Person-to-Person Payments

The phishing trend, which took an ominous turn upward in the closing days of 2005, has grown even more menacing, with both the number of phishing-related e-mails and the number of Web sites hosting phishing attacks increasing by double-digit percentages in January, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing …

PayPal Inc.'s new payment service for mobile phones, which the eBay Inc. processing unit is expected to launch commercially within a few weeks, will have to offer more than basic person-to-person payments to be a success, one expert observer says. “I think it will need to go beyond just P2P …

A tiny startup in Redmond, Wash., has signed up about 500 users for its week-old person-to-person payment service based on mobile phones and expects to launch a commercial service in 2006. With a head count of three, including two former Microsoft Corp. employees, TextPayMe Inc. allows individuals with cell phones …

PayPal Inc. may be trying to process more transactions for e-commerce sites independent of its parent company, giant online auctioneer eBay Inc., but its latest quarterly figures indicate it still depends on eBay's auction activity for 69% of its transaction volume, a ratio that has remained virtually unchanged for months. …

GreenZap Inc., a San Diego, Calif.-based processor of e-mail payments that started up this summer as the latest competitor to PayPal Inc., has added acceptance of Visa and MasterCard cards to fund accounts, a move the company says will help it to more than double transaction volume. “The integration of …

PayPal Inc.'s decision to enter the broad micropayments market could help the Internet payments processor boost transaction volumes and attract new accountholders, but by how much is currently a guessing game, experts say. “I'm not educated enough yet to say whether it's going to be material,” says Gwenn Bezard, research …

Transaction-volume growth slowed somewhat in the second quarter at online processor PayPal Inc., according to statistics released today by parent company eBay Inc., with the number of payments processed reaching 113.2 million, up 2.5% from the first quarter. This follows two consecutive quarters of double-digit growth, but improves on a …

Smaller financial institutions, including credit unions, are increasingly coming under attack by phishing fraudsters, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The report says the number of brands “hijacked” by fraudsters jumped to 107 in May, up from 79 in April and 64 in January. The group, …

Microsoft Corp. is working on new authentication software that will identify consumers to merchant sites on the Internet and initiate payment processing. The software, which the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is calling InfoCard for now, will be released to developers for feedback by the end of the month, according to …

Internet transaction processor PayPal Inc. will handle settlement of payments between travel agents and hotels, car-rental agencies, and other non-airline travel suppliers as part of a single-source, electronic booking portal offered by a San Francisco-based startup company. The deal helps PayPal further its strategy of moving more payments outside the …