News

April, 2009

• 22 April

  Terminal Rivals Cooperate on Plan for Card Data Security

  In an unprecedented effort to thwart data breaches, the three leading vendors of payment card terminals on Wednesday put aside their normally fierce rivalries to announce creation of a non-profit industry group to implement common security standards and improve knowledge about security issues. “The self interest aligns with the public …
• 22 April

  First Atlantic Denies IRS Allegations in Offshore Tax Investigation

  First Atlantic Commerce this week issued a strongly worded statement distancing itself from an investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice of offshore transactions. First Data Corp. last week said it was reviewing documents Justice filed in federal court seeking information on First Data merchants that sell or provide …
• 20 April

  Money Transmitters Shrug off Recession, Downplay New Channels

  U.S. automakers and lots of banks are finding their business models under severe stress, but not so money-transfer businesses despite a likely decline in transfer volume this year, according to new research from Aite Group LLC. The industry, especially big players such as The Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International …
• 17 April

  First Data Reviews Request from Feds On Offshore Merchants

  First Data Corp. is reviewing documents filed in federal court earlier this week by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information on First Data merchants that sell or provide offshore services, including financial processing, a spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. The Justice Department on Wednesday asked the U.S. District …
• 17 April

  It’s Not Perfect, But PCI Helps Secure Card Data, Study Finds

  The recent massive data breaches at RBS WorldPay Inc. and Heartland Payment Systems Inc. ?two merchant acquirers deemed in compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard by qualified assessors?left many in the industry questioning the effectiveness of the PCI standard. But a newly released report from Verizon Business concludes …
• 16 April

  Visa’s payWave Platform Connects with the Vending Machine Market

  Contactless payments took another incremental step recently when USA Technologies Inc. struck an agreement with Visa Inc. under which Visa will subsidize the deployment of up to 4,000 of USA Technologies' card-accepting devices for vending machines. The agreement, potentially worth $800,000, is significant because it is the first between Visa …
• 15 April

  How a Shakeout in Processing Is Culling the Ranks of Major Players

  Inexorable forces are reducing the ranks of payments processors and electronic bill-payment providers, as the planned buy-out of Metavante Corp. by Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) shows. Remaining ones such Online Resources Corp. are vulnerable to Wall Street pressure, as a proxy fight in progress shows. But some companies …
• 15 April

  Test Yields Upbeat Results for Bling Nation’s On-Us Platform

  Bling Nation Ltd. on Wednesday said it has completed a 10-day test of its alternative-payment platform, known as the Community Payment Service. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company also said it plans to continue testing its system preparatory to a rollout. Bling Nation's platform creates closed-loop transaction networks linking local merchants …
• 14 April

  A Rival Emerges to the Fed’s Plan for Faster ACH Clearing

  A Federal Reserve Bank proposal to speed up settlement times for certain automated clearing house transactions has provoked at least one electronic-payments executive to offer an alternative proposal that he says will accelerate clearing times without the threat to banks he sees in the Fed's idea. Danne Buchanan, chief executive …
• 10 April

  Eyeing New Markets, A Niche Payment Player Wards off Recession

  The electronic-commerce payments market remains highly competitive despite the recession, and the online niche payment systems are trying to adapt their game plans to the fluid conditions. “The economy is helping us on the consumer side and the merchant side,” says Sergio Pinon, chief executive of eLayaway LLC, an online …