Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

A major research firm's estimate this week that fraud losses on debit cards in the U.S. hit an estimated $2.75 billion for the 12 months ending in May might have struck a nerve, especially in the absence of hard data on the problem, but it also has experts raising questions …

At a time when new ATM deployment has been slow, one independent deployer of the machines has found a big payoff from a novel approach to cobranding ATMs with banks. Since announcing its cobranding deal about 18 months ago, Houston-based Cardtronics Inc. has been able to get more than 800 …

The disclosure by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in late July that it plans to charter an industrial bank in Utah to acquire its own payment transactions is creating more questions than answers about current relationships between the world's largest retailer and the payments entities with whom it currently works. Bentonville, Ark.-based …

Customer incentives represent a growing new niche for gift cards, according to the results of a new survey. Of some 68 decision-makers canvassed, 52% said they are likely to offer gift cards as a customer incentive in the next 12 months. Of all industries represented in the survey, restaurants represent …

Signature-based debit continued to grow at double-digit rates in the second quarter, as indicated by statistics released today by MasterCard International. Total MasterCard signature, or off-line, debit volume hit $48 billion in the U.S., up 32.3% over the same period last year. The point-of-sale component of this activity was $29.1 …

As the number of headlines about database breaches grows, so too does the number of lawsuits filed in response, as well as the amount of legislation aimed at better protecting consumer data. Several suits have already been filed in the wake of recent thefts of card data at Columbus, Ohio-based …

Fiserv Inc. is buying electronic bill-payment processor BillMatrix Corp. in a $350-million deal expected to close by Sept. 30. Dallas-based BillMatrix processes payments on cards and through the automated clearing house for more than 120 clients, among them utilities, insurers, lenders, and phone carriers. It is a pioneer in the …

The increase in thefts of personal and financial information from databases, highlighted by the recent security breach at payment processor CardSystems Solutions Inc., is causing other processing entities to enhance security efforts beyond just fortifying computers and telecommunications links. For instance, Vital Processing Services LLC, a big merchant processor based …

The lead attorney in a recently filed small-business class action against Visa, MasterCard, and a number of their member banks over interchange is optimistic his lawsuit will succeed even though a suit by some California small businesses challenging interchange on antitrust grounds was dismissed this week. In separate statements, Visa …

American Express Co. has so far seen no change in its relationship with MBNA Corp., which last year began issuing cards on AmEx's network in the U.S. but is now in the process of being acquired by Bank of America Corp. in a $35 billion deal that was announced late …

Debitman Inc., a non-bank PIN debit network linking tens of thousands of merchant locations, will launch a PIN-secured stored-value card by Sept. 30 that will bear merchant branding on the front, with Debitman's mark on the back. John K. Lannan, chief executive of the Chico, Calif.-based company, says heavy-duty marketing …

An offer from Gregory S. Daily, chief executive of Nashville, Tenn.-based processor iPayment Inc., to buy the company has been rejected by the company as too low. A special committee of iPayment's board of directors announced Friday that Daily's offer to buy all outstanding stock for $38 per share, which …

CyberSource Corp., a publicly held Internet gateway for online merchants, reports it processed 147.2 million transactions in the second quarter, up 47% over the year-ago period and 7% over the first quarter. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which reported the transaction figures as part of its second-quarter earnings release last …

The fallout from the largest data-security breach yet in the electronic payments business continues, with rival processors looking to pick up new merchants now that both Visa U.S.A. and American Express Co. have said they are terminating CardSystems Solutions Inc. as a processor on their networks. CardSystems' list of clients …

Transaction-volume growth slowed somewhat in the second quarter at online processor PayPal Inc., according to statistics released today by parent company eBay Inc., with the number of payments processed reaching 113.2 million, up 2.5% from the first quarter. This follows two consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, but improves on a …

In a move that apparently took troubled processor CardSystems Solutions Inc. by surprise and is likely to cripple the company, Visa U.S.A. has terminated CardSystems as a processor and agent on its network, effective Oct. 31. In a statement issued yesterday, Visa says it is taking the action because the …

Smaller financial institutions, including credit unions, are increasingly coming under attack by phishing fraudsters, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The report says the number of brands “hijacked” by fraudsters jumped to 107 in May, up from 79 in April and 64 in January. The group, …

Starting Aug. 19, sellers on eBay that accept payment through PayPal Inc.?as virtually all eBay sellers do–will have to accept all forms of funding, including credit card funding, eBay Inc. announced Friday. Currently, eBay sellers have the option of maintaining personal PayPal accounts on eBay, which allow them to refuse …

Retriever Payment Systems Inc., a Houston-based independent sales organization, announced today its longtime president and chief executive, William H. Higgins, is stepping down and will be replaced by Thomas A. Wimsett, chief executive of Iron Triangle Payment Systems. Iron Triangle, Louisville, Ky., acquired Retriever earlier this year. Higgins will remain …

Though they are not named as defendants in the antitrust case filed today by Kroger Co. and six other retail chains against Visa International and Visa U.S.A., MasterCard International and individual member banks of both bank card networks could find themselves named in separate actions later, according to one of …