Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
It often seems impossible to thwart online fraudsters, but e-commerce merchants made headway in the past year, according to CyberSource Corp.'s 11th annual study of e-commerce fraud. For the first time in four years, U.S. and Canadian merchants reported a decline in the average percentage of online revenues lost to …
Read More »NCR’s Pilot for Movie-Download Kiosks Opens New Transaction Market
A new source of potential payment card transaction volume opened up this week when ATM and kiosk manufacturer NCR Corp. and software provider MOD Systems Inc. announced a pilot in which consumers can download digital movies and TV shows from kiosks. Just as DVDs displaced VHS tapes for movie rentals, …
Read More »Despite a Fast Start in Mobile Banking, BofA’s Job Isn’t Done
Bank of America Corp. gave some insights into its fast-growing mobile-banking service, but the bank also acknowledged that it must convince skeptical customers that the service is valuable and secure. Charlotte, N.C.-based BofA started a controlled rollout of mobile banking in early 2007 and launched the service nationwide in the …
Read More »Eye on Earnings: Heartland vs. VeriFone; MasterCard Is Cautious
Heartland Payment Systems Inc. is accusing VeriFone Holdings Inc. of “tampering” with Heartland customers after the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal company said it will terminate its support relationships with Heartland customers, effective Dec. 31. VeriFone says it will offer complete alternative support at no cost to affected merchants. Heartland merchants …
Read More »Accel/Exchange Goes Live With Online PIN Debit
PIN-debit is now live on the Web with Monday's announcement that Accel/Exchange is the first electronic funds transfer network to roll out such a service. The network, a unit of Brookfield, Wis.-based Fiserv Inc., is making the PaySecure system from technology provider Acculynk Inc. available to its membership base this …
Read More »Seeking to Boost Transactions, Star Debuts Prepaid Reloads
Just three weeks after its parent company struck a novel deal with PayPal Inc., The Star Network pushed the boundaries of PIN-debit a bit further by unveiling a prepaid card reload service for ATMs and point-of-sale locations. Star, a unit of Atlanta-based processor First Data Corp., claims its load and …
Read More »Analysts: Processors Must Seek Growth in Non-Credit Card Markets
With credit card growth sputtering, an expanding debit card market will help lift transaction processors' volumes for the foreseeable future, according to new research from Goldman Sachs & Co. The investment bank also predicts processors will find robust growth markets in nascent channels like mobile payments and established debit-related markets …
Read More »Visa Readies a Canadian Debit Debut As Volumes Show Signs of Life
The first Visa-branded debit cards in Canada will be out in 2010's first quarter, Visa Inc. chairman and chief executive Joseph W. Saunders reported late Tuesday. Saunders, reviewing Visa's financial report for fiscal 2009's fourth quarter, also told analysts that signs of recovery from recession are starting to appear in …
Read More »Card Problems Cost U.S. Issuers Hundreds of Millions Overseas
U.S. payment card issuers missed out on nearly $4 billion in charge volume in 2008, including $78.7 million in interchange, because of problems cardholders had with their cards while traveling abroad, according to a new report by Aite Group LLC. The default response when travelers have a card problem is …
Read More »MasterCard Targets Small And Mid-Size Businesses for Utility Payments
Utility companies looking to convert from paper-based billing to electronic payments are continuing to become payment card acceptors, according to the MasterCard Inc. executive who oversees the network's programs for that merchant sector. “We're very pleased with the movement towards card acceptance across utilities of all sizes,” Steve Carnevale, vice …
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