News

July, 2005

• 7 July

  How DataTreasury Could Become a Toll Collector in Check Imaging

  Little noticed until now, a small, privately held technology company on Long Island this week scored a major victory in a patent-infringement case that is sending shock waves throughout the electronic payments business, observers say. One direct result, they say, could be sharply higher costs for banks and third-party processors …
• 7 July

  Star Survey: Consumers Prefer PIN, While PIN Fees Are Less Frequent

  Consumers generally prefer PIN-based debit to signature debit, and are less frequently subjected by banks and merchants to fees for PIN-debit usage, according to a recent survey. At the same time, the number of banks offering rewards incentives to consumers for PIN-debit usage, already a small minority, is declining, says …
• 6 July

  Small Company Sues Big Banks, Wins Big in Check 21 Technology Cases

  In a move that could have widespread implications for the fledgling business of check-image exchange, a small, privately held company holding patents on key elements of check imaging and processing filed patent-infringement suits today against four major banks. The federal suit, filed by Melville, N.Y.-based DataTreasury Corp. against Bank of …
• 5 July

  41st Parameter Gets Set to Roll out More Potent Anti-Phishing Software

  Mindful of the rapid spread of online frauds depending on phishing, The 41st Parameter Inc. plans next month to roll out a new version of its machine-authentication technology. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company is already piloting the new version of its software, called TimeDiff Linking, and last week filed for an …
• 1 July

  Merchants Misunderstand How Interchange Works, Former Visa Exec Says

  Merchant complaints about credit card interchange pricing, which culminated last week in a class-action antitrust suit against the bank card associations and major banks, rest on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the interchange mechanism works, says a former Visa U.S.A. executive and payments-industry expert. The pricing system, indeed, allows for …

June, 2005

• 30 June

  AmEx And MasterCard Could Be Losers in BofA-MBNA Deal

  Bank of America Corp.'s planned acquisition of MBNA Corp. and its 40 million active credit card accounts has payment industry executives pondering the fate of American Express Co.'s ambitious efforts to jointly issue credit cards with banks. The $35 billion deal, announced this morning and expected to close in the …
• 29 June

  Samid: More Major Data Hacks Could Happen Without Legislation

  The huge theft of card data at processor CardSystems Solutions Inc., revealed last week by MasterCard International, has prompted litigation and drawn the attention of most of the state attorneys general, but at least one network-security expert cautions that more such incidents are likely. Indeed, he says, little is likely …
• 29 June

  Merchants Suing on Interchange Seek Major Reform of Fee System

  The merchants that last week filed a class-action antitrust suit against major banks and the bank card associations seek more than to collect damages for what they regard as anticompetitive behavior. Indeed, according to the lead attorney representing them, they hope their case will lead to sweeping reform of the …
• 28 June

  PayPal Seeks Higher Small Merchant Share with New Product

  PayPal Inc.'s new payment technology for small and medium-sized merchants, introduced last week (Digital Transactions News, June 20), is aimed at boosting the online payment processor's market share with these merchants both on auction sites and through their own Web sites, PayPal executives say. The San Jose, Calif.-based company, a …
• 28 June

  A Preliminary USPTO Decision Supports ReD in Patent Dispute

  Retail Decisions PLC says the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued what it calls a “preliminary decision” that supports ReD's position in a patent dispute between the company and Mountain View, Calif.-based CyberSource Corp. U.K.-based ReD includes its U.S. unit, Retail Decisions U.S.A., Hazlet, N.J. The USPTO statement, which …