Because Bitcoin transactions are virtually instant, free and near-anonymous, charitable organizations are collecting and distributing donations in bitcoin.

Indiana's Centier Bank has triggered a new source of payments volume by giving consumers new debit cards in three minutes.

Liberty Reserve SA and seven individuals were indicted in what federal prosecutors in New York called an international money-laundering conspiracy.

Bitcoin has had as much bad publicity as good in recent months. But even its setbacks have served to strengthen the community that supports the fledgling alternative currency.

IP Commerce Inc., a startup backed by Venrock Inc. and Intel Corp.'s venture-capital arm, is shutting its key business, which handles credit-card processing for companies including Groupon Inc., citing competition.

Phillips 66 has joined the retailer-driven Merchant Customer Exchange mobile payments and commerce initiative, the Houston-based gas station chain announced May 23. Phillips 66 also operates Conoco stations. The company joins MCX only two weeks after the mobile payment venture added another petroleum provider, Pacific Convenience & Fuels LLC.

Charge Anywhere LLC will have gateway software available when small U.S. merchants need to accept EMV-chip card payments with their smartphones.

Community bankers have reputations for being hidebound in their thinking about loans. The way some banks are approaching online lending to small businesses reinforces that view.

Youth payments company Virtual Piggy is adding elements of gaming to its product mix via a partnership with JumpStart.

Blaze Mobile is developing a new Near Field Communication mobile phone attachment that attempts to build a more open mobile wallet by allowing consumers to choose from a series of payment accounts.

The most challenging and frustrating aspect of the Single Euro Payments Area project, according to a major German acquirer, is its goal of establishing common payment standards throughout Europe.

ZooZ is one several companies building new technology that attempts to improve the integration between marketing and mobile payments.

Target Corp., Macy’s Inc. and other companies sued Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over credit-card and debit-card fees after retailers objected to a multibillion-dollar settlement of a similar suit.

Visa's hiring of former JPMorgan Chase executive Ryan McInerney to be its new president maintains the card network's bond with the top-tier bank.

Square announced expansion into Japan with updated Register features today, after seeing two executives, Alyssa Cutright and Alex Petrov, leave the mobile payments company.

Chase Paymentech Europe, a merchant acquiring and processing subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase, has introduced a new service designed to lighten the security burden for European online merchants.

Visa has hired Ryan McInerney to be its president. McInerney, previously the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase's consumer bank, fills a position left vacant since John Partridge retired in March. Visa also appointed Elizabeth Buse and Bill Sheedy to new roles.

A turn towards small local Bitcoin exchanges could keep the digital currency out of trouble while preserving the self-sufficient ethos of the Bitcoin community.

As MoneyGram International sits solidly as the world's second-largest money transfer business, its growth strategy is focused on diversifying its product suite and capturing market share that remains untapped by MoneyGram and rival Western Union.

FAIRFIELD, Ohio – Wright-Patt Credit Union here has become the first financial institution in the greater Dayton region to adopt new video teller services for its members.