Thursday , November 14, 2024

Kevin Woodward

Kevin's role at Digital Transactions is to write news and features stories for publication on the Web site and in the magazine. He also oversees the digital editorial aspect of the site and the Digital Transactions News daily newsletter.

At Its Innovation Center, Visa Puts an In-Store Self-Checkout App to the Test

Visa Inc. is providing emerging self-checkout provider Digital Retail Apps another venue to showcase its smart phone-based service by enabling it at the Visa Innovation Center, its technology lab in San Francisco. Toronto-based Digital Retail Apps says Visa will integrate the SelfPay technology into the Visa Everywhere Shop app, enabling …

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Moovweb Hopes Improving the Mobile Checkout Process Will Boost Payments Growth

Retailers’ increasing attention to making the checkout process a smooth and speedy one could potentially enhance the volume of mobile-commerce payments. One vendor trying to reform the checkout process is Moovweb, a San Francisco-based e-commerce platform provider. On Monday, it launched MoovCheckout, a service that helps retailers better manage their …

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EMV Transition Marks Progress in Cards And Transactions, Evokes New Products

With the Oct. 1 liability-shift milestone passed, payments companies are reviewing progress so far and introducing new products to take advantage of the migration to EMV chip card payments. First up is MasterCard Inc., which says that “tens of millions” of chip-enabled transactions are being made in the United States. …

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With a Choice, Will Samsung Smart-Phone Owners Choose Samsung Pay?

  Samsung Electronics America Inc.’s launch today of Samsung Pay, a mobile-payments service exclusive to its smart phones, could pose a quandary for consumers over whether they should choose Samsung Pay or Android Pay, Google Inc.’s mobile-payment service that wireless operators are loading onto the Android phones they sell. Samsung …

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Faster Payments for Business: How the Stream Prepaid Card Expedites Disbursements

Heeding a call among businesses for faster and cheaper payments, payments provider Payment Data Systems Inc. has released the Stream general-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid card to make it easier for companies to send funds, like commissions or rewards, to contractors or customers. The card, which bears a MasterCard Inc. brand, …

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A Week Out, Merchants Are in a Rush to Get, And Activate, EMV Terminals

The Oct. 1 onset of the EMV-inspired liability shift for fraudulent transactions represents a potential financial impact for retailers, and now with that date only days away, many of them have become eager to get their hands on EMV point-of-sale terminals. Merchants could be on the hook for fees related …

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As Criminals Redouble Their Efforts, Merchants Sustain an Eye-Popping Jump in Fraud

Merchants contend with fraud all the time, but the 2015 edition of the LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud study has found that their fraud costs are tallying 1.32% of revenue in 2015, a whopping 94% increase from the 0.68% rate in 2014. All categories of merchants in the LexisNexis Risk …

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Only 27% of Merchants Are EMV Ready, but a Surge May Be Coming

Expectations of easily getting merchants ready to accept EMV credit and debit cards appear to be misaligned with the reality of the terminalization program. That’s one finding from a survey released Thursday by The Strawhecker Group, an Omaha, Neb.-based payments consultancy. To accept EMV chip cards, merchants must have compatible …

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Card Aggregator Stratos Enlists Eastern Bank in Test

Stratos Inc., developer of the Stratos card that consolidates multiple credit and debit cards into one device consumers carry in their wallets, says Boston-based Eastern Bank will test its partner program. Card aggregators, like Stratos, operate on the premise that U.S. consumers want an easier way to manage all of …

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As the Liability Shift Rapidly Approaches, Free Can Be a Smart EMV Terminal Motivator

With fewer than 300,000 merchant locations ready for EMV chip card transactions—according to Visa Inc.—efforts to get merchants to upgrade to the more fraud-resistant point-of-sale terminals take on greater importance. For example, iPad-based POS system maker ShopKeep.com Inc. last week began offering merchants a free contactless reader that also accepts …

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