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 …

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 …

The concept of point-of-sale electronic payments without a standalone card reader took another step forward this week when leading processor First Data Corp. introduced a new personal computer-based service called First Data POS Value Exchange. Aimed mostly at single-location merchants with up to five checkout lanes, the service uses hardware …

RSA Security Inc. on Wednesday announced its analysts had discovered a powerful new phishing tool fraudsters are selling via online forums and using to hoodwink consumers. The tool, which RSA calls a “universal man-in-the-middle phishing kit,” allows phishers to set up a URL that can interact in real time with …

More than 3 million PayPal users have been invited to try the online processor's virtual debit card since it was introduced in July, a PayPal executive responsible for the product tells Digital Transactions News. That represents almost 10% of PayPal's total active account base. The card, which links to users' …

A small technology company that has made a name for itself with its aggressive and successful litigation defending a pair of patents covering check imaging was dealt a setback late last week when the United States Patent and Trademark Office rejected all of the claims set out in those patents. …

MasterCard Worldwide and point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Holdings Inc. on Wednesday announced that the 1,600 taxicabs in Philadelphia now accept or will accept MasterCard's PayPass contactless card by year's end. The cabs will use technology from VeriFone Transportation Systems, a joint venture of VeriFone and Queens, N.Y.-based taxi-equipment manufacturer TaxiTronic …

The links between the growing payment sectors of prepaid cards and online banking just got a little tighter with the creation by Online Resources Corp. of a new service that lets consumers buy private-label gift cards through their financial institutions' online banking and bill-payment sites. The service, called CardHQ, currently …

MasterCard Worldwide announced on Thursday the start of a contactless-payment pilot in Dallas using mobile phones enabled by near-field communication (NFC) technology. The pilot, which is expected to involve about 500 subscribers of 7-Eleven Inc.'s Speak Out Wireless service, is the second real-world test of NFC payment in the U.S. …