Retailers

Consumers weary of shuffling through various credit cards to get the best rewards could get relief from a new service that automates the selection of the proper card.

The long-time leaders in manufacturing payment terminals are adapting to respond to the likes of Square Inc., which this month said that some 2 million individuals and small businesses are using its dongle and mobile application to accept cards using smartphones.

SAN FRANCISCO–Sometimes Jack Dorsey doesn't even have to show up to be the guest of honor.

A fresh rumor that Apple Inc.'s next iPhone will include Near Field Communication is producing more yawns than gasps.

PayPal Inc. announced a 'bug bounty' program, an update to the process it uses to solicit bug reports from security researchers.

Mobile wallet mania is experiencing another surge that some consider overblown.

The credit card tech provider Paynet Systems has added a tool to its Credit Card Machine app that allows merchants to request reviews on social media at the end of a transaction.

Views appear mixed on whether PCI compliance matters with mobile payment dongles, but one independent sales organization says adherence to the data-security standard is a no-brainer.

MasterCard, with a headcount of 6,700, is taking some of its cues in mobile payments from the likes of PaidPiper, a six-month-old company with just 10 employees. The card network is relying in part on ideas from the start-up to design its software tools for developers in mobile payments.

The Girl Scout troops are once again proving to be an ideal test case for mobile card acceptance.

A California-based start-up that enables children to manage and spend funds within a parent-controlled environment has updated its system to support monthly subscriptions to games, music and other digital media.

Consumers are increasingly using payment cards at vending machines, and the owners of the devices are reaping the benefits through higher ticket sales and increased transaction volume.

Square has shut out independent sales organizations as distributors of its mobile card reader. Now one ISO has gone on the offensive by offering its own.

Turning a phone into a credit card reader is no longer anything special. Square, facing increasing competition from bigger rivals, is adding features to its small plastic card reader to make it a more fleshed-out product for merchants.

A Denver-based start-up that began by offering Facebook credits as rewards is adding a proprietary prepaid card to create another redemption option and to help expand the program's marketing potential.

Somehow, the developers of O2's mobile wallet found a small village in Wales that did not have even one cash machine available for its 11,000 residents. O2 gave the village a "money makeover."

For international travelers, a new pact between a Citigroup Hong Kong unit and Planet Payment Inc. should take the mystery out of currency exchange rates on a purchase-by-purchase basis.

Consider it the beginning of the Next Generation for Card Express Inc. — literally. Launched in 1995 by Alan Safahi as a prepaid card provider supporting corporate cards, CardEx soon plans to venture into the consumer market. And Safahi's son, Sean, will lead the initiative as the firm's new CEO.

It may soon get a lot easier to take payment systems designed for the information superhighway and use them on real-world streets, according to a Canadian company that specializes in parking transactions.

If consumers embrace a system in which they pay for coffee at Starbucks with their smartphones, will they do the same for Whoppers at Burger King?