Visa

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Visa plans program to rival PayPal

Visa put out a news release Wednesday morning muddled with the usual financial jibberish: “Visa Moves Beyond the Point-of-Sale,” the headline read. But what Visa is proposing is a potential serious rival for PayPal.

Visa said it will soon allow people to send money to each other using Visa credit or debit cards or pre-paid accounts. So next time you need to pay the babysitter, the checkbook can stay in your wallet. Get the full story »

American Express revenue up 13% in 4Q

American Express Co. said fourth-quarter revenue grew 13 percent from a year earlier, as consumer spending increased and the company earned more from fees.

The credit card lender and payment network Monday reported $7.3 billion of quarterly revenue net of interest expense, up from $6.5 billion a year earlier. Get the full story »

PayPal software to let users pay with their phones

EBay Inc.’s  online payments unit PayPal on Tuesday unveiled new software that will let people to use their phones to make payments, as well as a new platform that will make it easier for consumers to pay for digital media, music and games. Get the full story »

American Express sued by U.S. over card fees

The Justice Department sued American Express on Monday for allegedly violating antitrust law over credit card acceptance rules, and settled with Visa and MasterCard on the same issue.

The Justice Department, in a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, said the case was focused on credit card companies’ efforts to stop merchants from steering customers to credit cards with lower fees imposed on the merchant.

In a proposed final judgment, Visa and MasterCard must allow merchants to offer discounts to customers who use cards that charge the stores less. Get the full story »

Analyst: Amex payment data out of sync

American Express tells online customers that they’re 30-plus days past due when they’ve only missed their payment deadline by a few days, according to a study released Monday on late-payment policies of credit card companies. Get the full story »

Smartphones as an alternative to credit cards?

(AFP/Getty Images)

AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless are planning a partnership to displace credit and debit cards by letting consumers pay with the contactless wave of a smartphone, Bloomberg News reported, citing three people with direct knowledge of the plan.

The new venture may pose a competitive threat to payment networks such as Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc, the report said.

The partnership, which also includes T-Mobile USA, may work with Discover Financial Services and Barclays Plc to test a system at stores in Atlanta and three other U.S. cities, the people told the agency. Get the full story »