Transaction Processing

A major research firm's estimate this week that fraud losses on debit cards in the U.S. hit an estimated $2.75 billion for the 12 months ending in May might have struck a nerve, especially in the absence of hard data on the problem, but it also has experts raising questions …

The disclosure by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in late July that it plans to charter an industrial bank in Utah to acquire its own payment transactions is creating more questions than answers about current relationships between the world's largest retailer and the payments entities with whom it currently works. Bentonville, Ark.-based …

As the number of headlines about database breaches grows, so too does the number of lawsuits filed in response, as well as the amount of legislation aimed at better protecting consumer data. Several suits have already been filed in the wake of recent thefts of card data at Columbus, Ohio-based …

Fiserv Inc. is buying electronic bill-payment processor BillMatrix Corp. in a $350-million deal expected to close by Sept. 30. Dallas-based BillMatrix processes payments on cards and through the automated clearing house for more than 120 clients, among them utilities, insurers, lenders, and phone carriers. It is a pioneer in the …

The increase in thefts of personal and financial information from databases, highlighted by the recent security breach at payment processor CardSystems Solutions Inc., is causing other processing entities to enhance security efforts beyond just fortifying computers and telecommunications links. For instance, Vital Processing Services LLC, a big merchant processor based …

The lead attorney in a recently filed small-business class action against Visa, MasterCard, and a number of their member banks over interchange is optimistic his lawsuit will succeed even though a suit by some California small businesses challenging interchange on antitrust grounds was dismissed this week. In separate statements, Visa …

CyberSource Corp., a publicly held Internet gateway for online merchants, reports it processed 147.2 million transactions in the second quarter, up 47% over the year-ago period and 7% over the first quarter. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company, which reported the transaction figures as part of its second-quarter earnings release last …

The fallout from the largest data-security breach yet in the electronic payments business continues, with rival processors looking to pick up new merchants now that both Visa U.S.A. and American Express Co. have said they are terminating CardSystems Solutions Inc. as a processor on their networks. CardSystems' list of clients …

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 …

In a move that apparently took troubled processor CardSystems Solutions Inc. by surprise and is likely to cripple the company, Visa U.S.A. has terminated CardSystems as a processor and agent on its network, effective Oct. 31. In a statement issued yesterday, Visa says it is taking the action because the …