Every couple weeks a new group of mainstream merchants and payments providers begins accepting Bitcoin, the popular and often controversial digital currency.

Payment cards can sometimes do more than just make purchases. Some pack in odd functions; others are high-tech takes on the aging magnetic-stripe card.

Cash transaction provider PayNearMe is among the growing list of payment companies that are anxiously awaiting the higher volume of transactions that will result from the Affordable Care Act.

First Data is partnering with The Members Group to offer financial institutions a streamlined process for issuing EMV-chip cards.

Feedzai is attempting to sell the U.S. on a multichannel approach to card data security in the wake of the recent data breaches afflicting major retailers.

Former Citigroup executive Deborah Doyle McWhinney is joining the board of engineering company Fluor.

Mt. Gox, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges, has suspended Bitcoin withdrawals because of a technical issue, the company said in a Feb. 7 announcement.

U.S. Bank will store the name, address, and card information and present it to the retailer and payment network when a purchase is made.

WOODBURY, Minn. -- In an effort to offer its 45,555 members a streamlined home-buying experience, Postal Credit Union recently launched an on-demand automated residential mortgage solution.

INDIANAPOLIS -- If credit union technology experts have one thing in common, it's most likely the desire to create or implement a service that is not only "cool," but one that enhances the member experience.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- While credit and debit card breaches at leading retailers such as Target Corp. have members concerned, fraud is ever present, especially as online and mobile transaction rates increase.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Upgrading mobile banking to offer more robust features is always a selling point, but the other big motivator right now is adding stronger security. Global CU got both when it rolled out its enhanced online banking system, eBranch, late last month.

DOWNEY, Calif. -- With financial data breaches becoming almost commonplace these days, credit unions are feeling the member impact and looking for new ways to fortify existing safeguards.

SILVERDALE, Wash. -- For a small credit union operating in a remote region, offering competitive banking and investing services can be difficult, but Connection Credit Union is using a new cloud-based software solution to help close the gap.

Bitcoin's earliest adopters used to launch scathing criticism at the U.S. for being the first to regulate digital currency in 2012, but their ire seems to have cooled off.

The subprime credit card market, long down for the count, may finally be poised for a comeback.

SixThirty, a technology accelerator launched last year by Square co-founder Jim McKelvey, is searching for its second class of financial services technology startups.

MasterCard has signed on as the first card network to participate in the mobile payments component of the Weve joint venture in the U.K.

Payment infrastructure systems provider Pay.On plans to combine its distribution network with that of fraud prevention specialist Kount.

Consumers in Poland will soon be able to fund their online shopping with cash by purchasing vouchers from Ukash.