Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
With consumer fees rapidly trending downward, expedited bill payment may be turning into more of a service to cement customer relationships than a source of revenue. Indeed, the median fee for the service is now zero, compared to $2.50 in 2005, according to survey research recently completed by Javelin Strategy …
Read More »CheckFree Spends Big for Corillian, But Gains Key Bill-Pay Assets
In a deal that continues a trend toward consolidation among tech companies in the payments industry, bill-payment services provider CheckFree Corp. on Wednesday announced that it plans to buy online-banking software maker Corillian Corp. for $245 million. The acquisition, which will produce a nice Valentine's Day windfall for Corillian shareholders, …
Read More »The Industry’s Self-Denial About the Maturing of Credit Cards
10 Tipping Points for the Payments Industry Part 6 The venerable credit card has been, by most measures, the most successful retail financial-services product in the past half-century. But even die-hard proponents can in good conscience no longer deny the growing evidence that the market for signature-based credit cards has …
Read More »Security Issues Are Eroding Trust in Online Banking, Survey Shows
Security fears created by such trends as the rise of phishing frauds are eroding consumer confidence in online banking, a recent survey reveals. Consumers also say banks should offer some form of strong authentication going beyond standard user name and password, though they are somewhat split on the specific technology …
Read More »The Disruptive Shift to Pay-As-You-Go Payments And Lifestyles
10 Tipping Points for the Payments Industry Part 4 Although the payments business has historically evolved at a glacial pace, the massive shift in consumer payments from physical to electronic forms is moving at light speed by comparison, making debit accounts the preferred means of funding transactions in every conceivable …
Read More »Suddenly, Mobile-Banking Race Heats up As More Entrants Elbow in
The race to bring online banking and bill-payment services to users' handsets is getting more intense. Most recently, Chantilly, Va.-based Online Resources Corp. said it is entering mobile banking by partnering with Access Softek Inc., a Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of financial services software. The application uses Access Softek's OFX (open …
Read More »Spoofed Sites Proliferate As Phishers Seek To Foil Toolbars, Other Filters
A new tactic used by Internet fraudsters is causing a dramatic upsurge in the number of Web sites hosting phishing attacks. The number of fake sites phishing fraudsters use to con Internet users into giving up PINs, passwords, and other confidential information soared to 37,444 in October, up nearly nine-fold …
Read More »TIO Plans To Start Hybrid ATM-Kiosk Deployments by Start of ’07
The concept of an ATM that also serves as a kiosk for bill payment and other financial services may be getting closer to reality. TIO Networks Inc., a Burnaby, B.C.-based operator of bill-payment kiosks that serve primarily the underbanked, will begin deploying hybrid ATM-kiosk machines by the start of 2007, …
Read More »MagTek Launches a Company to Pursue Online Authentication
In a move aimed at addressing widespread fears about e-commerce security, MagTek Inc. has launched a company to commercialize its card-based authentication technology and leverage it for both online and point-of-sale transactions. Magensa LLC, a subsidiary of the Carson, Calif., maker of check scanners and card-terminal components, officially began operation …
Read More »Cingular-Backed M-Payments Service Could Boost Contactless Market
A mobile payments and banking service backed by Cingular Wireless and CheckFree Corp., announced this week, could pave the way to faster and more widespread adoption of contactless payments, its backers say. The service, which is being tested by an unnamed regional bank and is expected to launch in the …
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