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Spurred by the increasing popularity of smart phones and a strong push by financial institutions, the number of Americans actively using mobile-banking services could grow to 53.1 million by 2013, an increase of 431% from an estimated 10 million today. That's the prediction from research firm TowerGroup Inc., which this …
Read More »Four Years Later, a Lawsuit Springs from CardSystems Breach
Four years later, the fallout from the notorious CardSystems Solutions Inc. data breach?at the time the biggest hacking of payment card data ever?surfaced last week and looks like it could go on for months or even years. Merchant acquirer Merrick Bank Corp. is suing Savvis Inc., the company that inspected …
Read More »Kansas City Fed Chief Espouses ACH for Debit Card Processing
The Federal Reserve Banks should adapt the automated clearing house network to compete directly with private-sector networks for debit card processing, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said this week. “The Federal Reserve could enhance competition in payment card markets by positioning ACH services as an …
Read More »RBS Gets an OK on PCI, But Is It Back in Visa’s Good Graces?
RBS WorldPay Inc., the other big merchant acquirer besides Heartland Payment Systems Inc. to report a major data breach in recent months, this week announced that it has attained validated compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI. But Atlanta-based RBS WorldPay didn't say anything in its news …
Read More »Survey: Banks’ Post-Breach Reissuance Increasingly Costly
Many banks are reflexively reissuing debit cards in the wake of a breach, possibly stopping fraud losses but sustaining huge reissuance costs and eroding customers' trust. That's according to survey research released this week. “[Breaches] occur all the time, and don't show any signs of going away,” says Paul Henninger, …
Read More »Online Resources Seeks Peace With Its Biggest Shareholder
After losing a nasty proxy fight last week with his company's largest shareholder, the chairman and chief executive of electronic bill-payment technology provider Online Resources Corp. seems ready to bury the hatchet. “I think it's going to work out,” Matthew P. Lawlor, who co-founded the Chantilly, Va.-based company 20 years …
Read More »A New Bill Seeks to Allow But Also Regulate Internet Bets
A bill to establish an enforcement framework for licensed online gambling operators to accept wagers from individuals in the U.S. was introduced on Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The legislation is designed to replace the controversial …
Read More »With Tri-Mode M-Banking, mFoundry Eyes High Growth
In a move to simplify solutions in the rapidly changing mobile-banking market, mFoundry Inc. has added enhanced capabilities to its m-banking product. It now offers text banking (SMS) and alerts, as well as support within the mobile web browser (WAP). The two new modes join mFoundry's mobile applications-based downloadable solution …
Read More »Sour Economy, Costs Pressure Billers to Push Harder for E-Bills
Hammered by rising payment-infrastructure costs and a deteriorating economy, billers are starting to push customers harder to receive bills electronically rather than by paper. The rising tide of home foreclosures, indeed, serves as a wakeup call to billers that aren't looking at electronic bill presentment, since it's getting harder to …
Read More »Debit Cards Propel What Growth There Is for MasterCard And Visa
Despite the economic downturn and softening volumes, MasterCard Inc. put in a “solid” first quarter, Robert Selander, MasterCard president and chief executive, said early Friday. “Our volumes have been impacted by significant headwinds, such as slower cross-border travel, lower gas prices, and an appreciating dollar,” Selander said at an analysts' …
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