Retailers

German payments processor B&S Card Service GmbH plans to implement Payware TCS, a software-management component of VeriFone System Inc.’s Paymedia Universal Acceptance Platform, to manage applications centrally on merchant payment terminals, VeriFone announced Feb. 28.

Fresh off working with Google Inc. in merchant pilots testing its mobile wallet last year, VeriFone Systems Inc. says it is ready to expand its own wallet-acceptance service and software to all wallet providers, mobile networks and merchants.

Details trickling out about new monthly network-participation fees Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide plan to charge merchant acquirers hint at complex negotiations going on behind the scenes.

For a digital wallet to work, the merchant’s point-of-sale system should have the same applications as the phone supporting the wallet. To ensure that consistency, VeriFone Systems Inc. says its Paymedia universal acceptance platform will make that connection regardless of wallet provider or mobile network, the terminal maker announced Feb. 26.

Ingenico S.A. has taken a controlling interest in Roam Data of Boston, the payments hardware company announced Feb. 23.

This story was updated from its original version.

This story has been updated to correct an earlier error.

If an online merchant or bank composed a fraud-prevention wish list, it likely would have two important factors right at the top: Confirm the customer is actually who he says he is, and make sure the device he is using to access our website matches his profile and hasn’t been used in previous fraud attempts.

More winners and losers are beginning to emerge from new debit card network-routing rules that go into effect April 1.

Some online merchants in Europe purchase payment-processing and fraud-protection services from as many as five vendors to get a reliable system in place. As such, trimming that complicated process down to one service provider potentially could both cut merchant costs and provide greater flexibility and control.

China UnionPay, China’s national card network, soon may launch a mobile card-acceptance device similar to the one Square and other companies have launched in the U.S., according to local media reports.

As more merchants store credit card data in the virtual servers of cloud-based payment systems, the challenge for security providers is to keep the data safe.

At first glance, it comes across as a potential no-win situation.

Independent sales organizations now may offer merchants a security package that combines breach protection, consulting services and software that scans computers for unprotected card data.

The rise of e-commerce is creating a new kind of global merchant–the small to midsize business that sells and ships products anywhere in the world. And those retailers are looking to ISOs for guidance.

Industry analysts have called 2012 a possible “breakthrough year” in the payments industry for Near Field Communication technology.

United Kingdom homewares retailer Lakeland will offer customers contactless card and mobile payments through a partnership with Barclaycard and Visa Europe.

As the newest member of the InComm Inc. family, Medagate Corp. hopes to reach more retailers and expand its restricted-spend prepaid card platform beyond health care and into everyday products.

In what industry analysts view as the first major salvo in what could be a series of post-Durbin fee shakeups, merchant acquirers should learn soon the details of Visa Inc.’s new fixed acquirer network-participation fee.

A taxi organization in the South African city of Cape Town could become the country’s first taxi operator to introduce a fare-payment system that accepts prepaid smart cards along with cash.