A survey of more than 170 senior-level executives for electronic payments processors, networks, and online merchants at a micropayments conference held earlier this month indicates a majority of the online merchants in attendance will be selling content with a micropayments system within a year. The survey, whose results were released …
Read More »Special Report: Online Fraud’s Hidden Impact
Separate studies of online transaction fraud released this week cast new light on the problem of fraudulent Web transactions. The rate of online fraud is declining, according to a survey of online merchants conducted in October by CyberSource, Mountain View, Calif., a processor of online transactions. But indirect costs resulting …
Read More »Passengers Increasingly Head for Ticketing Machines
The extent to which air travelers are adopting electronic ticketing kiosks has been demonstrated in dramatic fashion by some numbers recently released by Northwest Airlines Inc., which was the first major airline to deploy the technology. Some two-thirds of the Minneapolis-based carrier's passengers used the kiosks in October, up from …
Read More »Micropayments Could Hit 10% of All POS Transactions
Transactions amounting to $10 or less could potentially amount to at least 10% of all point-of-sale payment transactions processed annually in North America, a bonanza of transaction volume that goes a long way toward explaining why giant card companies and small startup processors alike are chasing the so-called micropayments market. …
Read More »Web-Based Drivers’ License Renewal May Be Coming
The state of Washington, home to Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com and considered one of the most digitally advanced states in the country, has passed the 1 million mark in electronic transactions on its Web site, and plans next to allow citizens to renew their drivers' licenses online. According to an …
Read More »A Cryptographer Says He Holds the Key to a Digital Currency
The dream of a digital currency, a form of money invented just for electronic transactions and just as anonymous as cash in the physical world, is at least as old as the original concept of the Mondex smart card 10 years ago. Next came Cybercash, Digicash, Beenz, Flooz, and others. …
Read More »Survey: Better Content Might Ignite Online Micropayments
A survey released today at a conference on micropayments reveals the extent to which Americans are willing to buy content from Web sites at prices measured in the pennies. Extrapolations from the survey show that 4 million Americans made micropayments for digital content costing $2 and under in the past …
Read More »Another Micropayment System Gets Ready for Rollout
The rising number of online content providers is provoking a steady stream of startups looking to facilitate payment of small fees for everything from ringtones to comics to newsletter items and songs. One of the latest is Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bitpass, which is in it the beta stage of attracting …
Read More »Payment by Phone Bill Picks Up Momentum
A payment service that allows Internet content and service providers to bill their customers via their phone bill has been gaining momentum. Although San Jose, Calif.-based PaymentOne, a billing service for 50 large Internet service companies, provides those companies with six different payment options, the PhoneBill choice is being used …
Read More »Nation’s First Shared Ticketing Machines Go Live
McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, has installed and switched on the nation's first ticketing kiosks serving multiple airlines. The airport's initial installation, which cost it about $2 million in hardware and software, includes more than 30 self-service machines at the airport itself and another six hooked up at the Las …
Read More »