With a few exceptions, mobile wallets have so far held scant allure for consumers. Why is that, and what could change it? Most mobile-wallet managers don’t like to talk about it, but their products have a consumer problem—in that people who have the necessary smart phones just aren’t all that …

For almost three decades, the Internet evolved in stealth until it exploded on the public scene and changed everything. Right now, something called “The Internet of Things” is being hatched in geeknests around the world, and it will change everything—again! Sixty billion “things” are projected to combine into a network …

The fraud bug struck debit card issuers last year, and the illness spared neither signature nor PIN-based varieties of debit. Researchers identified a big increase in skimming as part, but only one part, of the cause. According to the 2016 Debit Issuer Study commissioned by Discover Financial Services’ Pulse electronic …

When Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. demonstrated their streamlined EMV technology at some West Coast groceries last month, the payments industry focused on the potential for speedier checkouts and happier cardholders. But another implication of Visa’s Quick Chip and MasterCard’s M/Chip Fast technology is that it could boost the number …

    ISO Agents look at a number of different criteria when evaluating which agent program that they should ultimately establish a sales relationship with.  There are many factors to be considered beyond just residual splits; from support to equipment & processing alternatives; the considerations can be daunting.   The options …

• Mobile-ticketing platform Atom Tickets announced its app now works with 200 more theaters in 40 new markets across the country, including San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Denver, and Sacramento. Partners include AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, and Studio Movie Grill. • In related news, mobile-ticketing specialist ExtremeTix Inc. introduced a …

• Shift4 Corp. announced it is among the first payment gateways to introduce a software update to support the various quick-chip solutions from the major payment brands for faster EMV chip card transactions. • Uber and Visa Inc. launched Uber Local Offers, a program that enables Uber riders to earn …

By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews Mobile wallets eventually will get the contactless terminals and other infrastructure they need to attract consumers, according to an executive with Alphabet Inc.’s Android Pay. Their ultimate success, however, will depend on the value they offer merchants and consumers. “It’s still all about value creation,” Jack Connors, …

• The ATM Industry Association issued an updated position paper in support of variable surcharges, or so-called “convenience fees,” for ATM transactions; the trade group says global network policies effectively force ATM deployers to assess uniform surcharges despite differences in network interchange rates and fees, and that the coming of …

By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews Dollars loaded onto closed-loop gift cards fell 9% in 2015, according to new research from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. But one major prepaid card issuer, Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., franchisor of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores, reports that its DD Perks loyalty program now has more …