Google announced this week a partnership with Equity Bank in Kenya to offer a Near Field Communication-based prepaid card for bus travelers.

Consumers in Iceland will soon have access to contactless payment technology using Visa cards or smartphones.

The U.S. government is losing billions of dollars in paid benefits to people who are still working, no longer alive or are behind bars, according to a report on unemployment fraud by the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

A company that allegedly misrepresented the minutes provided by its pre-paid calling cards will be barred from making such deceptive claims under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

The biggest names in digital payments — PayPal, Isis, Google — have one thing in common: they all have a relationship with Discover Financial Services.

Qiwi Plc, an instant-payment operator, is seeking to raise as much as $244 million selling shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the second initial public offering by a Russian company this year.

CHICAGO—This year's $10,000 CO-OP THINK Prize went to Technicolor FCU's Robert Baron, for his idea for a "virtual teller system."

RentPaidOnline (RPO), an online payment service for property managers, and mobile commerce provider Spindle are partnering to develop a mobile version of RPO’s portal.

The launch of the Smart Jets mobile app is giving big spenders a new way to pay for private jet flights. Smart Jets targets customers with a net worth of at least $30 million.

When the latest "As Seen on TV" must-have gadget appears on-screen, consumers may someday be able to make the first of their payments by pressing a few buttons on their remote control. It may seem far-fetched, but it's a future that Ingenico chairman and CEO Philippe Lazare says is well within reach.

Flash Valet, which uses mobile technology to facilitate payments for valet service providers, is creating a companion mobile app for consumers.

American Express and Wal-Mart launched the Bluebird card last October. By January, it had over 575,000 account holders and $275 million in funds loaded onto the cards. Eighty-five percent of Bluebird customers are new to Amex, and 45% under 35.

Heartland will use Ingenico's software and experience with EMV-chip cards to help deliver new terminals and PIN pads in the U.S. as the country migrates to the EMV standard for payment cards.

E-commerce company LivingSocial revealed last week it endured a breach in which attackers accessed its users' encrypted passwords. And while no payment data was exposed, cardholders should still be concerned.

Coface Collections North America Inc. has completed the process to become certified by the International Association of Commercial Collectors.

VeriFone has made several attempts to become a major player in mobile payments. A few months after altering its strategy with its second mobile card reader, the terminal maker says it is still learning.

An app store launched by Alpha Payments Cloud will allow merchants and financial institutions to build and purchase the various components of its payments technology stack.

Visa's deal with JPMorgan Chase to launch the Chase Merchant Services partnership is likely just the beginning, as the card network says it plans to seek out more relationships with other issuers and acquirers.

BAY CITY, Texas – Old Ocean FCU has selected CU*Answers Network Services as its managed technologies service provider, utilizing the complete care and virtual branch business continuity services.

Square has hired retail, consumer product and payments veteran Alex Petrov to be its vice president of partnerships.