Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

Pay By Touch, the San Francisco-based supplier of a point-of-sale payment technology that replaces cards and other media with fingerprint scans, says it is close to several major deals which, if consummated, will give the fledgling company and its system considerable momentum. Among the deals in the pipeline, says Pay …

The news that Barclays PLC is talking to Providian Financial Corp. about buying the San Francisco-based credit card issuer has some observers speculating that the merger could accelerate the development of new electronic transaction products both in the U.S. and in Europe, where Barclays is a major card issuer with …

Visa USA reported today that its cards produced 16.1 billion transactions last year, an increase of 11.7% over its transaction volume in 2002. Although credit cards accounted for $650 billion in volume in 2003, or 59% of Visa's total dollar volume, signature-secured debit cards made up 59% of the bank …

Fears concerning computer security are resulting in setbacks for the movement toward electronic voting. Most recently, the Pentagon has scuppered plans to allow Americans living abroad to cast ballots on the Internet. At the same time, some county and state elections officials, bowing to worries about computer viruses and the …

First Data Corp. says it does not expect an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice of its money-transfer business to have an effect on the completion of its acquisition of Concord EFS Inc. The Denver-based processor said earlier this week it expects to close the merger with Concord Feb. …

In the wake of its groundbreaking announcement last week that it had signed up MBNA Corp. as the first U.S. bank issuer on its network, American Express Co. yesterday said the MBNA deal is non-exclusive and that it is actively pursuing such arrangements with “plans to form additional partnerships” in …

First Data Corp. officals vowed today they expect to fight hard to add to the debit business of Concord EFS Inc., the debit processor First Data is buying for $6.9 billion. In a meeting with securities analysts to present 2003 full-year and fourth-quarter results, First Data chairman and chief executive …

In a sign of how fast an organization can convert paper transactions to electronic, the National Automated Clearing House Association announced today that the home-mortgage unit of Wells Fargo & Co. will process 88% of its payments electronically in the first quarter, up from 36% only a year ago and …

The Electronic Transactions Association announced today new initiatives intended to appeal to individual merchant-level sales agents. Traditionally a trade organization for larger ISOs and acquirers, the Washington, D.C.-based ETA says it will give merchant-level salespeople access to ETA products, services, and conferences at reduced rates. While association membership is open …

The card-issuing alliance American Express Co. and MBNA Corp. announced yesterday will benefit the two financial-services companies more than it will hurt Visa and MasterCard, some observers note. Although MBNA, second only to Citigroup Inc. as a credit card issuer, has already said it will seek to convert current cardholders …

MyDoom, characterized by many experts as one of the most virulent viruses ever to hit the Internet, has had only a slight impact on Web transaction speed and page availability, according to Keynote Systems Inc., a San Mateo, Calif., company that measures Web site performance. Keynote analysts credit the nature …

A brief reference to a rival debit card network in a recent document sent from Visa USA Inc. to its members has raised the hackles of the co-founder of that network and embroiled him in a debate with Visa USA chief executive Carl Pascarella over the risk associated with debit …

Already the second-largest deployer of electronic ticketing machines at airports, Continental Airlines Inc. plans to add another 150 units this year, including some at international destinations. The first airline to deploy self-service ticketing kiosks nine years ago, Continental now has 779 online at 130 domestic airports, trailing only Delta Air …

As network security managers scramble today to combat the so-called MyDoom virus, one of the most malicious network attacks security experts have seen yet, the Boston-based consulting firm Yankee Group has released a report predicting that the frequency and virulence of such incidents will create a flourishing new market in …

Digency Inc., an El Dorado Hills, Calif.-based third-party processing startup specializing in Internet payments, has begun processing transactions for a handful of merchants and now looks to execute an ambitious business plan that calls for the company to earn $13 million in fee revenue in 2004 from some 240 online …

American Express Co. says it will be a matter of “months,” not “years,” until banks in the United States are issuing the company's card products now that the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out a motion from Visa International Corp., Visa USA Inc., and MasterCard International Inc. …

With gift cards accounting for more than $17 billion in retail sales, or about 8% of merchants' total take, during the recent holiday shopping spree, according to the National Retail Federation, the plastic has become a star in the electronic transaction firmament. But while gift cards are stealing the headlines, …

This week's outbreak of yet another computer-network virus has served as a reminder to the online transactions industry that the networks they rely on for e-commerce?and increasingly for ATM and point-of-sale traffic?are vulnerable to malicious code. Although the latest outbreak, called the “bagle” virus, was quickly brought under control after …

The Herndon, Va.-based National Automated Clearing House Association announced its members have approved a new rule governing third-party processing of automated clearing house (ACH) transactions. The rule, an amendment to the NACHA Operating Rules that goes into effect next December, requires that third parties agree to be bound by the …

An ambitious multi-application smart card pilot launched late last year in Barrie, Ontario, is ready to move to its next phase, which will involve signing up 40 more merchant locations in February. Toronto-based Scotiabank, the issuer of the cards, will not release how many it has issued so far, though …