Consumer behavior poses just as much of a threat to the proper use of passwords as do the actions of criminals intent on cracking those passwords. That’s the assessment of a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based consulting firm. The “In Search Of A Better …

  Chalk another payment-card data breach up for the bad guys. Payment gateway Charge Anywhere LLC announced Tuesday it discovered a breach of its payments network. It says it has shut down the malware that caused it. South Plainfield, N.J.-based Charge Anywhere said the malicious software, which was discovered Sept. …

  The Merchant Financial Cyber Partnership, a unique coalition of eight financial-services trade associations and 11 merchant groups, wants Congress to make it easier for retailers and financial institutions to share information with each other related to data breaches. Merchants and financial-services companies often are bitter foes when it comes …

  Parking-garage operator SP Plus Corp. says card readers at 17 garages it operates were hacked this fall, with one breach extending back to April. Chicago-based SP Plus says the company that provides and maintains the payment card systems in the 17 garages—10 are in Chicago, three in Evanston, Ill., …

The Gimlet EyeWhen Apple Inc. unveiled its Apple Pay mobile-payments service in September, and again when the service went live in October, the hype surrounding the new product—coupled with its fast uptake—put us in mind of another highly anticipated payments launch that took place almost 25 years ago. It, too, …

Merchants like to gripe about the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, but in an era of data breaches and rapidly changing payment technology, Visa Inc. thinks a strict approach to the rules of card acceptance is needed more than ever. The largest payment card network is expected to roll out …

Security NotesPicture this: We’re all standing in line at the American Express travel bureau. We hand over our U.S. dollars and take away American Express Traveler’s checks. I do it, you do it, the banks do it, the merchants do it. We all carry American Express travelers’ checks. Unfortunately, the …

AcquiringBy Jim DalyVolumes have been written about how Apple Pay benefits, or doesn’t benefit, consumers, merchants, card issuers, and even payment networks. But what about merchant acquirers? Train a cold eye on the new Apple Pay mobile-payment service for Apple Inc.’s recently introduced iPhone 6 models and the upcoming Apple …

  Apple Pay made it famous, but the technology to mask card credentials isn’t new. Now, though, a battle is brewing over standards, fees, and just who gets to do the tokenizing. In the world of payments, having no value has become very valuable. The payments industry is quickly evolving …

New technology is finally bringing the humble—but necessary—consumer transaction record into the digital economy. Since point-of-sale technology was first introduced, it has seen steady improvements in capability and sophistication. The last five years in particular have brought many breakthroughs in convenience, mobility, loyalty, and security, redefining the shopping experience and …