News

February, 2018

• 27 February

  Blackhawk’s Proposed $3.5 Billion Buyout Headed Toward Mid-Year Close

  

  No other bidders emerged during a so-called go-shop period that expired earlier this month, so Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. reported Tuesday that its planned $3.5 billion buyout by two investment firms remains on track to close at mid-year. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based provider of gift cards and other prepaid card services …
• 27 February

  Ingenico Launches POS Device for SMBs and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/27/18

  

  Liberal members of the U.S. Supreme Court sharply questioned American Express Co.’s lawyer during oral arguments Monday for a major case involving a challenge to AmEx’s anti-steering rules for its merchants, Reuters reported. A group of 11 states led by Ohio alleges the rules violate antitrust laws and is challenging …
• 26 February

  Discover Teams Up with FitPay To Provide Contactless Payments With Wearables and IoT Devices

  

  Discover Financial Services cardholders will be able to make point-of-sale contactless purchases with wearables and Internet of Things devices that use FitPay Inc.’s FitPay Payment Platform under an agreement announced Monday by the two companies. The new service will provision payment credentials using the Discover Digital Exchange, Riverwoods, Ill.-based Discover’s …
• 26 February

  Mastercard Triples Engage Vendors and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/26/18

  

  Point-of-sale equipment maker Ingenico Group said it has begun integrating Google Pay Smart Tap into its POS terminals in the United Kingdom, enabling Google Pay users to transmit their loyalty information, coupons, and offer redemptions in a single tap along with the payment. Ingenico said this is the first step …
• 26 February

  Mass Card Replacements Wreak Havoc. A Startup Says It Has an Answer

  

  For years, the change in card credentials that occurs when issuers send out replacement plastic has caused heartburn for cardholders and merchants alike. New card numbers, expiration dates, or three-digit card-verification values can help thwart fraud when cards are lost or stolen, but they also wreak havoc with unaware merchants, …
• 23 February

  Apple Pay’s Great Mystery: Why Apple Doesn’t Promote Its Advantages More

  

  As Apple Pay’s global user base climbs to an estimated 127 million individuals, a mystery about why even more consumers don’t use Apple Inc.’s mobile-payment service confounds one researcher. Loup Ventures, a Minneapolis-based venture-capital firm, on Thursday released its annual Apple Pay review. Among its findings is that the estimated …
• 23 February

  Many Firms Pay a Price for Compromising Mobile Security in the Name of Efficiency

  

  Some 27% of executives with responsibility for their organization’s mobile devices said their firm had experienced a security incident in the past year involving the loss of data or system downtime in which mobile devices played a key role, according to new findings from Verizon Communications Inc. In addition, 32% …
• 23 February

  Nearly 60% of U.S. Storefronts Are Now Accepting Chip Cards, a Visa Update Shows

  

  Some 2.7 million merchant locations, or 59% of U.S. storefronts, were accepting EMV chip cards as of December, according to the latest update from Visa Inc., issued Friday. That’s up from 392,000 locations in September 2015, just before the major card networks began enforcing a mandate for chip card acceptance. …
• 23 February

  Paying a Price in Mobile Security and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/23/18

  

  In the wake of the Florida school shooting, First National Bank of Omaha has said it will not renew an agreement it has with the National Rifle Association to issue a cobranded Visa card. American Express Co. said its cardholders can now use their Membership Rewards points to order items …
• 22 February

  With Unified Token Management, Visa Seeks To Enable Omnichannel Commerce for Merchants of All Sizes

  

  Visa Inc. launched Token Management Service, a service it says will make it easier for users to manage tokenized payment card data from multiple sources and across multiple channels, the card network announced Thursday. Designed to complement the Visa Token Service, the new program provides a way for merchants to use …