Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Internet bill payments were the lone stars of electronic checks in the first quarter, a quarter that saw volumes on all other e-check applications either decline or barely rise from fourth-quarter 2008 levels. Most e-check codes also declined on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest automated clearing house volume …

Four years later, the fallout from the notorious CardSystems Solutions Inc. data breach?at the time the biggest hacking of payment card data ever?surfaced last week and looks like it could go on for months or even years. Merchant acquirer Merrick Bank Corp. is suing Savvis Inc., the company that inspected …

The Federal Reserve Banks should adapt the automated clearing house network to compete directly with private-sector networks for debit card processing, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said this week. “The Federal Reserve could enhance competition in payment card markets by positioning ACH services as an …

Contrary to some perceptions, there is no wall separating the customer bases of banks and check-cashing stores. Many consumers patronize both financial entities. And, according to a new report from Aite Group LLC, banks could win more business from consumers who heavily patronize check-cashing stores by adding walk-in bill-payment services …

The battle to win over online merchants with low transaction fees intensified on Tuesday with the introduction by a Montreal-based startup of a payment platform that offers free processing for orders up to $40. UpClick, which started operations about 18 months ago, has more than a dozen software publishers using …

In anticipation of rising demand for contactless form factors other than credit and debit cards, Dynamic Card Solutions LLC this week introduced a product that allows bank branches to personalize key fobs, contactless stickers, and NFC-equipped cell phones on the spot. The product, called Perso-to-Go, complements an existing system the …

Intuit Inc. on Thursday entered the race to sign up plumbers, carpet cleaners, delivery people, and other small on-the-go merchants for card acceptance. The Mountain View, Calif.-based vendor of the popular QuickBooks accounting program rolled out a product, called GoPayment, that works on mobile phones but doesn't require other hardware, …

With near-field communication (NFC) technology seemingly on hold in North America, mobile-payments backers are turning to radio-frequency identification tags with adhesive backing that can be affixed to phones (Digital Transactions News, Oct. 15, 2008). These so-called stickers, offered by First Data Corp., Oberthur Technologies, and other companies, are widely seen …

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping credit card reform bill that leaves out retailer-backed regulation of interchange. The bill, which the Senate sent to the House Tuesday, includes a Congressional interchange study and could open the door to controls on gift cards. The House earlier …

The U.S. Senate didn't pass a credit card reform bill last week as many expected, but senators are expected to take up the issue again Tuesday. The question for the merchant-acquiring industry is whether the final bill, which is concerned with regulating credit card issuers' most controversial practices, also would …

A new payment system called BillMyParents debuted Monday that aims to tap an estimated $40 billion in potential online spending by teens and preteens, or “tweens.” But BillMyParents' success depends not just on technology, but also on the receptiveness of parents to receive e-mails or text messages from their progeny …

Payment card acceptance costs have been swept into the furious Congressional debate about credit card interest rates, fees, and terms. Late Thursday afternoon, a proposal was pending in the U.S. Senate that would give merchants greater leeway to offer customers discounts if they use cash, checks, or debit cards versus …

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. paid discount fees totaling more than $1 billion to take credit and debit cards in the 12 months ended Jan. 31. Acceptance costs now exceed health-care premiums at The Home Depot Inc. And TJX Cos. Inc. finds sagging apparel prices make it difficult to recoup acceptance costs …

RBS WorldPay Inc., the other big merchant acquirer besides Heartland Payment Systems Inc. to report a major data breach in recent months, this week announced that it has attained validated compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI. But Atlanta-based RBS WorldPay didn't say anything in its news …

Many banks are reflexively reissuing debit cards in the wake of a breach, possibly stopping fraud losses but sustaining huge reissuance costs and eroding customers' trust. That's according to survey research released this week. “[Breaches] occur all the time, and don't show any signs of going away,” says Paul Henninger, …

After losing a nasty proxy fight last week with his company's largest shareholder, the chairman and chief executive of electronic bill-payment technology provider Online Resources Corp. seems ready to bury the hatchet. “I think it's going to work out,” Matthew P. Lawlor, who co-founded the Chantilly, Va.-based company 20 years …

Restaurant customers will be able to use their mobile phones to both split and pay dinner tabs with an application now being marketed by Boston-based startup CheXout Systems Inc. The company, which has been incorporated for less than a year and has no live installations, is forging integration agreements with …

A bill to establish an enforcement framework for licensed online gambling operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. was introduced on Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The legislation is designed to replace the controversial …

The top two executives of merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. on Thursday painted a picture of a company on the mend in the wake of the big data breach it disclosed in January. But the recession and the far-from-over effects of the breach still took a toll on the …

MasterCard Inc. is getting a big boost from The Travelex Group, a multinational distributor of travel-related prepaid cards. Under a deal announced last week, Travelex will convert its payment card network brand to MasterCard and process card transactions on MasterCard's year-old debit processing platform called Integrated Processing Solutions, or IPS. …