Fraud & Security

Identity theft is a national scourge, but initial research findings released early Wednesday indicate that scourge impacts Black victims far more than it does other segments of the U.S. population. The impact can be measured by the dollar losses ID theft victims suffer, according to the report. In one example …

The number of cryptocurrency hacks globally reached 190 last year, setting a new annual record and exceeding 2021’s total by 44%, according to Comparitech. The value stolen totaled $3.57 billion, exceeding the combined total for 2019, 2020, and 2021. Some 82% of senders of remittances across borders said the cost of living has risen …

MoneyGram International Inc. announced a partnership with bill-payment platform CellPay to expand bill-pay options for MoneyGram users while expanding acceptance for MoneyGram’s service to more than 30,000 billers. Some 3.46% of U.S. consumers opened a new credit card in November, down from 3.7% in November 2021, according to the December 2022 …

Some 12% of U.S. customers have lost money to fraud on a peer-to-peer payment network, while 11% have seen it happen to a family member, according to survey results released earlier this month by J.D. Power. The networks cited by the respondents were Zelle, Venmo, and PayPal. For the survey, …

Payments-technology provider Finastra said Mechanics Cooperative Bank, a financial institution with $645 million in assets, has adopted the Finastra Payments To Go platform to offer real-time payments via The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC and later through the Federal Reserve’s FedNow network. Digital-security provider IronVest Inc. launched what it calls a “super app” for …

As financial institutions look to revamp their payment strategies, peer-to-peer payments are expected to play a key role, says a report from Cornerstone Advisors. During the past three years, nearly 30% of community-based financial institutions have replaced their P2P service or selected a new one, and about one in five …

Customers new to using Zelle, the peer-to-peer payment network operated by Early Warning Services LLC, have higher levels of engagement with their financial institutions than customers not using Zelle. That’s according to a recent study conducted by Early Warning and Curinos, a provider of data and technology technologies to financial …

Wedge Financial Inc. said its app, which lets users spend funds from multiple fiat accounts and assets using a single card, has joined Fiserv Inc.’s AppMarket. Work at the New York Fed under an initiative called “Project Cedar” means the United States has officially moved from the “research” phase to the …

Phishing attacks continue to set record highs. The third quarter of 2022 was the highest quarter on record for number of attacks, according to the latest Anti-Phishing Working Group’s Phishing Activity Trends report, released Wednesday. The APWG observed 1,270,883 phishing attacks during the September quarter, up 16% from a then-record …

U.S. payments provider Shift4 Payments Inc. said it has now processed transactions in Europe on its SkyTab point-of-sale platform for restaurants and its VenueNext service for mobile ordering and payment at stadiums and other facilities. The company said it plans to launch the two platforms commercially in Europe next year. Kansas-based processor Euronet Worldwide Inc.’s epay …