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 …

Brick-and-mortar merchants?and restaurants in particular?pose the biggest risk when it comes to card-data compromises, while point-of-sale systems based on personal computers as well as those hooked up to broadband connections are at significantly greater risk. That's according to new data released by AmbironTrustWave, a Chicago-based company that performs security audits …

Few people know First Data Corp. better than David P. Bailis. Starting in 1989, he worked on everything from health-care payments to e-commerce and held titles as diverse as general counsel and chief administrative officer. He retired in 2001 to dabble in his own financial-services consulting businesses. But he came …

With its settlement today with NCR Corp., DataTreasury Corp. will be able to tap technology that will allow it to move beyond check processing and into technology supporting automated clearing house and card transactions, the company's lead counsel says. The small Melville, N.Y. technology company, which had sued NCR early …

In a move that could lead First Data Corp. to sell its shrinking card-issuing operation, the Denver-based processor announced today it has hired investment banker Morgan Stanley to investigate options for the unit. The card-issuing business, one of three principal processing operations at First Data, has been rocked in recent …

The steady drumbeat of card-data breaches is a major factor causing rising anxiety among consumers who use the Internet for shopping and other financial transactions, the Conference Board reported today. In a quarterly survey of 10,000 households sponsored by the New York-based business organization, 13% of all online consumers say …

Having recently agreed to standardize their protocols for transaction-data protection primarily at online merchants, the card networks are beginning to push for improved security of stored data at brick-and-mortar retail locations, as well. The move comes in the wake of alarming breaches of card-transaction data at physical retail stores, including …

Gen Zers struggle to pay their monthly credit card bills, with 56% having missed a payment or making a late payment, says a study from CreditCards.com. In addition, some 9% of Gen Zers rely on parental support to pay their credit card bills. Compounding these difficulties with credit card bills …

The Western Union Co. announced a data-sharing service aimed at allowing businesses to use information from the payments platform to more sharply target marketing efforts at consumers globally. Visa Inc. has agreed to support palm-recognition technology for payments developed by Tencent, the China-based social-media company, starting in Singapore. The fintech PhotonPay announced it will …

Despite the ever-present threat of fraud, almost half of consumers tend to have a more positive opinion of their credit card issuer after becoming fraud victims, according to J.D. Power’s “U.S. Financial Protection Satisfaction Study,” released Thursday. Some 49% of credit card holders say they have a more positive impression …