Growing consumer use of mobile devices like smart phones is making the devices more attractive to criminals trying to capture payments data. That’s the assessment from ThreatMetrix Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based data-security company, in its “Cybercrime Report: Q2 2015” report, which analyzed more than 75 million attacks that were …

A significant chunk—44%—of small-business owners have no knowledge of the EMV liability shift coming Oct. 1. That finding from “Small Business EMV Readiness,” a report released by Javelin Strategy & Research this week, suggests that many might be in for a shock when their merchant-processing statements arrive in November and …

The transition to an EMV-based payment card system in the United States could spur a long and sophisticated series of criminal attacks designed to separate consumers and banks from their funds. That’s one possible consequence, says Michael Bruemmer, vice president at Experian Information Solutions Inc.’s Data Breach Resolution group. “Cyber …

American Express Co. is offering new rewards and benefits for using one of its prepaid cards, but at a cost. The card brand and acquirer on Wednesday added a rewards program to its Serve card under the “Serve Cash Back” moniker. Serve Cash Back users, who pay $5.95 per month …

The debut of Samsung Pay in the United States is just a month away, but the ongoing migration of U.S. credit and debit cards to the EMV chip standard may already be eroding the nascent mobile-payment service’s unique advantage. Samsung Pay uses near-field communication (NFC) and, uniquely, a radio-frequency version …

By Kevin Woodward San Francisco-based carrier-billing specialist Boku Inc. has bought mobile-payments provider mobileview Italia, Boku announced Thursday. The deal means Boku will provide carrier billing to more than 87 million mobile-carrier subscribers in Italy. Globally, Boku says its service, which enables consumers to make digital purchases using their wireless …

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. says its Samsung Pay mobile-payment service, which uses near-field communication and a radio-frequency version of magnetic-stripe data, will debut Sept. 28 in the United States. Some consumers with some Samsung smart-phone and tablet models will be able to participate in a test set to begin Aug. …

By Kevin Woodward With more $1 million (Canadian) in new funding, self-checkout app SelfPay looks to expand its reach within retail stores. Toronto-based Digital Retail Apps says the funding, which is approximately $764,402 in U.S. currency, also will be used to secure more patents. Dallas-based Texas Ventures led the funding, …

Issuers are generating less in interchange for PIN and signature debit card transactions than they were 10 years ago, according to the Pulse electronic funds transfer network’s 2015 Debit Issuer Study released Thursday. The study examined transactions made in 2014 from more than 70 debit issuers involving 147 million debit …

No category of payment-card-accepting merchants, including health-care providers, is immune from the EMV liability shift coming Oct. 1. Yet, some payments providers specializing in servicing clinics and hospitals say there is a lack of understanding among their clients that goes beyond what acquirers have found in other merchant categories. “Health …