The sudden proliferation of Web sites hosting phishing attacks that began in October cooled only slightly in November, as online fraudsters continue to create multiple sub-domains to foil anti-phishing filters. The number of unique phishing sites came to 37,439, essentially flat with the 37,444 reported for October, according to the …
Read More »The Corrosive Siege Over Signature-Card Interchange
10 Tipping Points for the Payments Industry Part 3 (Editor's Note: In its November-December 2006 issue, Digital Transactions magazine began a series of special analytical reports concerning the 10 most critical issues now confronting banks, processors, and merchants as they engage in handling electronic transactions. Written by noted researcher and …
Read More »Detroit Takes Deep Plunge Into Card Acceptance for Parking
In a development that represents one of the largest projects so far to replace cash for payment at on-street parking meters, the city of Detroit on Tuesday started accepting credit and debit cards at 175 new multispace meters. The city expects the meters, each of which controls up to 10 …
Read More »Hypercom Aims at PC-Based Payments With Its TPI Software Deal
Payment-terminal manufacturer Hypercom Corp. on Thursday announced that it has bought the assets and technology of TPI Software LLC, a move that positions Hypercom to be a major player in the growing personal computer-based point-of-sale payments market. Founded in 2001, TPI Software specializes in applications that integrate payment functions with …
Read More »New Phishing Tool Lets Fraudsters Harvest Data From Legitimate Sites
RSA Security Inc. on Wednesday announced its analysts had discovered a powerful new phishing tool fraudsters are selling via online forums and using to hoodwink consumers. The tool, which RSA calls a “universal man-in-the-middle phishing kit,” allows phishers to set up a URL that can interact in real time with …
Read More »Chase Paymentech Reaps E-Commerce Gains From Holiday Traffic
While some analysts and retailers are describing the 2006 holiday spending period as mediocre, the recently ended season turned out to be bountiful for the nation's leading merchant acquirer, Dallas-based Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC. Chase Paymentech, which publishes its Chase Paymentech Pulse Index of holiday transaction and sales volume generated …
Read More »Wall Street Discovers a New Darling: Payment Card Networks
Less than a year ago, the only publicly traded payment card network stock was that of American Express Co. With Tuesday's announcement by investment-banking giant Morgan Stanley that it will spin off its Discover Financial Services LLC unit, the No. 4 network, there could be four. MasterCard Inc.'s May initial …
Read More »Citi’s New York NFC Pilot First Open Test in U.S. Backed by Major Issuer
The latest U.S. trial of contactless payment involving mobile phones and near-field communication technology (NFC), set to begin Jan. 10 in New York City, will combine key elements of the two other U.S. pilots mounted so far, and represents the first in which users can access credit cards issued by …
Read More »Visa Announces PCI Compliance Carrots to Go Along With Sticks
Hoping to push up compliance with its data-security rules, Visa USA on Tuesday announced first-ever incentives?including cash payments–to go along with new penalties for acquiring banks that serve the 1,200 largest Visa-accepting merchants. The carrot-and-stick package, intended to get acquirers to bring more merchants into compliance with the Payment Card …
Read More »Canadian Test in 2007 Foreshadows a National Chip Rollout
Visa, MasterCard, and Canada's national debit network are preparing to launch a test in Ontario for a Canadian chip and PIN system that its backers hope will ultimately eliminate the magnetic stripe on all cards and replace signatures on all Visa and MasterCard credit cards. The test will start next …
Read More »