Saturday , November 30, 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.

BofA Becomes First Major Issuer to Begin Conversion to Debit Chip Cards

  Bank of America Corp. isn’t waiting for 2015 to convert its debit card portfolio to plastic that supports Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) chip transactions. The Charlotte, N.C.-based banking giant announced Tuesday it will begin issuing debit chip cards to new customers in October, with cards for existing accountholders issued as these …

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Two Payments Companies Target Improving E-commerce and M-commerce Conversion Rates

Frustration with typing in a 16-digit payment card number on a smart-phone screen leads to a lot of lost sales for e-commerce merchants. It’s a problem that two payments companies, offering different products, say they can help with. Making its U.S. debut first is PayItSimple USA Inc., an installment-payment service. …

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Most Smart Phones Expected To Be NFC and Mobile Wallet Enabled by 2015, Says Softcard Executive

  By the end of 2015, most smart phones sold in the United States will have near-field communication (NFC) capability and be mobile-wallet ready, potentially creating a confluence of payments and commerce, says Matt de Ganon, senior vice president of product at mobile wallet provider Softcard. That prospect excites de …

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PayPal Ad Campaign Stresses Strength in Mobile Security, But Will it BackFire?

  PayPal Inc., the payments arm of eBay Inc., says it will process 1 billion mobile payments in 2014, and this experience means it knows something about mobile-payments security. That’s one message PayPal hopes comes across in a new ad campaign appearing in newspapers and online just days after Apple …

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As Questions Linger, Discover Says ‘Me Too’ to Apple Pay

  Discover Financial Services cardholders will be able to add their payment cards to Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay mobile payment scheme, the card brand confirmed Wednesday. “Discover is in discussions with Apple to be able to add Discover cards to Apple Pay in the future,” a spokesman tells Digital Transactions …

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Payment Processors Hold Key Tokenization Role In Apple Pay

  Payment processors First Data Corp. and Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) will have key roles in securing transactions using tokenization technology for payments consumers make with Apple Inc.’s newly announced Apple Pay mobile-payments scheme. The Cupertino, Calif.-based computer giant made the announcement as part of its unveiling Tuesday of …

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Eye on Branding: As Wallets Struggle, MCX Dubs Its Scheme CurrentC While Isis Says It Is Now Softcard

  The Merchant Customer Exchange, a retailer-controlled mobile payment scheme, has given its service a name. Dubbed CurrentC, the service will not be available outside of testing until 2015. First announced in 2012, the long-gestating scheme aims to give participating retailers their own mobile-wallet service that eschews the traditional payment …

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Square Attempts to Quell Some of Amazon’s Thunder With Post Dispelling ‘Myths’

  In a recent blog post, Square Inc. is attempting to counter some of the attention foisted on Amazon.com Inc. after the announcement last week of Local Register, the online retailer’s mobile point-of-sale service, by dispelling the “top 10 myths” about Square’s service. Local Register enables retailers to accept payment …

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Change Is Coming for Agents as Merchants’ Payment Products Evolve

  Sales agents as a way to sell payment-processing services to merchants aren’t going away, but they aren’t staying the same. That’s according to a new research report from Double Diamond Group LLC, a Centennial, Colo.-based payments-advisory firm. “This is a period of significant change in acquiring,” says Rick Oglesby, …

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Dubbed Local Register, Amazon’s Mobile POS Service Arrives

  Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. is moving into brick-and-mortar stores with the debut Wednesday of its Local Register mobile point-of-sale service. Similar to other mobile POS services, such as Square Inc.’s, Local Register requires merchants to create an account, purchase a card reader and download an app to a …

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