April, 2020

• 1 April

  PCI Compliance Is Getting Tougher

  

  Independent sales organizations are increasing their use of non-compliance fees for merchants that don’t adhere to PCI Security Standards Council requirements, with 23% of ISOs surveyed for the ControlScan/MAC 2020 Acquiring Trends Report saying they assess these fees. That’s up from the historic range of 17% to 18%. The report, …

March, 2020

• 1 March

  Payments 3.0: Acceptance Is the Key

  

  Creating a new payments form factor is one of the ways the industry likes to add excitement to its innovations for consumer transactions. Whether it’s mobile phones, watches, or (shudder) implantable chips, a new form factor can offer a way to stand out from the competition and build in tools …
• 1 March

  Security Notes: Ransomware: A Strategic Response

  

  When two hackers share a beer, they lament the diminishing returns from hacked privteware, as they call it. “My clients get angry when I sell them private credentials of people that had been hacked before,” says one. “You cannot re-steal a Social Security number! Monetizing becomes a challenge.” “So go …
• 1 March

  Interchange: Tweaks Or Trouble?

  

  After a long period of stability, bank card interchange rates may be about to change. Visa Inc. reportedly is planning adjustments that could raise merchants’ acceptance costs for card-not-present transactions but lower costs in some other categories, including purchases at big grocery-store chains. Citing a Visa document circulating among the …

February, 2020

• 1 February

  Payments 3.0: What is the Future of Privacy?

  

  Privacy is one of the biggest issues facing payments. Individuals, businesses, and governments confront decisions on how data is gathered, stored and protected, and used. We all generate huge amounts of data every day as we shop online or in stores, browse the Web, or even just move around with …
• 1 February

  Security Notes: Choose Cyber Peace!

  

  Encryption that is mathematically secure is readily available, but not used. Many Microsoft Windows vulnerabilities are known, but not publicly exposed. Digital payment without the Internet is possible, but not pursued. These pathways to cyberspace are left untreaded because a quarter-trillion-dollar industry (2023 projection) is thriving on cyber war (see …
• 1 February

  Behind Visa’s $5.3 Billion Bet on Plaid

  

  Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. have made it plain in recent years they’re interested in something much bigger than card payments. A few weeks ago, Visa underscored its own determination to be the network for the world’s payments economy by announcing it will lay out fully $5.3 billion to buy …

January, 2020

• 1 January

  Payments 3.0: We Are All Prepaid Now

  

  A fight is brewing over the future of mobile wallets. On one side is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which believes that the heart of every mobile wallet is a prepaid card. On the other is PayPal, which believes that mobile wallets are so different that they should not be …
• 1 January

  Security Notes: It’s Time For Civic Currency

  

  The steam engine, the telephone, and the Internet are all innovations that gestated for a long time before realizing their eventual impact. Digital currency appears to be joining this list. Much as the telephone was more than a “Yankee replacement to errand boys,” in the words of a dismissive British …
• 1 January

  Visa’s Cross-Border Gambits

  

  Visa Inc. is working fast to expand its foothold in cross-border remittances, a relatively new market for the card network. Last month, MoneyGram International Inc. announced it is the first remittance service to allow international transfers that rely on Visa Direct, a push-payment service that enables real-time transfers to holders …