An estimated 1.9 million homes entered the foreclosure process in 2011, the lowest mark since 2007 when the recession began, according to a report by the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.

As European banks continue to establish standards for a Single Euro Payments Area, not nearly as much attention has focused on a similar process for ecommerce or mobile payments in the euro zone.

The battle over which hardware should support contactless mobile payments is by no means over. Although telecommunication companies have thrown their weight behind SIM cards, the competing microSD chip is not dead yet.

Credit card users have been unusually diligent in paying off their bills recently in the wake of the financial crisis. Their discipline slipped a bit late last year, however, which led revolving credit to post a surprise jump in November.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described GlobalBay, which is software used for a hardware attachment for the Apple Inc. iPad.

Officials in New York on Thursday announced charges against seven members of an identity theft ring that stole more than 180 consumers' credit accounts at retailers including Sears, Kmart, Kohl's, Home Depot to receive more than $1 million in merchandise, store credits and gift cards.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly ceased filing lawsuits to collect consumer card and other debts around the nation, dismissing in-house attorneys and virtually shutting down a collections machine that as recently as nine months ago was racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in monthly judgments.

To the editor:

Three data-security and payment processors have linked technologies to create a cloud-based advanced encryption payment system designed to protect payment card data and provide storage away from Columbia Sportswear Co. point-of-sale terminals.

In emerging markets, mobile devices have become more than a default channel to deliver rudimentary services to unbanked consumers. Improvements in handset capabilities and the expansion of the mobile-money model demonstrate a mature, diverse market and one that attracted IBM to make major inroads with a number of banks across Africa in just the past couple of months.

A Canadian software provider is the first of many middleware companies that PayPal Inc. says will be key to bringing its online payment system to the physical point of sale.

Fresh questions about credit card issuers’ mobile-payments strategies are likely to surface starting later this week as major card-issuing banks release their 2011 fourth-quarter earnings, beginning with JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Jan. 13.

Two community banks recently have implemented products, including mobile check capture and a rewards application, from Malauzai Software Inc.

Passengers on the Indian Railways, the world’s second-largest rail network, now may use their mobile phones to book their tickets through a new offering from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp.

Verizon Wireless expects to increase customer throughput through an agreement to deploy Rover, AnywhereCommerce's device designed to alleviate the need for customers to wait in checkout lines.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly ceased filing lawsuits to collect consumer card and other debts around the nation, dismissing in-house attorneys and virtually shutting down a collections machine that as recently as nine months ago was racking up hundreds of millions of dollars in monthly judgments.

The use of barcode readers as a transaction and marketing tool¬–a mobile-commerce method popularized by early movers such as Starbucks Inc.¬–is getting a shot in the arm from a new American Express Co. partnership.

The number of companies caught in data breaches exposing consumers' credit, debit and bank account numbers is growing, but the best way to make amends to customers is not yet clear.

With mobile-payment options available for New York taxi, subway or train riders, it was only a matter of time before the city’s ferry boats offered a similar plan.

Visa Inc.’s certifications of various smartphones to support its payWave contactless payments helps to free up a major obstacle to development of a mobile-payment acceptance at the point of sale.