Retailers

Many indicators from financial institutions, consumers and merchants suggest the United States payments industry is ready to adopt EMV chip-and-PIN technology, a new report suggests.

Ingenico SA early Monday plans to announce its reaction to a nonbinding stock offer to buy the payment-terminal maker in a deal whose value could approach 1.34 billion euros (US$1.9 billion). The France-based company would not say who made the bid.

Russian credit cardholders will spend 10% more this month on their holiday spending compared with what they spent last December, ZAO Citibank predicts in a Dec. 13 report.

Henry Gaillard, senior vice president of global operations at point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp., has resigned from the company, effective Dec. 13.

The 258 McDonald’s restaurants in Russia now accept bankcards, the fast-food provider’s acquirer Russian Standard Bank announced Dec. 13.

Merchant cash-advance company AmeriMerchant LLC says the hundreds of merchant-services sales offices working with transaction processor First Data Corp. will have an easier time selling AmeriMerchant’s services through an agreement announced Dec. 14.

Consumers again are spending with their credit cards to purchase discounted goods early in the holiday season, suggests First Data Corp.’s November SpendTrend payment card transaction analysis of all store sales activity that First Data processes.

Payment Processing Technologies LLC has launched ISO Registration In A Box. The Warsaw, Ind.-based ISO, also known as PayProTec, says it designed the service to make it easier for independent sales offices to grow their businesses.

The allure of double-digit payment card transaction volume growth and recent deregulation have prompted Elavon Inc. and Credicard, a subsidiary of Citigroup Inc., to form a merchant acquiring joint venture in Brazil, Elavon announced last week.

Assurance Investment Partners Inc. has added merchant-processing services to the list of offerings to its clients with its investment in Veritas Merchant Services LLC, a Louisville, Ky.-based ISO, Assurance announced last week.

Vivotech, Monitise To Deliver NFC Mobile Payments In The U.S.

EMC Corp. has launched a consulting service designed to help prepare merchants to manage their payment-security needs, the Hopkington, Mass.-based security-technology company announced Dec. 15.

Voltage Security Inc. said that the online payment provider ClickandBuy International Ltd. would use its system to protect payment data.

Canadian consumers historically wait until two days before Christmas to make key holiday purchases, according to data from the Interac PIN-debit network and Acxsys Corp.

Visa Inc. has launched a mobile shopping application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone to enable holders of Visa cards to access various merchant discounts using their mobile phones, the card company reported on Dec. 14.

Consumer shopping in November reversed a five-month decrease in the average transaction size, transaction processor First Data Corp. notes in its November SpendTrend report.

Payment-terminal company RDM Corp. says Intuit Payment Solutions, a division of Intuit Inc., has certified its Synergy II payment terminal for use on Intuit’s National Check Deposit Network check-processing system.

Merchant-services company Newtek Business Services Inc. has become a member of Charge Anywhere LLC’s certified distributor program, South Plainfield, N.J.-based Charge Anywhere announced Dec. 7.

Assurance Investment Partners Inc. has added merchant-processing services to the list of offerings to its clients with its investment in Veritas Merchant Services LLC, a Louisville, Ky.-based independent sales organization, Assurance announced Dec. 8.

Assurance Investment Partners Inc. has added merchant-processing services to the list of offerings to its clients with its investment in Veritas Merchant Services LLC, a Louisville, Ky.-based independent sales organization, Assurance announced Dec. 8.