Retailers

For nearly every sales force in nearly every industry, selling based on price can be a losing game; someone is always willing to sell for less.

Between earnings pressures, looming regulatory changes and new technologies flooding the marketplace, today’s market can be a tough place for sales agents.

WEST DOVER, VT.–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 here at the Northeast Acquirers Association conference.

Despite consumer interest in alternative online payment products, credit cards still dominate the online-payments space. And they likely will continue to do so until merchants promote a broader array of alternative payment methods, according to Javelin Strategy and Research.

Processor Total System Services Inc., or TSYS, this afternoon reported fourth quarter net income of $51.6 million, down 18% from $62.9 million during the same period last year, Revenue was up 1.7%, to $440 million from $432.5 million.

Several issuers in the United Kingdom and Ireland recently announced plans to issue contactless cards usable at several major merchants. And while one observer says few consumers see the benefit of contactless payment, more European merchants, especially quick-service restaurants, have begun to accept contactless cards.

Citing increased consumer spending, American Express Co. is reporting fourth quarter net income of $1.1 billion, up 53.6% from $716 million during the same period in 2009. Total revenue net of interest expense rose 12.3%, to $7.3 billion from $6.5 billion, the company announced Jan. 24.

More consumers late last year chose to spend more when dining out, especially in less expensive restaurants, a new report on fourth quarter restaurant spending suggests.

As transaction volume for U.S.-based online merchants increased in 2010, so did the number of fraudulent attempts, which may mean merchants should reexamine their fraud-prevention systems to fend off potential attacks, new research suggests.

Neovia Financial PLC’s $50 million acquisition of Montreal-based Optimal Payments will provide Neovia with a “meaningful” presence in North America, the United Kingdom-based merchant processor announced Jan. 20.

First Data Corp.’s decision to consolidate its merchant and card-issuer processing operations could help the payments company trim costs and better seize opportunities stemming from pending debit card regulation, analysts said Jan. 13.

Compliance with Payment Card Industry data-security standards is a top concern among smaller merchants, but many remain unaware of the scope of their potential liability regarding data breaches and are unclear on specific requirements, new survey data released Jan. 12 suggest.

Hypercom Corp. has signed a deal with a German retail chain that will deploy 30,000 of its Artema Hybrid point-of-sale terminals over the next 30 months, the terminal maker announced Jan. 19.

Hypercom Corp. has signed a deal with a German retail chain that will deploy 30,000 of its Artema Hybrid point-of-sale terminals over the next 30 months, the terminal maker announced Jan. 19.

EBay Inc.’s payment unit, which includes PayPal Inc. and Bill Me Later, experienced a strong fourth quarter, eBay reported this afternoon.

The Indian capital city of New Delhi is testing a new, automated parking-management system that will accept payment cards from motorists either onsite or online, an official from the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure Centre tells PaymentsSource.

Manila’s two suburban rail networks are conducting a trial in the Philippines to test the use of a common contactless smart card for their commuters.

Within the United States, Ingenico S.A. already may be benefiting from the proposed merger between VeriFone Systems Inc. and Hypercom Corp., rival point-of-sale terminal makers.

Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC has rolled out a suite of services called Safetech Fraud and Security Solutions, the New York-based merchant-processing unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced Jan. 18.

Merchant-level salespeople who use POS Portal Inc. as their point-of-sale equipment distributor now have a mobile-phone tool that enables them to check the availability and wholesale pricing of devices, POS Portal announced Jan. 4.