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Wachovia Corp., some of whose debit card holders have been victimized by a data breach that happened several months ago, began sending notices and replacement cards to those customers recently because it began to see signs of fraud after months of monitoring the accounts, the bank says. Although Wachovia's action …
Read More »Chase Adds Contactless Technology to 1.8 Million Visa Debit Cards
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest issuer of contactless credit cards in the country with 7 million in circulation, is now adding contactless payment technology to its debit cards. The banking giant, which brands its contactless cards “blink,” has plans to re-issue 1.8 million debit cards with the Visa mark …
Read More »Tech-Savvy Scheme Loots Millions from Montreal Debit Accounts
Canadian police arrested 10 people Tuesday they say used rigged card terminals to intercept PINs as cardholders entered them at the point of sale as part of a scheme in which they stole $4 million (Canadian) from 18,000 customer bank accounts. More arrests are expected, according to the authorities. In …
Read More »A Busy ATM Direct Looks to Add Another Network, More Online Retailers
ATM Direct, which this week announced agreements with an electronic funds transfer network and an Internet merchant to process PIN-secured debit card payments on the Web, has signed another online retailer, which will go live on its system in August, Robert Ziegler, senior vice president and general manager of the …
Read More »ATM Direct Scores First EFT Network for Web-Based PIN Debit
In a development that could lead to the first significant use of PIN debit for Internet transactions, the ACCEL/Exchange electronic funds transfer network has agreed to handle PIN-secured debit card transactions processed by ATM Direct, a unit of San Francisco-based Pay By Touch Inc. The network, which is based in …
Read More »Swiped Laptops Now a Threat in Data Breaches Plaguing Payments
The drumbeat of data-breach disclosures continued Friday with the news that information linked to about 65,000 individuals?including credit and debit card data–were exposed when a burglar broke into a locked office in a YMCA facility in Providence, R.I., last week and stole a laptop containing the sensitive member information. According …
Read More »Debitman’s HSBC Deal Could Help It Corral More Merchant Issuers
There are no specific issuing agreements yet, but private-label credit card issuing giant HSBC Retail Services has teamed up with Debitman Card Inc. in a deal that could result in HSBC retailer clients offering PIN-debit cards to their customers usable on Debitman's network. If the arrangement pans out, it would …
Read More »A Boom Is Building in FSA Debit Cards, But Challenges Remain
Because of the efficiency, savings, and convenience they bring to a system traditionally choked with paper, debit cards linked to flexible-spending accounts (FSAs) are turning into a hot growth market in electronic payments. Issuers will put 6 million of the cards in circulation in 2006, up 50% over last year …
Read More »ECOM Finds Issuer for Anonymous, Disposable Prepaid MasterCard
ECOM Financial Corp., which has developed a disposable, anonymous prepaid card that works on the MasterCard network, has taken a step toward commercialization by reaching an issuing agreement with First Bank of Delaware, Wilmington, Del. In an announcement released Monday, the Stuart, Fla.-based company, which has had the card in …
Read More »Small Banks Adopt a Wide Spectrum of Electronic Payments
Small banks are adopting electronic-payments technologies at a rate that rivals, and in some cases exceeds, that of their larger competitors, according to a survey released this week. Two-thirds of the nation's community banks are processing checks under the rules of the Check Clearing Act for the 21st Century (Check …
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