News

March, 2014

• 5 March

  Virtual Prepaid Payment Service Pay in Private Debuts

  Consumers wanting a way to make online payments with some anonymity may be able to use the new Pay in Private virtual prepaid card service available as an iPhone or Android app. n “It’s not a solution for everybody,” Klein tells Digital Transactions News. “It’s a solution for a segment …
• 4 March

  Could VerifyValid’s Mobile Checkbook App Revive Prospects for All-Electronic Checks?

  A concept that would do away with paper checks while retaining their payment advantages took a step closer to fruition this week with the introduction of a mobile app that lets users create and send check images. The app, called Mobile Checkbook, works with Apple Inc. iOS devices and comes …
• 4 March

  Eye on Security: Issuer Response to Target Hack; A Rough Ride for Debit Cards in Chicago Cabs

  A recent study by First Annapolis Consulting Inc. found that 22 of the nation’s 30 largest debit card issuers are actively replacing cards in the wake of retailer Target Corp.’s massive data breach. Meanwhile, a suburban Chicago bank warned customers not to use their debit cards in Chicago taxicabs and …
• 3 March

  Chirpify Reports Upbeat Results for Its New Action Tags for TV Commercials And Arenas

  Consumers are responding enthusiastically to a new service that lets them buy goods from and otherwise interact with brands via social media in sports stadiums, through TV ads, and other venues, according to results released Monday by Chirpify, the Portland, Ore.-based company that announced the service in September. The service …

February, 2014

• 27 February

  Mobile-Payments Provider for Parking Looks to Serve Offers for Nearby Businesses to Users

  PayByPhone Technologies Inc., which runs mobile-payment programs for parking in half a dozen U.S. cities, is looking for ways to serve relevant offers to users of its system, a top executive with the company said Thursday. n The offers, for example, could include discounts at stores or restaurants near where …
• 27 February

  Mobile Photo Bill Pay Helps Bring in Younger, Higher-Income Customers, U.S. Bank Exec Says

  By John Stewart Nearly a year after its launch, a service at U.S. Bank that lets customers enter biller details and pay bills by snapping photos of the bills with a smart phone is helping the banking giant make big gains with mobile users, a critical demographic group, a U.S. …
• 27 February

  PayPal Secures Spots on New Samsung Smart Phone And Smart Watch

    Consumers carrying around the next-generation Samsung Galaxy S5 smart phone will be able to use PayPal with a tap on the device’s biometric sensor. The smart phone, scheduled for release in April, will have a fingerprint sensor that enables consumers to use their online PayPal accounts to pay for …
• 26 February

  First Data’s Star Network Casts Its Lot With Visa’s Identifier for Chip-Card Transaction Routing

  Payment processor First Data Corp.’s Star electronic funds transfer network on Wednesday said it would license Visa Inc.’s so-called common application identifier (AID) that will facilitate chip-based debit card transactions compliant with the transaction-routing requirements of the Durbin Amendment in 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act. The agreement with Visa could give Star, …
• 25 February

  Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange Goes Dark, Leaving Bitcoin Owners With Questions

    Mt. Gox, a well-known Bitcoin exchange, has shut down, leaving investors who had Bitcoins at the digital-currency exchange wondering what’s next. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital-payment system based on mathematically derived new Bitcoins coming into circulation by so-called “miners” using computers. News service Reuters reports today that the exchange …
• 24 February

  Neiman Marcus Downsizes by Two-Thirds Its Tally of Cards Compromised in Breach

  In a rare piece of good, or least not as bad, news about the recent retailer payment card data breaches, upscale department-store chain Neiman Marcus Group says about 350,000 cards were compromised by the breach it disclosed in January, down from its earlier estimate of 1.1 million. The number of …