Retailers

VeriFone Systems Inc. will provide EMV point-of-sale card-acceptance systems in the Caribbean to payments processor First Data Corp. in a deal the payment-terminal maker announced Oct. 31.

CHICAGO–Merchant acquirers, independent sales organizations and payment processors should become better “payment consultants” for their merchant clients and provide as much advice as possible regarding data security.

Independent sales organizations should concentrate on making their Internal Revenue Service reporting more efficient and merchant friendly instead of trying to turn it into a profit center, says a tax-compliance service provider.

Heartland Payment Systems reported favorable third-quarter earnings Oct. 27, but it is still too early to tell if its “Durbin Dollars” promotion is paying off, an analyst says.

Apriva LLC plans to launch a mobile wallet next month that could help independent sales organizations and agents stake their claim on part of the mobile-payments market.

Linkable Networks Inc. is putting a new spin on merchant-funded rewards with a system that enables consumers to link retail offers they see in various advertisements online, in print and on television directly to a credit or debit card account.

Bracing for the loss of some debit transactions as a result of new Federal Reserve rules requiring debit cards to carry at least two card network brands, Visa Inc. next year plans to ramp up a series of incentives for merchants and acquirers, Joe Saunders, Visa chairman and CEO, told analysts Oct. 26.

You can leave home without your American Express card now if you are heading to Neiman Marcus.

CHICAGO— The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition will launch a portal-based reporting system to help acquirers monitor and get rid of fraudulent online merchants, Robert Caldwell, founding partner of Bellevue, Wash.-based G2 Web Services, told attendees here Oct. 27 during an Electronics Transactions Association leadership summit.

CHICAGO–Google Inc., Isis and PayPal Inc. each are attempting to position their mobile wallets as the one consumers will prefer to use on their smartphones.

For toy store owner Buddy Wood, the one thing as familiar as Schwinn bicycles and Radio Flyer wagons is interchange. Wood has watched fees evolve in the four decades he has operated his family-owned store in Metairie, La.

An increase in transaction volume and new accounts fueled a small increase in third quarter revenue for Total Systems Services Inc., or TSYS, the company announced Oct. 25.

Taking mobile payments to new heights, MasterCard Worldwide soon will conduct a test of contactless-based payments at 30,000 feet, enabling passengers to purchase refreshments using its contactless PayPass technology aboard planes from WestJet, a Calgary, Alberta-based airline.

CHICAGO–The mobile-commerce market is littered with various wallet models, acceptance devices and applications, and this is forcing merchant-service providers to seek out ways to bring the elements together to help retailers maximize the channel’s potential, notes one mobile-payments executive.

All South Korean point-of-sale terminals now accept China UnionPay cards through a deal with South Korea’s BC Card Co., the companies announced Oct. 21.

ZAO Citibank has launched a free service that enables Moscow residents to pay their city real-estate, telephone and energy bills automatically by billing to their Citibank debit or credit card accounts, the Moscow-based company announced Oct. 17.

Accepting card payments with a mobile phone is becoming as American as baseball and apple pie now that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is selling the Square Inc. reader that turns any smartphone into a card-acceptance device.

Travelex Global Business Payments Inc. is using new software to offer an online payment program designed to save U.S. universities time and money by eliminating manual tracking when various exchange fees cause an international student’s payments to be less than what is owed, the Washington, D.C.-based company announced Oct. 13.

Google Wallet is riding on an active trend to connect retailer loyalty programs to mobile-payment systems.

When merchants fail to qualify for a cash advance because of bankruptcies, liens, foreclosures, credit scores below 550 or undesirable Standard Industrial Classification codes, independent sales organizations can turn to a handful of companies that specialize in the “decline” market.