Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
• Prepaid card and mobile-banking provider Green Dot Corp. named three new independent directors to its board and non-independent director Sam Altman stepped down as the company expanded its board from eight to 10 directors, all but one of them now independent. Green Dot shareholder Harvest Capital Strategies LLC, which …
April, 2016
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12 April
Wow! FICO Reports a 546% Increase in ATM Compromises From 2014 to 2015
A migration of sorts appears to be under way among criminals targeting electronic payments as evidence surfaces that ATMs, especially those not owned by banks, are being targeted. In 2015, there was a 546% increase in ATM compromises, says Fair Isaac Corp., the company known as FICO. Based on data …
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12 April
Rash of Breaches Bedevils Merchants With a Fast-Rising Rate of Fraud, Lexis-Nexis Finds
Retailers are contending with a markedly higher level of fraud this year than they did in 2015, with the fraud rate increasing from 1.32% of revenue to 1.47%, finds the 2016 LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud study. Last year marked the first time the rate was greater than 1%. When …
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11 April
Apple and Samsung Tech, Along With Host Card Emulation, Drive NFC Usage
In another indication of the rebound of near-field communication for payments, some 148 million consumers globally will use the contactless technology in a mobile or wearable device to buy something this year, according to the latest report from Juniper Research, released Monday. Fully 70% of these consumers will be wielding …
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11 April
iPayment Selects Apriva for Mobile POS Service Targeting Smaller Businesses
Merchant processor iPayment Inc. announced Monday it will offer a white-label version of Apriva’s AprivaPay Plus to small and mid-size merchants. Dubbed iPayment MobilePay, the mobile point-of-sale service uses AprivaPay Plus, mPOS software developed by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Apriva. Merchants can use the service with iOS, Android, or Amazon Fire mobile …
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11 April
Cachet Renews Ingo Money Deal and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• Prepaid card provider Green Dot Corp., under pressure from an activist investor to boost earnings, announced it would buy $50 million of its Class A common shares under an accelerated stock-repurchase plan. • Remote deposit capture and mobile-payments technology provider Cachet Financial Solutions Inc. will continue to provide …
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8 April
For Payments Newbies, Funding Deals Remain Plentiful But Checks Get Smaller
Funding activity for startups in the payments business continued at a hectic pace over the past six months—but the total dollars invested fell through the floor. There were 75 funding deals in the first quarter totaling $396 million, according to the latest data from CB Insights, a New York City-based …
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7 April
Pivotal Payments Licenses Tango Platform and other Digital Transactions News briefs
• U.S. senators from Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, three states where recreational marijuana use is legal, asked the various federal bank and credit-union regulatory agencies to develop joint guidance for how financial institutions could serve legal cannabis businesses; marijuana use remains illegal under federal law, meaning that many marijuana merchants …
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7 April
Will Credit Card Surcharging Become the Norm in 2016, as One Analyst Prophesies?
Though merchants have been permitted since 2013 to add surcharge fees to credit card transactions, it’s only in 2016 and 2017 that the practice will become the norm, ushering in a new phase of a sometimes contentious relationship between merchants, the payment card industry, and consumers. That’s the assertion of …
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6 April
Consumers Seek Online Payments Security Assurances: Survey
As online shopping continues to grow, consumer anxiety about the security of the payment card credentials on e-commerce sites remains a top concern. Some 48% of consumers want more assurances about their online shopping security, finds a survey released Wednesday by Tender Armor. The survey of more than 1,000 consumers, …