Retailers

SAN DIEGO–A future fraught with change is coming into focus, with electronic messages replacing merchants’ ads in the local Gazette, mobile payments proliferating and even the smallest retailers getting an affordable opportunity to link the point of sale to inventory replenishment.

SAN DIEGO–No one has brandished a crystal ball, but payment-terminal makers here this week at the ETA Annual Meeting & Expo still have had plenty to say about the future.

There are now several companies offering merchant-funded rewards programs that could help banks compensate for the loss of payment card revenue to tightening regulation. Only one has a name that's almost certain to grab consumers' attention: FreeMonee.

In launching its own digital wallet, Visa Inc. says its size will help it succeed in a market where many established payment companies have learned the hard way that bigger is not always better.

The PIN pad-tampering attack Michaels Stores Inc. revealed earlier this month is far more widespread than it originally believed, affecting at least 90 payment terminals in stores in 20 states, the retailer announced May 11.

Despite the buzz surrounding mobile-banking services, a relatively few consumers use them on a regular basis, though nearly half are familiar with them, new research suggests.

Despite the buzz surrounding mobile-banking services, a relatively few consumers use them on a regular basis, though nearly half are familiar with them, new research suggests.

Online Resources Corp. remains an appealing target for acquisition, analysts say, despite posting a first-quarter loss and being ordered by a court to pay $5.3 million to its founder.

Users in India of the online funds-transfer and payment service offered by U.S.-based PayPal Inc. face additional hurdles when making transactions, according to a notice the eBay Inc. unit released May 9.

Executives at Global Cash Access Holdings Inc. see positive market trends ahead, but they believe the road to recovery for the provider of cash-access and related card and ATM services to casinos will be bumpy.

SecurityMetrics Inc. has introduced SecurityMetrics Vision, a network-threat sensor designed to help small merchants secure their business networks and comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, the company announced May 9.

Giving card issuers a potential new venue to tap small business mobile payments at the point of sale by selling speed, Intuit this week is demonstrating new renovations its GoPayment mobile service to eliminate the card readers that merchants attach to their mobile devices to execute card payments.

Visa Inc. is working with several banks to roll out a digital wallet service in the U.S. and Canada this fall that will let consumers make payments with Visa and non-Visa cards.

Merrick Bank Corp. has signed on to offer Secure Vault Payments to merchants through its ISO network, and sources say the fledgling payment method may become available to 17 million consumers before the end of this month and to 50 million by year’s end.

American Express Co. is working with Boston-based LevelUp on a pilot with Levi Strauss & Co. Levi’s stores in three major U.S. cities during which cardholders may receive statement credits by using a smartphone application that supports discounts for shopping at the clothing retailer.

Stronger demand for its payment terminals in certain emerging markets helped Hypercom Corp. produce higher-than-expected first-quarter revenues, according to analysts, as the company draws closer to its planned acquisition later this year by VeriFone Systems Inc.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve is planning to amend its proposal to cap debit fees at a higher rate, setting a compromise in the heated controversy between merchants and banks and credit unions while at the same time threatening efforts by banks and credit unions to delay implementation of the rule.

While restaurants experienced a slight increase, small and mid-sized brick-and-mortar merchants experienced a 3.09% decline in overall credit and signature-debit card sales during the first quarter ended March 31. This marked the 14th consecutive quarterly decline, new research suggests.

VeriFone Systems Inc., the nation's largest maker of point of sale terminals, is introducing a new one that could make it as easy for merchants to accept alternative payments as it is to take Visa or MasterCard.

PayNearMe Inc. has launched a bill-payment function for its cash payment system that works with bar codes printed on billers’ statements.