An alternative payments company that lets users make electronic payments in cash is planning to quickly expand its user base and merchant clients with the addition of a mobile channel.

Scott Lang wants folks using NACHA's automated clearinghouse network to watch their language, particularly when discussing the actual service.

Releases of allowances for bad credit card loans continued to plump banks' bottom lines in recent earnings reports, but loss rates look set to bounce off record lows in the first quarter.

Scott Thompson's abrupt departure as PayPal's president leaves PayPal in the hands of a team of competent executives, but it also raises the question of who among them, if any, will be tapped to fill his role.

City Bank is upgrading its mobile-banking capabilities to compete with larger banks, always a concern for smaller institutions. At the same time, the $1.9 billion-asset bank, which serves a region surrounding Lubbock, Texas, also is experimenting with security applications for mobile devices that shield non-mobile channels.

The world of card acceptance on BlackBerry smartphones has just become more complete.

With Visa debit card spending for online purchases reaching new heights in Europe and the United Kingdom, the timing appears right for consumers to tie those cards to mobile payments.

A startup is attempting to create a mobile-payment system that focuses on digital receipts and rewards. And it leaves payments out of the process.

PayPal Inc.on Jan. 18 reported a jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven in part by mobile payments.

PayPal Inc., which has been testing a point-of-sale payment system with Home Depot, this week plans to expand that trial and offer consumers a card linked to their PayPal accounts.

NEW YORK–With so much attention on turning mobile phones into payment devices through hardware upgrades, banks may be missing a growing opportunity in the mobile Web browser.

Qunar Corp., the biggest Chinese online travel-booking site based on volume, on Jan. 6 signed strategic cooperation agreements with China’s top three third-party online payment providers to provide alternative payment services for the site.

Credit cards remain the preferred payment method for online purchases in the United Kingdom because of their payment protections and potential for users to earn reward points. But other payment methods continue to attract consumer interest as well.

American Express Co. has begun licensing its digital wallet, Serve, in China.

If there is a silver lining to the Zappos Retail Inc. data breach, it may be that more merchants, including the shoe-marketing giant, have taken key steps to prevent thieves from stealing customers’ full credit card account numbers, which will blunt potential losses.

If financial-services companies have any reservations about being appointed the front-line enforcers for copyright protections under proposed anti-piracy legislation, now would be their time to strike.

Five more credit unions have agreed to settle pending civil suits alleging they violated the Electronic Funds Transfer Act’s fee-disclosure provisions, but at least one of the settlements is raising questions about the more than three dozen suits filed against credit unions and banks by a Michigan retiree and her boyfriend.

The creator of Bitcoin conceived the digital currency as a rebellion against the banking system. But it may also present business opportunities for banks that can get comfortable with the risks.

Data-security vendors generally acknowledge they are up against extremely high-tech, organized and relentless cybercriminals looking to steal identities and payment card data to execute fraudulent transactions.

French terminal maker Ingenico SA is working with iMobile3 LLC to promote mobile retail payments through a collaboration called iMRP.