News

January, 2006

• 16 January

  Phishing Trends Take an Ominous Turn As Malware Incidents Rise

  Afer a let-up last summer, the phishing scourge appears to be getting worse. The Anti-Phishing Working Group reports the number of unique phishing attacks grew 6.7% in November over the count in October, to 16,882. This represents a new record high for the online fraud, in which criminals use bogus …
• 13 January

  Accelitec Lays Technical Groundwork for PayPilot Expansion in ’06

  Accelitec Inc., a Seattle-based company that last year launched a contactless-payment system aimed at merchants rather than banks, says it is preparing for expansion this year by smoothing integration with existing merchant networks. The company's PayPilot product is in beta with an unidentified merchant, and officials say they expect to …
• 12 January

  Online Merchants, Issuers Begin to Respond to SecureCode Incentives

  Deep discounts on interchange rates for Internet transactions authenticated through MasterCard International's SecureCode technology are taking effect just as the security system appears to be attracting more issuers and online merchants, according to a vendor of online authentication systems that supports both SecureCode and Visa USA's rival Verified by Visa …
• 12 January

  In an Ironic Twist, Free Terminals Could Hike Payment Software Sales

  The trend among independent sales organizations and other distributors to offer point-of-sale terminals to merchants at no nominal cost to them?the so-called free terminal trend–is building the case for POS software as an alternative to dedicated, standalone terminals, says the top executive at one company that specializes in PC-based transaction …
• 11 January

  Online Banking Falls Short in Identity Fraud Prevention, Study Shows

  The financial institutions whose online banking sites are doing the best job of protecting customers from identity fraud are Bank of America, Citibank, E*Trade Bank, Washington Mutual, and Wells Fargo Bank, according to a study released today. These banks scored in the top five of 28 institutions whose online banking …
• 10 January

  SVPCO Closes First Year of Image Exchange with 52 Million Items

  SVPCO, which operates an image-exchange network controlled by some of the nation's largest banks, said today it saw its image volume climb 33% last month to a new monthly high of 11.7 million items, allowing the new system to close its first full year having trafficked nearly 52 million items. …
• 9 January

  Accounting-Software Firm Sage Buys ISO Verus for $325 Million

  In another move by a financial-accounting software company into payment processing, Sage Group PLC is acquiring Verus Financial Management Inc., a privately held independent sales organization, for $325 million in cash. Based in the U.K., Sage markets software used by small businesses to manage finances. Nashville, Tenn.-based Verus provides card …
• 6 January

  ATM King Cardtronics Sees Further Expansion Via Bank Deals in ’06

  After rapid growth that has propelled it to the top of the ranking of U.S. ATM owners, Houston-based Cardtronics Inc. looks toward another year of major expansion in 2006, company officials tell Digital Transactions. In a story appearing in the January-February 2006 issue of the magazine, the company says it …
• 6 January

  Could Labry Move to Merchant Unit Presage a Breakup of First Data?

  With Ed Labry this week taking over First Data Corp.'s acquiring business, including First Data Merchant Services, some industry observers are figuring the Denver-based processing giant may be looking toward spinning off both the merchant division and the lucrative Western Union franchise as independent companies some time within the next …
• 5 January

  BitPass Expands Micropayment Functions with Yaga Acquisition

  BitPass Inc. has acquired rival micropayments processor Yaga Inc. in a deal that hands the Menlo, Calif.-based BitPass technology to support subscription and payment-aggregation models. The acquisition agreement, terms of which were not released, calls for BitPass to take over Yaga's platform, intellectual property, and client contracts. Staff at San …