The blockchain, mobile commerce, fraud, data breaches, and authentication were all hot payments topics in 2017. Expect that to continue into 2018 if the prognostications from several payments executives hold true. Much of their outlook centers on identity and authentication, especially as data breaches, large and small, continue to wreak …

E-commerce platform Magento Inc. announced Instant Purchase, its new one-click payment feature that is now standard on its Magento Commerce system. For merchants, Instant Purchase offers a customizable button, a mobile-optimized process that Campbell, Calif.-based Magento says can reduce time-to-purchase by 90%, automatic shipping to the shopper’s default address, and …

Santa Claus might be relaxing on Dec. 25, but criminals targeting online merchants with stolen credit and debit cards won’t be taking the day off. That’s evident from Stripe Inc.’s latest report on online fraud trends and behavior. Released this week, the report, which examines an undisclosed number of transactions made …

The seemingly unending growth in online shopping is doing more than closing physical stores. The point of sale in the stores that remain is changing, and along with it, payments providers, says Javelin Strategy & Research in its “2017-2021 Retail Point of Sale Payment Forecast.” As consumers continue to increase …

American Express Co. on Monday became the third of the four major U.S. card brands to announce it will cease requiring signatures for transactions made with its cards at the point of sale beginning in April 2018. AmEx says its rule change applies to all point-of-sale purchase transactions globally, a …

Discover Financial Services cardholders soon won’t have to sign for their credit and debit transactions made at the point of sale. As of April 2018, Discover is dropping the signature requirement for transactions made on the Discover Global Network in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, the Riverwoods, …

Target Brands Inc. finally unveiled its long-rumored mobile-payments service. Announced Monday, Wallet resides in the Target app for iOS and Android devices. Consumers can only enroll a Target RedCard, available as a debit or credit card, in the app. Target gift card enrollment is coming, too, the company says. To …

Payments provider WePay is officially part of JPMorgan Chase & Co., WePay announced Monday. The banking giant wasted no time putting WePay to work as the backbone of a new payments service from Volusion LLC, an e-commerce platform. Chase announced in October it was buying Redwood City, Calif.-based WePay for …

Holiday gifts and everyday products may garner much of the attention when it comes to mobile-commerce transactions, but a tire retailer is finding success with the technology, too. SimpleTire, a Trevose, Pa.-based online seller, found that consumers were in the mood to buy tires online on Cyber Monday. SimpleTire says …

The underground market for personally identifiable information is flourishing, with criminals paying as little as 20 cents to as much as $15 for verified credentials across the dark market. That’s the latest from RSA Security LLC, a data-security company. The Bedford, Mass.-based firm released the 2018 Cybercriminal Shopping List Tuesday, …