Stolen identity information obtained by several Russian defendants named in Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s indictment, released last week, was used to create fraudulent PayPal Holdings Inc. accounts. The defendants were named in connection with alleged activities surrounding the 2016 presidential election. The indictment provides details about an alleged conspiracy …

A new point-of-sale software malware strain wants its victims to think it is a nondescript bit of code that computers and networks commonly use when surfing the Internet. Uncovered by investigators at Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint, a data-security services provider, the malware, dubbed “UDPos” by Forcepoint, attempts to conceal itself in …

Currencycloud, an international payments platform based in the United Kingdom, has hired a U.S. general manager in a push to capture more cross-border payments volume from U.S. merchants. Currencycloud announced Richard Arundel as the general manager of Currencycloud North America. Arundel, a co-founder of Currencycloud, spent the past two years …

Convenience-store operator Cumberland Farms Inc. updated its SmartPay Check-Link mobile app with biometric authentication and the ability to enroll in the program within the app, the Westborough, Mass.-based company announced Monday. The app, which launched in 2013, gives users a 10-cent discount per gallon of gas when they use it …

The stock market may have tumbled this week, but cryptocurrencies are enjoying a generalized comeback. All of the 10 largest currencies by market capitalization are up since early in the week, with third-ranked Ripple’s XRP token surging 20% just since late Thursday to lead the pack, according to Coinmarketcap.com. It …

A July 1 PCI Security Standards Council deadline is prompting payments providers to act well before then, with many establishing their own compliance deadlines in February. What has provoked this eagerness? It could be that noncompliance with the PCI mandate could halt merchant transactions that rely on the Internet. The …

ProPay, a unit of Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), announced the debut of the ProPay Payment Network Wednesday. The service targets software-as-a-service providers and aims to make it easier for them to make payments among merchants, marketplaces, affiliates, consultants, and partners. TSYS says it does that through a single point …

Shift4 Payments LLC, owner of the Harbortouch point-of-sale service, announced Tuesday it purchased three POS brands specializing in hospitality payments. Restaurant Manager, POSitouch, and Future POS are now part of Shift4 Payments. Terms were not disclosed. The acquisitions add 90,000 merchants to Shift4 Payments’ portfolio, and include customers such as …

Curiosity, and a bit of confusion, about what constitutes credit card surcharging and cash-discount programs surfaced this week at the Northeast Acquirers Association annual conference in Uncasville, Conn. During a panel discussion about the benefits and challenges of credit card surcharging and cash-discount programs for merchants, participants explained how their …

Federal regulatory initiatives targeting the payments industry may have abated, but a variety of others at the state level and in the court system could require reactions from payments providers. That’s the word from Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs, who spoke Wednesday at the annual Northeast Acquirers …