Retailers

Despite growth in Germany’s e-commerce market within the past year, Deutsche Card Services GmbH, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank Group AG, believes merchants should support multiple languages on their websites to attract international customers and enable Germany to compete better with other European e-commerce merchants.

PIN-debit payments initiated online slowly, but steadily, are gaining traction in the marketplace as several companies have introduced products intended to bring more security to online transactions.

Electronic Payment Systems LLC, a Denver-based independent sales organization, says a federal judge has ruled that it owns a toll-free number now used by approximately 515,000 merchants processing with TSYS Acquiring Solutions.

Weiss & Lurie says it is examining the proposed sale of Hypercom Corp. to VeriFone Systems Inc. for legal issues. The New York-based firm says it is looking at “possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by members of the board of directors of Hypercom.”

PayPal Inc.’s impending move into face-to-face transactions enabled by VeriFone Systems Inc. mobile point-of-sale terminals has the eBay unit developing a reseller program, Laura Chambers, PayPal senior director of mobile, tells ISO&Agent Weekly.

Through its acquisitions, VeriFone Systems Inc. soon could become the largest terminal maker in the world. On Nov. 17, the San Jose, Calif.-based company announced an all-stock purchase of its rival Hypercom Corp. valued at $485 million, including net debt VeriFone would assume. This is a step up from the $280 million hostile bid VeriFone made public in September.

Sales agents, and some ISOs, that consider their no-risk status as an exemption from being on the hook for merchant charge-backs, fines, fees, rejected automated clearinghouse transactions and other merchant losses may be surprised to find that many agent agreement often find ways to hold some agents liable for some merchant losses.

Discover Financial Services is still struggling to reach “the last mile” of full U.S. merchant acceptance as many retail locations fall short in promoting the brand at the point of sale, Roger Hochschild, Discover president and chief operating officer, told analysts on Nov. 16.

VeriFone Systems Inc. is getting a marketing boost for its iPhone payment card reader through a new partnership with the Atlanta processor Elavon.

Through its acquisitions, VeriFone Systems Inc. soon could become the largest terminal maker in the world.

PayPal Inc.’s Oct. 26 announcement that its transactions would be integrated into VeriFone Systems Inc.’s mobile point-of-sale product after Jan. 1 is a clear sign PayPal wants to move beyond e-commerce transactions, observers say (see story).

VeriFone Systems Inc. and Hypercom Corp. have set aside their differences, announcing this morning an agreement in which VeriFone will acquire the competing point-of-sale terminal maker in an all-stock transaction valued at $485 million, including net debt VeriFone would assume.

Discover Financial Services is still struggling to reach “the last mile” of full U.S. merchant acceptance as many retail locations fall short in promoting the brand at the point of sale, Roger Hochschild, Discover president and chief operating officer, told analysts on Nov. 16.

First American Payment Systems LP has signed Lenoir, N.C.-based Parkway Bank as its 26th referral-bank partner, the Fort Worth, Texas-based independent sales organization announced Nov. 9.

In detecting merchant fraud, sometimes less is more.

Call it the ISO’s lament. Forced to squabble over a shrinking pool of customers in a price-oriented marketplace, merchant-service providers say they are slashing margins and scrambling for ways to differentiate their offerings.

Online merchants using CyberSource Corp., a unit of Visa Inc., for their online payment processing will be able to use Trustwave’s security-assessment services, Trustwave announced Nov. 11.

PayPal Inc.’s impending move into face-to-face transactions enabled by VeriFone Systems Inc. mobile point-of-sale terminals has the eBay unit developing a reseller program, Laura Chambers, PayPal senior director of mobile, tells PaymentsSource.

Why so many ISOs, acquirers, and point-of-sale software and hardware makers are excited about putting advanced mobile POS equipment into merchants’ hands is not difficult to grasp. Such systems may generate additional revenue not only from existing clients, but also possibly from merchants who previously could not or would not accept payment cards.

ISOs can differentiate themselves–or at least keep up with the competition–by offering merchants value-added business-to-business services that track payroll, inventory and marketing. B2B services sometimes earn ISOs a profit, but often they serve as loss leaders.