Retailers

Fifth Third Processing Solutions LLC is weighing its next steps as the merchant processor nears its one-year anniversary as a joint venture between Fifth Third Bancorp and Advent International Corp., a Boston-based investment firm.

Criminals increasingly are using prepaid cards to replace cash, and payment organizations should understand the risks associated with the trend, Susan Smith, senior trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, told attendees last week at the Electronic Transactions Association Annual Meeting and Expo in Las Vegas.

VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s upcoming VX point-of-sale terminals will be upgradeable to future Payment Card Industry security standards, the terminal maker says.

Though some merchants experienced severe financial difficulties during the recession and some went out of business, many others made prudent business decisions and scaled back spending to remain operational, Glenn S. Goldman, president and CEO of Capital Access Network Inc., told ISO&Agent Weekly last week at the Electronic Transactions Association Annual Meeting and Expo in Las Vegas.

Hypercom Corp. plans to use its new point-of-sale products for use with Apple Inc.’s iPhone not only to reach mobile merchants but also to target brick-and-mortar retailers that want to expedite client purchases and avoid long lines at sales registers, Stuart Taylor, Hypercom vice president of global solutions and marketing, told ISO&Agent Weekly last week at the Electronic Transactions Association Annual Meeting and Expo in Las Vegas.

Discover Financial Services has expanded acceptance of its cards at merchant locations in the United States to its satisfaction after opening its network to third-party acquirers in 2007. The company’s goal now is to raise merchants’ awareness that they can accept Discover cards and to expand operations globally, says Gerry Wagner, Discover vice president of global acceptance.

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council will update all three of its standards this year, and it eventually may place all on a three-year update cycle, says Bob Russo, the council’s general manager.

The potential to outfit 1.5 million vending machines with payment card readers has enticed Apriva, a wireless payment-services company, to start Apriva Vend, a cashless-payment service, the company announced today.

Convenience-store operators this month are launching a fresh campaign for interchange-rate reform with an interactive, animated Web video designed to explain to consumers how credit and debit card interchange fees hurt them economically.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has a new bank-sponsor agreement with Bancorp Bank of Wilmington, Del.

VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s upcoming VX point-of-sale terminals will be upgradeable to future Payment Card Industry security standards, the terminal maker says.

Though some merchants experienced severe financial difficulties during the recession and some went out of business, many others made prudent business decisions and scaled back spending to remain operational, Glenn S. Goldman, president and CEO of Capital Access Network Inc., told PaymentsSource this week at the Electronic Transactions Association Annual Meeting and Expo in Las Vegas.

Hoping to take advantage of what it says is a growing popularity of ‘virtual’ gift cards that use card numbers but no plastic, gift card processor TenderCard is offering independent sales organizations the ability to sell merchants Giftango Corp.’s virtual gift card system.

Why are best practices so important to ISOs? For many, they are an effective means to ensure uniformity and help increase visibility into company operations to ease merchant concerns.

Acculynk Inc., which enables merchants to accept PIN-debit purchases online, is broadening its offerings to include online card processing and is making its products available for resale through ISOs, the company announced last week.

Newtek Business Services Inc., a small-business services company, once again is a preferred vendor to the more than 200 car dealers belonging to the General Motors Minority Dealers Association, New York-based Newtek announced this week.

Pricing is a top consideration for independent sales organizations when choosing processor and acquiring-bank partners, and many ISOs are not satisfied with their current relationships, according to a recent report from Aite Group LLC.

Acculynk Inc., which enables merchants to accept PIN-debit purchases online, is broadening its offerings to include online card processing and is making its products available for resale through independent sales organizations, the company announced Wednesday.

Hoping to extend its reach to mobile merchants, USA ePay, a payment gateway, this week launched a portable card-acceptance machine that connects to Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPod Touch products.

Adyen Inc., a Netherlands-based online payment gateway company, is expanding into the United States, the company announced April 5.