Transparent Financial Services (TransFS), a marketplace for businesses seeking financial services, has announced that it has been awarded a grant by the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center (CEC) to support the company's continuing national expansion. TransFS also announced that the customer base of its comparison-shopping site for credit card processing services has now grown into more than 12 vertical markets. READ MORE »

In an article titled "TransFS Launches Comparison Site for Credit Card Processing Fees", TechCrunch profiles TransFS - one of a new breed of websites designed to help businesses comparison shop among various merchant acquirers and ISOs for the best deal that matches their needs. TransFS collects information from the merchant and then gathers bids from providers to present back. The TransFS blog provides a steady stream of helpful, merchant-related articles as well.

Another new entrant into this space is Payments-R-Us (www.paymentsrus.com) that focuses on online merchant payment solutions. Unlike the auction process managed by TransFS, Payments-R-Us offers a free "suggester" based upon the merchant answering some basic questions about their business. Payments-R-Us also has a collection of reference materials helpful to online ecommerce merchants.

Earlier this year, Intuit "soft launched" its new GoPayment mobile card acceptance solution for merchants. Yesterday, Intuit officially announced the new service - "GoPayment helps small businesses improve sales and cash flow by using their mobile phones to accept credit card payments. GoPayment is affordable and hassle-free. All that’s needed is a mobile phone with access to the mobile Web, or the easy-to-download GoPayment application, and an Intuit GoPayment merchant account." READ MORE »

CreditCards.com has announced the launch of its latest site, MerchantAccountGuide.com, saying it offers "a unique and vital service to the small business community in the United States. The website allows small business owners to compare merchant processing services, which facilitate the acceptance of credit cards for customer payments." READ MORE »

Intuit has introduced Intuit GoPayment - saying it "enables business owners to accept credit and signature debit card payments using their mobile phone and a QuickBooks Merchant Services Account." The new service supports an optional Bluetooth mag stripe reader or reader/receipt printer along with Quickbooks integration of the payments processed.

We've just started a new group on LinkedIn for payments professionals involved in the merchant acquiring business. You can find the group home page here - just click on Join Group if you qualify and want to join. The first discussion topic is: "Hidden Fees in Merchant Statements?" [Update 4 PM PST: LinkedIn seems to be running behind in adding new members to the group - please be patient!]

37signal's Jason Fried writes about the process they use for handling credit cards for payment for their online services (including Basecamp, Highrise, Backpack, etc.). Fried writes: "So, credit card processing and set up and all that stuff is a real pain in the ass. It’s definitely intimidating to get started. The industry just feels dirty."

In an article titled 'Charge It!", Elizabeth Holmes writes for the Wall St. Journal about how small businesses can get the best deal on merchant payment card processing. Holmes writes that "navigating the payment-card processing system can be an overwhelming and costly burden. With fees tacked on by as many as 12 intermediaries, from the equipment provider and the Internet service to the card issuers themselves, payment processing is often the third- or fourth-highest expense for a small business."

Wells Fargo has announced Wells Fargo Merchant Checking - an account for small business that combines "the convenience of a full-service business checking account with fast and secure credit and debit card processing at a flat, low discount rate. Merchant Checking allows small business owners to begin accepting credit and debit card payments and have access to funds as soon as the next business day in the associated business checking account - simultaneously meeting two core business needs."

Global Payments has announced a referral agreement with Ruesch International. a provider of business-to-business payment solutions. Under the terms of the agreements, Ruesch International will refer clients who have payment card processing needs to Global Payments; and, in turn, Global Payments will refer agent banks and business clients to Ruesch International for their cross-border payment processing and foreign exchange transaction needs.

The Merchant Account Blog from MerchantEquip.com reports on a joint news release that was issued just a few days ago from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB and Discover outlining what businesses need to do to secure cardholder data.

Digital Transactions reports on Visa USA CEO John Philip Coghlan's keynote address to this week's Electronic Transaction Association annual meeting in Las Vegas.

Intuit has announced a new simplified credit card processing solution designed for small businesses that don't need a full accounting package or a high end merchant account service. The QuickBooks Credit Card Processing Kit, priced at $39.95, delivers credit card processing for small businesses handling less than $5,000 in credit card transactions each month.

Intuit announced today that it is acquiring Innovative Merchant Solutions, a Calabasas, Calif.-based provider of credit and debit card processing services for small businesses. Intuit said it is paying $116 MM to acquire the company which had net revenues in 2002 of $25 MM. READ MORE »