Transaction Processing

Arguing that U.S. transaction processors face pressing needs for both capacity and faster rollout times for new payment methods, a San Mateo, Calif.-based software company specializing in so-called high-performance transaction-processing systems has begun courting merchant acquirers, processors, electronic funds transfer networks, and high-volume merchants for a recently released payments switch. …

Data breaches, including the recently disclosed hack at off-price retailer TJX Cos. Inc. (Digital Transactions News, Jan. 22), garner a lot of headlines, but they paint a misleading picture about the resulting dangers, according to some experts. While an estimated 30% of consumers have been exposed to data breaches, only …

Despite concerns over the recent hack at retailer TJX Cos. Inc. and other data breaches, the head of the organization overseeing the Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standards is optimistic that card networks, merchants, and financial institutions are on the road to more secure payments. “Compliance is often a …

Image clearing of check payments is nearing 60% of all image-exchange volume, while the total volume of paper substitute-check volume cleared is now falling for the first time, lending credence to arguments by industry observers that conversion to end-to-end image clearing is proceeding more quickly than some bankers had thought. …

NACHA announced Monday it has begun levying two new so-called network administration fees. One fee, a flat charge of one-one-hundredth of a penny, applies to all transactions passing through the automated clearing house system, except those considered on-us, or handled within a single financial institution. The Herndon, Va.-based governing body …

At a time when the security of personal financial information is in the news thanks to the recently disclosed computer breach at off-price retailer The TJX Cos. Inc., vendors that sell technology and services so merchants can meet the Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security standard have formed a group …

A sweepingly ambitious, nearly year-long effort to speed up end-to-end electronic processing of checks has been shut down by its organizers, the victim of multiple operational complications that proved in the end too hard to overcome. The Check-ACH Coalition, a group of some 65 financial institutions, trade groups, and vendors, …

Off-price retailer The TJX Cos. Inc. is defending its month-long delay in the disclosure of an intrusion into its network that handles customer payment card data, saying it may have prevented the data breach from becoming worse. TJX discovered the breach in mid-December, but didn't reveal it until Jan. 17. …

Leading payment processor First Data Corp., restructured and without its huge Western Union wire-transfer business, late on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter income from continuing operations of $240 million, up 12% from $214.4 million for the year-earlier period. Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data's merchant and international divisions posted strong gains, while the …

The latest and possibly biggest in a series of hacks into retailer and processor databases holding sensitive data about credit and debit card holders may indicate that it's time for a new approach to card security, according to at least one analyst. That calls into question the effectiveness of the …