Merchant processor Square Inc. is seeking a piece of the booming payment card business in New York City taxicabs, a market that is currently the exclusive domain of VeriFone Systems Inc. and another company that provide TV content and card acceptance to 13,237 cabs. San Francisco-based Square is proposing to …
Read More »In a Sneak Peek at Its Mobile Wallet, Isis Says Product Will Come with Preloaded Cash
The Isis mobile wallet, set for release in two U.S. cities this summer, will feature a prepaid card with cash already loaded and a capability to “follow” participating merchants to receive coupons and other offers. The broad outlines of how the wallet will work were disclosed on Wednesday as Isis …
Read More »Boku Invades Point of Sale with a Mobile Wallet Aimed at Wireless Carriers
With e-commerce kingpin PayPal Inc. having used mobile technology to move into processing for brick-and-mortar merchants, it was probably only a matter of time before others followed suit. The latest to join the parade is San Francisco-based mobile-payments provider Boku Inc., which on Thursday announced a platform that will let …
Read More »Isis Shooting for 1,000 Merchants in Each of Two Test Cities When Launch Starts in July
The Isis mobile-payments platform plans to go live at about 1,000 merchant locations in each of the two cities it has targeted for what it calls a “soft launch” this summer, according to officials with the company. While Isis will not identify the merchants it is talking to, it is …
Read More »Threat of Identity Theft Stalks Users of Social Media and Smart Phones
After bottoming out in 2010, identity fraud rose nearly 13% last year, according to new findings from Javelin Strategy & Research. Javelin’s findings also associate two hallmarks of the tech-oriented early 21st Century, social networks and smart phones, with a higher risk of identity fraud. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Javelin surveyed 5,022 …
Read More »Mocapay Expects To Hit Its Stride with a Revamped Business Model And Technology
Mocapay Inc., one of the earliest startups in the mobile-payments space, finally is poised to go national with new partners, a different pricing model, and a broadened set of technological options that its president says makes payments by smart phone easier for merchants and consumers. Mocapay launched in 2006 and …
Read More »Google Announces a Fix for Prepaid Flaw As Security Holes Plague Its Wallet
Google Inc. late on Tuesday announced a solution for a security flaw in its mobile wallet that allows hackers to gain access to wallet owners’ prepaid accounts. Google also said it had, on Monday afternoon, restored the ability to load funds on new prepaid cards. In response to the flaw, …
Read More »Durbin Begins to Bite at Visa As Debit Growth Slows in the Latest Quarter
While acknowledging that federal pricing regulations are crimping growth in its debit card business, Visa Inc. late on Wednesday presented an upbeat report to investors that stressed new ventures like its recently introduced digital wallet, V.me. Separately, the world’s largest card network also unveiled new tools to help client banks …
Read More »Datacard, DeviceFidelity Prepare for Mass Issuance of Micro SD Cards for NFC
In a move that could herald a time when card issuers will be able to mass produce specialized cards equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology, Datacard Group on Monday announced it has taken an equity stake in DeviceFidelity Inc., a Richardson, Texas-based startup that makes micro Secure Digital (SD) cards …
Read More »To Sign Merchants Nationwide, Square Heads to Campus To Recruit a Sales Force
n San Francisco-based Square posted a notice for a “Square U Representative” position last month on its Web site and has put out reminders about it this month through Twitter as well as a feature story about it on its Facebook page. The job posting indicates the position is …
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