News

January, 2006

• 19 January

  PayPal Ends ’05 with a 40% Jump in Traffic As Accounts Boom

  Internet payments processor PayPal Inc. saw its transaction volume grow 40% in 2005's fourth quarter over the year-ago period, to 139.7 million transactions, according to figures released yesterday by parent company eBay Inc. The processor's fourth-quarter volume, which included holiday activity, was also up 19% over third-quarter traffic. Dollar volume …
• 19 January

  With Some Network Help, ShopNBC Cuts Its Prepaid Card Losses

  Writeoffs stemming from transactions on prepaid cards, which had been swelling at online merchant ShopNBC, have eased considerably in the past few months, the retailer reports. Bad debt attributable to the plastic accounted for 3% of total writeoffs for 2005 at ShopNBC, which sells jewelry and electronic gear online at …
• 18 January

  With GE Consumer Finance, AmEx Claims Seven Bank Card Issuers

  American Express Co. has announced the seventh financial institution to agree to issue AmEx cards since the New York-based travel-and-entertainment giant began courting banks for its network two years ago. GE Consumer Finance, a Stamford, Conn.-based unit of General Electric Co., said it will issue cards on AmEx's network that …
• 18 January

  A Startup Readies a Payments Network Based on Driver’s Licenses

  A startup company led by the former head of a processor of automated clearing house transactions is readying a network that will allow consumers to use their driver's licenses to pay for goods at the point of sale. Boulder, Colo.-based Combined Payments Network LLC plans to formally unveil its product, …
• 18 January

  TSYS CEO Upbeat Despite Pending Loss of BofA Consumer Accounts

  Philip W. Tomlinson, chief executive of payment processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), played up his firm's strong fourth-quarter and 2005 financials and growth prospects today despite the pending loss of the huge Bank of America Corp. consumer credit card file. Columbus, Ga.-based TSYS reported fourth-quarter net income of $49.7 …
• 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 …