News

March, 2013

• 25 March

  Why ATM Skimming Fraud Jumped Ahead of Point-of-Sale Skimming in 2012

    Credit and debit card skimming at automated teller machines outstripped card skimming at the point of sale in 2012, according to a new fraud report from FICO Labs, a San Jose, Calif.-based predictive-analytics and decision-management software unit of Fair Isaac Corp. Twenty states also saw an increase in credit …
• 22 March

  MasterCard’s Wallet Fee: A Tool of Oppression, or One To Level the Acquiring Playing Field?

  Is MasterCard Inc.’s coming digital-wallet fee for online-payments providers such as PayPal Inc. a fair charge for systems that rely on the bank card networks to move their transactions, or a way for the established card networks to squeeze upstarts? That’s the gist of the debate that’s swept across the …
• 22 March

  NEBA Sale Will Close the Book on the Regional Bank Card Processing Associations

    The pending acquisition of the processing business of NEBA (formerly the New England Bankcard Association), a Wakefield, Mass.-based bank card issuing and merchant-acquiring association, by processor Primax will mark the end of an era. Founded in 1969, NEBA is the last of the 12 original regional processing associations for …
• 21 March

  Blackhawk Network Gives a Sneak Peak Into Its Inner Workings Ahead of Its IPO

  International expansion and broader distribution in the United States are among the major initiatives on tap for gift card and prepaid card seller and program manager Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. to grow its business, according a filing Blackhawk made this week in preparation for its planned initial public offering. Some …
• 21 March

  Mobile-Payments Startup LevelUp Expands Its Footprint With a New Heartland Partnership

  LevelUp, the mobile-payments unit of Boston-based SCVNGR Inc., announced a partnership with the big merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. on Thursday that will dramatically expand its national reach with merchants and make its white-label mobile app more affordable to merchants wanting to increase their loyalty marketing. The agreement gives …
• 20 March

  Retailer Genesco Sues Visa To Recover $13 Million in Disputed PCI Fines

    Sports apparel and accessories retailer Genesco Inc. has gone to court to challenge  $13.3 million in fines levied by Visa Inc. for alleged violations of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard. Genesco’s may be the first retailer lawsuit filed against a card network over the PCI security standards, according …
• 20 March

  EFT Networks and Discover Strike a Deal That Could Resolve a Chip Card Controversy

    With help from Discover Financial Services, regional electronic funds transfer networks this week took a major step toward ending a dilemma over how merchants can route PIN-debit transactions made on chip cards through EFT networks and still meet the Durbin Amendment’s transaction-routing requirements. Previously, the main routes available for …
• 18 March

  VeriFone Overhauls Its Management Team as It Enters the Post-Bergeron Era

  Troubled point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc. on Monday announced sweeping changes in its management ranks, appointing four new people to top positions a week after long-time chief executive Douglas Bergeron resigned. One of the key appointments is Eliezer Yanay, who headed San Jose, Calif.-based VeriFone’s global research and development, …
• 14 March

  The FTC Warns of Fraud and Consumer Privacy Issues as Mobile Payments Gain Traction

  The Federal Trade Commission is becoming concerned that consumers who use the many emerging mobile-payments services won’t always be protected from fraud and privacy violations. In a staff report released this week entitled “Paper, Plastic or Mobile? An FTC Workshop on Mobile Payments,” the FTC lists a series of recommendations …
• 14 March

  New Data Show Consumers Once Again Are Willing To Pull Out Their Credit Cards

  Credit cards began staging a somewhat wobbly post-recession recovery in 2010 and 2011. But new figures from First Data Corp. and Visa Inc. indicate credit card charge volume is back to just about full health. In a mid-March investor presentation, Visa reported that U.S. credit card payment volume increased 11% …