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Security issues weigh more heavily on the minds of executives with merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations than they do among any other payment card industry sector, according to new research from Aite Group LLC. Some 43% of acquiring executives rated data security, including compliance with the Payment Card Industry …
Read More »Rising Fees Could Be Culprit As Fewer Doctors Accept Credit Cards
While credit card acceptance is making inroads in a slew of new markets like transit and parking, it turns out the plastic is losing ground among physicians. Some 32.7% of doctors' offices do not accept credit cards, up almost 4.5 percentage points from a year ago, according to a survey …
Read More »Merchant Groups Ask for Broad Changes in Letter to PCI’s Overseer
They're mad as hell, but whether they're going to take it any more isn't quite as clear. That's the essence of a letter seven merchant trade groups sent Tuesday to the PCI Security Standards Council and the five general-purpose payment card networks. The merchants want more input when the Payment …
Read More »Dead in ’08, Back in ’09: Congress Reintroduces an Interchange Bill
The Credit Card Fair Fee Act, a bill that would inject government into the interchange-setting process, has been resurrected after dying in committee last year. But this time there are more players around the table seemingly less inclined to sympathize with the defenders of the current bank card interchange system. …
Read More »Eye on Security: ‘Unique’ ATM Malware; Theft of Sony Card Data
Malicious software has been discovered on some Eastern European ATMs that has dangerous new powers to extract money as well as card data, according to a security executive. Meanwhile, Sony Corp. of America has confirmed that someone illicitly copied more than 5,000 credit card numbers of its customers who visited …
Read More »Merchant And ISO Austerity Leads to Tough Quarter at VeriFone
Merchants and independent sales organizations just aren't in a buying mood, and that's hurting the top line of the largest U.S.-based point-of-sale terminal maker, VeriFone Holdings Inc. San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone late Tuesday reported that revenues for its fiscal 2009 second quarter ended April 30 fell 13.5% to $201.6 million …
Read More »Four Years Later, a Lawsuit Springs from CardSystems Breach
Four years later, the fallout from the notorious CardSystems Solutions Inc. data breach?at the time the biggest hacking of payment card data ever?surfaced last week and looks like it could go on for months or even years. Merchant acquirer Merrick Bank Corp. is suing Savvis Inc., the company that inspected …
Read More »NRF Exec: Non-Credit Card Discounts Have a ’50-50′ Chance
The U.S. Senate didn't pass a credit card reform bill last week as many expected, but senators are expected to take up the issue again Tuesday. The question for the merchant-acquiring industry is whether the final bill, which is concerned with regulating credit card issuers' most controversial practices, also would …
Read More »The Senate Mulls Easing Discounts for Non-Credit Card Payments
Payment card acceptance costs have been swept into the furious Congressional debate about credit card interest rates, fees, and terms. Late Thursday afternoon, a proposal was pending in the U.S. Senate that would give merchants greater leeway to offer customers discounts if they use cash, checks, or debit cards versus …
Read More »Passions Are Far from Cooling in Debate over Card Interchange
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. paid discount fees totaling more than $1 billion to take credit and debit cards in the 12 months ended Jan. 31. Acceptance costs now exceed health-care premiums at The Home Depot Inc. And TJX Cos. Inc. finds sagging apparel prices make it difficult to recoup acceptance costs …
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