So-called shoppable ads could get a big boost if a tap-and-buy test announced Tuesday by Facebook Inc.’s Instagram social network succeeds, a test in which PayPal Holdings Inc. is the payment processor. Other social networks and Internet sites have rolled out or begun testing shoppable ads, including Pinterest, Snap Inc.’s …

In a time when criminal access to consumer data has never been more common, merchants continue to experience pervasive and persistent fraud attempts. That’s the key takeaway from the 2019 sixth annual Fraud Attack Index from Forter Inc. released Thursday. How bad is the problem? Fraud grew in 2018 in …

Mastercard Inc. said it is purchasing Ethoca Inc., a fraud-mitigation firm, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. Ethoca works with more than 5,000 merchants and 4,000 financial institutions. Mastercard intends to expand Ethoca’s capabilities and combine the company with its current security …

American vacationers flock every year to the scenic islands of the Caribbean, and some day they might be using a digital version of the East Caribbean dollar to pay for a Rum Punch or Ting With a Sting. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the monetary authority for the eight-country Eastern …

Criminals figured out in 2018 how to really frustrate retailers. They automated their bots to create high-volume attacks against online merchants, finds the ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Report: H2 2018. Released Tuesday by ThreatMetrix, an anti-fraud company purchased by LexisNexis Risk Solutions last year, the report finds there were 5.5 billion bot …

Backers of near-field communication technology for mobile payments made it plain on Tuesday they’re ready to fight back against quick-response codes, a rival technology that has won support not only from giant systems like China’s Alipay and WeChat Pay but also domestically from merchant apps from big chains like Walmart …

While a handful of states and cities are passing laws requiring retailers to accept cash, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United, will go completely cashless March 10. Stadium management announced the new policy Monday, and it takes effect with Atlanta …

Payments company i3 Verticals Inc. announced the acquisition of two unnamed companies at a combined price of approximately $20 million. One is in the public sector and the other is in wireless Internet-service billing. Countering the impression that most users of digital-payments services skew younger, half of first-time person-to-person payment …

The Kroger Co. on Friday opened a new front in its battle with Visa Inc. over acceptance costs with an announcement that it will stop accepting Visa credit cards at its Smith’s Food & Drug Stores chain, which operates 134 stores in seven Western states. The ban is set to …

Business-services firm Accenture invested in and formed an alliance with P97 Networks Inc., a cloud-based mobile-commerce firm specializing in automotive. As part of the agreement, Accenture will develop products from P97 for its clients. P97’s PetroZone service is installed at more than 20,000 U.S. filling stations. Terms of the investment …