Retailers

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

First Data Corp. plans to support the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed new debit interchange rules with a two-tiered pricing structure for its Star PIN-debit network, and it expects slow but steady revenue growth ahead, company executives told analysts Feb. 2.

Visa Inc. is furthering its e-commerce strategy by buying a payment platform for online games.

Visa Inc. no longer will require merchants outside the U.S. to annually validate their compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard if three-fourths of their transactions comply with the EMV chip-and-PIN standard, the network announced Feb. 9.

U.S. Bancorp’s Elavon Inc. merchant-processing unit has Class B-certified Hypercom Corp.’s SPOS32 EMV payment software on Hypercom’s T4200 and M4200 payment devices in Canada, the Phoenix-based terminal maker announced Feb. 9.

Merchants using direct marketing services from Marketing Architects Inc. will be able to determine faster whether a consumer’s payment card is valid through a new authorization service the company is using from VeriFi Inc.

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.

Technology is driving down the rate of fraud for banks, though the cost to consumers for identity theft crimes is going up.

Maas Global Solutions Corp. has become the exclusive processor for Pride Payments Network LLC after making a “significant investment” in the merchant acquiring independent sales organization, the companies announced Feb. 5

Discover Financial Services can check off another country in its plan to become a truly global card-acceptance brand.

As merchants crack down on fraud, resources to help investigate and recoup their losses from so-called “friendly fraud” are on the rise, helping to thwart the trend, observers say.

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

MasterCard Worldwide CEO Ajay Banga expressed concern about the effects of the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed debit-interchange rules, but he also sketched out various scenarios in which MasterCard may benefit during an analyst conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.

Continuing its expansion into newer payments-related territory, Visa Inc. intends to focus on increasing its presence in mobile payments, online commerce and funds transfers, Joseph W. Saunders told analysts during a conference call to discuss fiscal first-quarter earnings.

A test of an open transit payment card along a 14-mile commuter rail line near Philadelphia also will gauge the effectiveness of post-paying for transit rides.

Sports-graphics retailer Fathead LLC will use ModaSolutions Corp.’s online eBillme service as an option at checkout, the alternative payment provider announced Feb. 3.

Their silence on the Federal Reserve Board’s proposal to regulate debit card interchange rates could be counterproductive for independent sales organizations and merchant acquirers, Holli Targan, president of the Electronic Transactions Association, told attendees at the Northeast Acquirers Association conference last week in West Dover, Vt.

Various terminal makers have come out with their own devices and services designed to support payment card acceptance using mobile phones. But one ISO has decided to do so on its own, and at least one observer says the company could succeed with the proper marketing.

Commuters on the 14-mile-long rail line connecting Lindenwood, N.J., and Philadelphia would be able to use any contactless-payment card to access trains following a pilot Cubic Corp. announced Feb. 2.