Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is questioning Mastercard Inc.’s planned $920 million acquisition of London-based VocaLink Holdings Ltd., a deal which if consummated would give Mastercard a strong presence in several non-card payment systems, including the Faster Payments initiative in the United States. VocaLink operates Bacs, the U.K.’s …
January, 2017
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4 January
Payment Alliance International Buys ATM Operator and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• Processor and retail ATM operator Payment Alliance International acquired Avery Scott LLC, operator of 400 ATMs in the Louisville, Ky., area. PAI, whose network has more than 74,000 ATMs, will retain Avery Scott’s employees and affiliates. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. • E-commerce marketplace Shop.com has contracted with processor World First USA …
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3 January
Could Consumers Finally Embrace Mobile Payments ‘In a Big Way’ in 2017?
It’s been said for years, but 2017 finally could be the year for mobile payments, according to Chetan Sharma, a prominent consultant in the mobile-technology space. “Fueled by demonetization in India and the rise of viable mobile-payment solutions worldwide, we expect mobile payments to enter the consumer consciousness in a …
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3 January
Harbortouch Releases Spa & Salon POS Service and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• Microsoft Corp. has made further details available about Web Payments, a feature it announced last month it is introducing for both Windows 10 PCs and Windows 10 Mobile. The feature will work with the Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome browsers and will allow Microsoft Wallet users to more easily make purchases on …
December, 2016
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30 December
Counterfeiting’s Reign As the King of U.S. Payment Fraud Is Coming to an End
The Federal Reserve’s recently released 2016 Payments Study shows that counterfeiting was the biggest type of U.S. card fraud last year. But other types of fraud, especially card-not-present fraud, are rising quickly, thanks in part to the coming of EMV chip cards and the aftereffects of data breaches. The Fed study says counterfeit fraudaccounted …
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28 December
PayByPhone Acquired by Volkswagen and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• Automaker Volkswagen AG has acquired PayByPhone Technologies Inc., according to press reports. A unit of U.K.-based payments processor PayPoint plc, Vancouver-based PayByPhone offers a platform for mobile payments for parking and claims 12.5 million users in North America, Europe, and Australia. The company handles more than $300 million in parking payments annually, according …
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28 December
A Robot Debuts To Find Items in Stores, Take Payment, And Cart Goods to the Car
With online sales soaring, physical retailers are faced with the challenge of how to recreate the convenience of e-commerce in a traditional store. On Tuesday, a 4-year-old startup called Five Elements Robotics unveiled a device that promises to help with that challenge by putting robots at the service of consumers. Once in …
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27 December
A Robotic Shopping Cart and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• A 4-year-old startup called Five Elements Robotics has introduced a robotic shopping cart called Dash that allows customers to download a shopping list and then guides them through the store to find the items. The cart is also equipped with a scanner to let customers scan and pay for the items at …
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27 December
Phishing Recedes in the Third Quarter, But Payment Services Attract 10% of Attacks
The Anti-Phishing Working Group reported that the total number of phishing Web sites detected in the third quarter was 364,424, a 21.8% decrease from 466,065 in the second quarter. The APWG said the second-quarter figures were an “all-time-high” for phishing attacks and the third-quarter data is a return to more historical norms. …
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23 December
Visa Reports More Than 800 Million U.S. EMV Transactions in November
Visa Inc. says its U.S. EMV credit and debit card volume surpassed 800 million transactions in November, more than quadruple the chip volume from a year earlier. November’s transactions on EMV chip cards hit 805.9 million versus 175.6 million in November 2015, a month after the general-purpose card networks’ EMV point-of-sale liability …
