PaymentsSource

Today in Payments

• Citi Seeks Court Ruling on American Airlines Credit Card Contract

  Unresolved issues surrounding American Airlines’ contract with Citibank, which issues its co-branded frequent flier credit card, threaten to derail the bankrupt airline’s efforts to reorganize and merge with US Airways, according to court documents Citi filed on May 24.

• Phillips 66 Adds Thousands of Gas Stations to MCX
  Mobile Pay Fold

  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.

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  Blaze Mobile Pushes Flexibility with Multi-Wallet NFC Sticker

  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.
  
  "Consumers want to use multiple accounts and be able to use those accounts at the point of sale," says CEO Michelle Fisher.

• Intel-Backed IP Commerce Shuts Payment Service Used by Groupon

  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.

• Virtual Piggy Partners With Education Software Maker JumpStart

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

• SEPA Continues to Challenge European Acquirers

  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.

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  ZooZ's New Payments Engine Aims to Make Mobile Ads Click

  ZooZ is one several companies building new technology that attempts to improve the integration between marketing and mobile payments.
  
  "The players in the ecosystem haven't figured out how to monetize the banner ads that are inside mobile apps," says Noam Inbar, vice president of product development for ZooZ.

• New Visa President Looks Forward to Working with Banks,
  New Products

  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.

• Target, Macy’s Sue MasterCard, Visa Over Card Swipe Fees

  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.

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  Square Expands to Japan as Its Staff Shrinks by Two

  Square announced expansion into Japan with updated Register features today, after seeing two executives, Alyssa Cutright and Alex Petrov, leave the mobile payments company.
  
  Square's expansion into Japan comes from a partnership with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Corporation, the company responsible for bringing Visa to Japan.

• Chase Paymentech Europe Takes Aim at Security
  Compliance Burden

  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 Names JPM's Ryan McInerney President, Gives
  Other Execs New Roles

  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.

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  MoneyGram Takes a Multifaceted Approach to Its Growth Strategy

  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.