Computer Co. Ltd. plans to make available in February a handheld payment terminal designed for public employees who need to take card payments and provide printed receipts, the electronic devices manufacturer announced Dec. 1.

Payment card-based merchant-funded incentives are saturating the market, leading observers to predict market consolidation among service providers could occur soon.

Opportunities for new business are arising in Canada’s acquiring market as independent sales organizations work to develop an ISO model there, according to a report released last week by Maynard, Mass.-based Mercator Advisory Group Inc.

About 40% of the retailers and restaurant operators that sign up for merchant services with United Bank Card Inc. are getting free point-of-sale systems as part of the deal.

The Salvation Army says it is too soon to know how effective Square Inc.’s mobile payment card reader might be in securing donations at its bell-ringer locations.

Dwolla Corp. is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its national rollout by permanently waiving its transaction fee for small-ticket purchases and funds transfers.

The first round of testing ended Nov. 30 for the acquiring industry’s new Certified Payments Professional credential, and at least one candidate found the exam “appropriately difficult.”

When the hassle of managing phone calls for an inside sales team becomes severe enough, independent sales organizations and other businesses often seek the help of a third party.

Commuters in Dubai earlier this week became the first in the United Arab Emirates to be able to use one card across public transport systems and for retail purchases at stores, supermarkets and restaurants.

Acquirers representing merchants such as coffee shops and quick-service restaurants may be paying more in interchange for some small-ticket transactions under the Federal Reserve Board’s reduced debit rates than they are for cards exempt from the new rate cap, notes an attorney who frequently deals with clients in the payments industry.

A cybercrook attempting to purchase online products with fake credit cards or under a phony name likely would not be able to hide from a Retail Decisions Ltd. fraud-protection upgrade designed to enable merchants to know where their online shoppers are located, the fraud prevention consulting and payment processing firm announced Nov. 28.

Attention-to-detail skills have become an even more prominent part of a job description for a merchant acquirer or independent sales organization dealing with the most recent demands of a complex payments industry.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday were robust for retailers, which could translate into a profitable start to the holidays for cyber criminals as well, a data security expert suggests.

Starbucks Corp. plans to ride the U.S. success of its in-store mobile-payment method by introducing the application to customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Jan. 5, the Seattle-based company announced Nov. 24.

Air New Zealand has launched a smart prepaid card that supports MasterCard PayPass contactless functionality, the airline announced Nov. 22.

South Korea’s telecommunication regulator is partnering with mobile-phone operators and card networks in a pilot to test a Near Field Communication-based mobile-payment system on the country’s busiest shopping street.

Microsoft Corp. insists the online service associated with the Xbox 360 video-game console did not experience a security breach despite some United Kingdom consumers who say they fell victim to a phishing scam tied to the system.

Soon, even unbanked consumers can accept payment cards.