Three key use cases could dramatically improve rewards programs, user authentication, and supply-chain management. Blockchain is a changing business model for the banking industry, supporting the sharing of value between and among multiple companies to their mutual benefit. While the industry may be enamored of developments on the crypto­currency front, …

Selling gift cards online makes a lot of sense for many merchants, but criminals know that, too, and have quickly figured out ways to steal the cards. Now, as merchants have increased their sophistication in countering these thefts, so too have criminals figured ways to foil the merchants. “Gift cards …

Thanks to the seemingly unending epidemic of data breaches—capped by the huge breach last summer at credit-reporting titan Equifax Inc.—consumers are becoming both more aware and more cynical about the problem, according to research released Tuesday by Javelin Strategy & Research. In the wake of the Equifax case, in which …

Data-services provider Womply announced Womply Engage, a customer relationship management service for small businesses that enables merchants to create and manage email marketing programs. In an effort to address data breaches in the financial-services industry, the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. said it is seeking experts for an initiative to create …

Wearables, a hot sector within the booming Internet of Things, are being outfitted with new payments technology. Will wearables generate a tide or just a trickle of new electronic payment transactions? The idea of enabling smart watches, fitness trackers, and other Internet-connected wearable devices to make contactless electronic payments is …

In 2015, 70% of breaches reported by global retailers were directed at POS devices. With the quantity of exploits only increasing, retail CIOs cannot rely on industry minimum guidelines to set out their security strategy. While the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI DSS) provides a strong baseline of security …

Payment-security technology provider Gemalto NV reported Wednesday that, around the world, some 1.9 billion records were compromised by data breaches in 2017’s first half, up 164% from 721 million records compromised in the last six months of 2016. The outlook for 2017’s second half is grim in light of the …

Q2 Holdings Inc., a provider of digital-banking solutions, launched CardSwap, an application that allows consumers to automatically switch credit or debit card information across their network of subscription and retail merchants. The first client to adopt the service is Chime, which provides branchless bank accounts. Because of Hurricane Irma, the PCI Security …

In the hours after credit-reporting giant Equifax Inc. disclosed a massive data breach, consumers and businesses were left scrambling Friday to piece together the implications. But a range of consequences could affect Equifax itself as the Atlanta-based company struggles to recover from an epic hack that affected potentially 143 million …

• PNC Bank N.A. said its Visa commercial cardholders can use their cards in Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, a move that PNC said makes it one of the first U.S. banks to enable mobile wallet payments for its commercial cards. • A survey from Vesta Corp. found that 62% of 155 …