Some 27% of executives with responsibility for their organization’s mobile devices said their firm had experienced a security incident in the past year involving the loss of data or system downtime in which mobile devices played a key role, according to new findings from Verizon Communications Inc. In addition, 32% …
Read More »Eye on Security: 124 Breaches Already Reported in 2018; Cost of Malicious Cyber Activity May Exceed $100 Billion
Some 124 new data breaches have become known this year as of Feb. 16, the Identity Theft Resource Center reports. And the White House’s Council of Economic Advisors issued a study last week pegging the cost of malicious cyber activity to the economy in 2016 at $57 billion on the …
Read More »Google Formally Unveils Its Work-in-Progress Google Pay, the Successor to Android Pay
After announcing a coming rebranding for its Android Pay mobile and online payment service in January, Alphabet Inc.’s Google subsidiary on Tuesday formally unveiled the new Google Pay. But the rebranding, centered on a new mobile app for Android devices, is a work in progress, with more changes and new …
Read More »Consumers Increasingly Prefer To Use Debit Cards Instead of Credit Cards, Researcher Shows
Some 61% of consumers surveyed in the fourth quarter by New York City-based Auriemma Consulting Group cited a debit card as their most frequently used card, up from 52% a year earlier. Only 24% named a credit card, down from 35% at the end of 2016. “Based on our consumer …
Read More »Eye on Acquiring: Shopify’s Volume Booms; North American Revenues Grow for Global Payments
More sales on its commerce platform and more payment-processing business from its merchants translated into a 71% revenue increase for Shopify Inc. in the fourth quarter. And the big merchant acquirer Global Payments Inc. reported Thursday that its North American revenues grew 9% in the quarter. Ottawa, Ontario-based Shopify, which …
Read More »Eye on Online Payments: Groupon+ Snags 2.7 Million Cardholders; Western Union’s Online P2P Volume Rises 22%
Online and mobile offers provider Groupon Inc. reported Wednesday that 2.7 million Visa and Mastercard card holders are using its new Groupon+ service to get discounts at restaurants without presenting a voucher. And wire-transfer provider The Western Union Co. says its online consumer-to-consumer payment transactions rose 22% in the fourth …
Read More »Payfone Continues To Attract Investment From Payments Companies, This Time Synchrony Financial
Mobile-authentication technology provider Payfone Inc. has raised another $23 million in a new funding round that included retail card payment services provider Synchrony Financial. The exact investment from Synchrony Ventures, Synchrony Financial’s venture-capital arm, wasn’t disclosed in Tuesday’s announcement. An undisclosed institutional investor led the funding round. In addition to …
Read More »First Data’s Prepaid Business Shines as Struggling Bank Joint Ventures Begin Turnaround
First Data Corp.’s struggling merchant-acquiring joint ventures with three big banks are showing nascent signs of a turnaround, and business is booming in the company’s prepaid card unit, top executives reported Monday. The Atlanta-based processor reported last year that new merchant referrals from its big joint ventures with The PNC …
Read More »NCR’s ATM Revenues Dip as POS Equipment Sales Rise
ATM manufacturer NCR Corp. reported Thursday that its ATM revenues declined 21% in the fourth quarter, but point-of-sale hardware revenues grew 23%. Total revenues at Atlanta-based NCR came in at $1.78 billion, down 1% from $1.8 billion in 2016’s fourth quarter and off 3% on a constant-currency basis. The company …
Read More »Digital and Other New Services To Drive 7%-Plus Annual Growth in the Prepaid Market, Aite Predicts
The prepaid market can expect to grow more than 7% annually over five years, but unlike its early days in which plastic gift cards and government payments dominated, much of the growth will come from new virtual uses for prepaid products, according to a new Aite Group LLC report. Boston-based …
Read More »