Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
With as many as 5 million mobile point-of-sale readers in circulation in the United States, mobile POS companies will have their hands full following the liability shift set for October 2015 when the nation’s payment card networks step up the migration to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa smart card scheme. Designed to …
Read More »How Merchants’ Quest for More Customer Loyalty Could Give New Life to Decoupled Debit
Might decoupled debit rise again? It very well could, according to some payments experts, and the light on the hill is the decoupled debit card issued by the battered and bruised discount retailer Target Corp. For nearly three months, Target has weathered a storm of bad publicity after confirming a …
Read More »Eye on Security: Issuer Response to Target Hack; A Rough Ride for Debit Cards in Chicago Cabs
A recent study by First Annapolis Consulting Inc. found that 22 of the nation’s 30 largest debit card issuers are actively replacing cards in the wake of retailer Target Corp.’s massive data breach. Meanwhile, a suburban Chicago bank warned customers not to use their debit cards in Chicago taxicabs and …
Read More »Mobile-Payments Provider for Parking Looks to Serve Offers for Nearby Businesses to Users
PayByPhone Technologies Inc., which runs mobile-payment programs for parking in half a dozen U.S. cities, is looking for ways to serve relevant offers to users of its system, a top executive with the company said Thursday. n The offers, for example, could include discounts at stores or restaurants near where …
Read More »First Data’s Star Network Casts Its Lot With Visa’s Identifier for Chip-Card Transaction Routing
Payment processor First Data Corp.’s Star electronic funds transfer network on Wednesday said it would license Visa Inc.’s so-called common application identifier (AID) that will facilitate chip-based debit card transactions compliant with the transaction-routing requirements of the Durbin Amendment in 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act. The agreement with Visa could give Star, …
Read More »By Snapping up C-Sam, MasterCard Bolsters Mobile Capability, Matches Rivals
MasterCard Inc.’s purchase Monday of C-Sam Inc., a mobile wallet technology company, boosts the card brand’s ability to provide mobile wallet services via a variety of payment methods, suggests a payment analyst. MasterCard paid an undisclosed amount for the Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based C-Sam, which began offering a mobile wallet …
Read More »MasterCard, Visa Release Specs To Enable NFC Payments That Bypass the Secure Element
A form of near-field communication that does not require a secure element to complete a mobile payment now has the formal backing of card brands MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. Each of them announced today their respective contactless payment schemes support so-called host card emulation. Host card emulation got a …
Read More »Mobile Payments Growth Fuels Apriva’s $9.55 Billion in 2013 Transaction Volume
Mobile point-of-sale payment provider Apriva marked $9.55 billion in transactions through its payment gateway in 2013, a 17.3% increase from $8.14 billion in 2012, fueled by growth in mobile payment acceptance, cashless vending, and its gateway service. Mobile POS payments, in particular, saw exceptional growth in 2013 versus 2012. Apriva …
Read More »Contactless Payment Scheme Enables Consumers to Fill Up on Fuel and Loyalty Points
A new contactless payment scheme available from On Track Innovations Ltd. enables consumers to pay for fuel at the pump without removing their payment card from their wallets. n Currently, EasyFuel Plus is available in Europe and other international locations. OTI says plans to market it in the United States …
Read More »U.S. Treasury Seeks Bank Bidders for Its Controversial Direct Express Prepaid Card
The U.S. Treasury Department this month began soliciting bids from banks to run its Direct Express prepaid card for Social Security recipients and other beneficiaries. The card program is currently run by Dallas-based Comerica Bank and has encountered political controversy in Washington. Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service is taking …
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