Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
When it comes to payments, the United States might be considered the land of the gap, according to a Federal Reserve assessment issued earlier this month. The assessment is the first of a three-part research study aimed at spurring the modernization of U.S. electronic payments, which many public-sector researchers and …
Read More »Search Results for: data security
Phishing Attacks Drop, But Brand Targets Soar As Phishers Cast More Lines
Phishers are casting their lines at more brands in hopes of luring Internet users into divulging data that they can use fraudulently, according to a new study from the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG). According to the study, which covers the first half of 2013, criminals targeted 720 brands, up almost …
Read More »As Biometrics Picks up Steam, Jumio Adds Facial Recognition to ID Verification
With static passwords losing more and more effectiveness as an authentication method, biometric identification is regaining momentum after years on the sidelines. A recent major example of this resurgence is Apple Inc.’s introduction this month of its new iPhone 5S, which features a fingerprint sensor to unlock the device. The …
Read More »New Funding Round Recognizes Paydiant’s Strategy to Stand Apart in Crowded Wallet Field
It may well be the mobile-payments app provider you never heard of, but Paydiant Inc. is winning deals with major banks, processors, and merchants, and on Tuesday it secured $15 million in a Series C round of funding. The financing brings to almost $35 million the cash injections the Wellesley, …
Read More »Cover Story: Wall Street Pulls the Strings
Banks remain key clients, but ultimately Visa and MasterCard must serve the interests of major investors. Can they pull that off while warring with merchants over fees?By Peter Lucas Former Visa Inc. chairman and chief executive Joe Saunders couldn’t have been happier on March 19, 2008, when the day’s trading …
Read More »Wide-Ranging Hacker Indictment Casts New Light on Some Notorious Breaches
A federal indictment announced on Thursday against four Russians and a Ukrainian man casts new light on some of the biggest breaches of payment card data in recent years. The defendants, affiliated with notorious computer hacker Albert Gonzalez, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence but named as one of …
Read More »Looking to U.K.’s EMV Experience, A Consultancy Prods U.S. with a ‘Hot Poker’
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and EMV won’t be fully implemented in the United States for some time to come, but at least some foreign observers who have experienced nationwide deployment of the Europay-MasterCard-Visa chip card standard are starting to show impatience with EMV’s sluggish U.S. progress. Fearing a …
Read More »Interlink Starts Growing Again And Visa Prospers Despite Legal And Regulatory Uncertainties
Visa Inc.’s Interlink PIN-debit network is recovering after a devastating year following implementation in April 2012 of the transaction-routing requirements in the Dodd-Frank Act’s Durbin Amendment. Visa reported Wednesday that Interlink transaction volume rose 25% in its third quarter of fiscal 2013 ended June 30, a sharp turnaround from the …
Read More »Retailer-Backed MCX Picks a Banker As CEO To Guide the Mobile-Payments Network
Nearly a year after announcing itself, Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) took another step toward achieving its goal of developing a cutting-edge mobile-payments system with the appointment of Dekkers L. Davidson as chief executive. Thursday’s announcement of Davidson, former managing director at credit card issuer Barclaycard U.S., as CEO comes hard …
Read More »Sale of Financial-Service Unit Narrows Intuit’s Payments Focus on Acquiring, Mobile POS
Intuit Inc.’s sale of its financial-services division, which it announced on Monday, will likely narrow the Mountain View, Calif.-based software giant’s focus in the electronic-payments business, leaving it with an established stake in merchant processing and mobile acceptance. Intuit agreed to sell the financial division to private-equity firm Thoma Bravo …
Read More »