As they rapidly evolve, biometric technologies are certain to play a greater role in payment authentication. But, given consumer acceptance and other issues, just how big this role will be is up for debate. With most new developments in payments, there’s a whole lot of talk before any discernible action. …

Apple Pay users visiting restaurants that are part of Punchh Inc.’s restaurant-loyalty service will be able to earn and redeem points when using the mobile-payment service, Punchh announced Thursday. Smashburger, Quiznos, and MOD Pizza will offer the Apple Pay/Punchh service later this year, Mountain View, Calif.-based Punchhsays. Apple Pay users …

Mallory Duncan, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Retail Federation and one of the most outspoken advocates for merchants on payments issues, announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of August. “Whether you’re appealing to the Supreme Court, testifying before Congress or meeting at the …

By Kevin Woodward@DTPaymentNews Apple Inc. is sponsoring its first known offers promotion for Apple Pay users with deals available June 23-25 in two San Francisco neighborhoods. Dubbed “Lose your wallet” on Apple’s Web site, the promotion includes a percentage off the purchase or a free item with a purchase. The …

Consumers may not realize it, but their mobile phone is a gateway for criminals to take over their bank accounts. In a fast-growing scam known as SIM swapping, criminals transfer the phone number associated with a consumer’s mobile phone to the SIM card embedded in a mobile phone in their …

The U.S. conversion to EMV chip card payments took a step forward Thursday when fuel-pump maker Gilbarco Veeder-Root announced what it says is the first EMV chip card transaction from a fuel dispenser. The transaction took place at a 49 Fuels gas station in Burlington, N.C., at an undisclosed time. …

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is giving customers another reason both to take its credit cards and use its Walmart Pay mobile wallet by enabling new cardholders to use their credit accounts immediately upon approval via Walmart Pay rather than having to wait for a plastic card to come in the mail. …

Consumers have a new way to get, and pay for, clean clothes with the debut of Washlava. As announced this week, Washlava offers consumers a smart-phone app they can use to reserve washers and dryers, and then pay for that use. The service, another indicator of the increasing incidence of …

By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews The number of data breaches tracked by the Identity Theft Resource Center in 2017 hit 698 as of May 30, a 35.3% increase over the record pace of a year ago when the ITRC flagged 516 breaches in 2016’s first five months. The San Diego-based nonprofit monitors …

Tokenization is nothing new. Various companies have for years offered the service, which replaces the actual card credentials a thief needs to make illicit purchases—primary account number, card-verification value, expiration date—with a random string of characters for digital transactions. But what is new is that Visa and Mastercard have finally …