News

April, 2019

• 22 April

  JCPenney Drops Apple Pay

  

  Department-store chain J.C. Penney Co. Inc. confirmed over the weekend that it no longer accepts Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay mobile-payment service. The move appears to involve a Visa Inc. contactless rule that took effect this month that may have broader implications for U.S. retailers. The confirmation came in a tweet …
• 22 April

  Visa Next Promises Greater Consumer Control of Digital Payments

  

  Visa Inc. announced Monday the debut of Visa Next, a platform for issuers and issuer-processors that enables such options as the ability to create new digital card accounts on demand and instantly activate and tokenize digital accounts for e-commerce and mobile-wallet use. Visa Next offers a series of application programming …
• 22 April

  Apriva Adds viv Support and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/22/19

  

  Apriva LLC, a payments provider for unattended retail, said its network will support the viv mobile-payments app from Vagabond, allowing college students to use virtual campus cards for vending-machine purchases. In related news, Apriva said it will support mobile payments for AveriGo LLC, a software provider for the vending and …
• 19 April

  The Extortionists Behind Ransomware Are Demanding Dramatically Higher Sums

  

  Not all security breaches are designed to steal data. Instead, an increasing number these days are programmed to hold data hostage. And the sums demanded by the malefactors behind so-called ransomware attacks are rising fast. The average ransom in the first quarter came to $12,762, up 89% just from the …
• 19 April

  First Data in Joint Venture To Buy Ireland’s Payzone and other Digital Transactions News Briefs from 4/19/19

  

  Allied Irish Banks p.l.c. and processor First Data Corp. formed a joint venture to acquire a 96% stake in Payzone, operator of Ireland’s largest retail payment network, for about €100 million ($112.5 million) including debt. AIB will own 75% of the joint venture and First Data 25%, according to The Irish …
• 18 April

  Bad Bots Favor Financial Services, Report Finds

  

  Being Number 1 when it comes to malicious online bot traffic is not the highest praise for the financial-services industry. But, that’s where the industry stands in the “2019 Bad Bot Report: The Bot Arms Race Continues,” released Wednesday by Distil Networks. Of the traffic tracked in the report, 42.2% …
• 18 April

  In a Return to Mobile Financial Services, T-Mobile Launches Its Money App Nationally

  

  In a sign that at least some U.S. wireless carriers haven’t given up on their ambitions in mobile payments, T-Mobile US Inc. on Thursday launched its T-Mobile Money service nationwide. But the service, which began as a pilot in November, goes beyond payments offerings to include some traditional banking services …
• 18 April

  AmEx Card Volume up 7% and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 4/18/19

  

  American Express Co. reported first-quarter U.S. card-billed business of $195.5 billion, up 7% year-over-year. International volume slipped 1% to $100.2 billion, bringing AmEx’s total billed business to $295.7 billion, a 4% increase from $283.8 billion a year earlier. Discount revenue rose 5% to $6.2 billion. AmEx said its average worldwide …
• 17 April

  Dunkin’ Adds Other Payment Forms To Its DD Perks Loyalty Program at 1,000 Locations

  

  Coffee, doughnut, and breakfast sandwich aficionados can now pay with credit and debit cards and even cash and still earn points in Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc.’s DD Perks loyalty program at more than 1,000 test stores, Dunkin’ announced this week. DD Perks is one of the nation’s largest rewards programs, …
• 17 April

  To Get Ready for PSD2, Stripe Buys a Developer of Strong-Authentication Tools

  

  In advance of a key European regulation taking effect late this summer, San Francisco-based payments provider Stripe Inc. has acquired Touchtech Payments, a developer of authentication software. Terms of the deal, announced Wednesday, were not disclosed. Founded in 2014, Dublin-based Touchtech specializes in code that establishes customer identities for financial …