To effectively secure payment card data, encryption must occur in tamper-resistant security modules, says Steve Elefant. Software always leaves valuable payment card data in the clear somewhere during the life cycle of the transaction. Steven M. Elefant is managing director at Soaring Ventures, Lafayette, Calif., and of counsel at The …

PayPal’s bold new strategy for the physical point of sale faces daunting challenges that will require the young company to accept lower margins, work with ISOs, revamp systems, and chop transaction costs, says René M. Pelegero. Unfortunately, ISOs perceive PayPal as the enemy. Thus, PayPal needs to develop, and quickly …

Among card networks, payment processors, point-of-sale terminal manufacturers, and even issuers, the coming of EMV chip card payments to the U.S. has an aura of inevitability on par with Mitt Romney securing the Republican presidential nomination. But just don’t tell that to one critically important sector in electronic payments: merchants. …

A controversial New Jersey law that claims unused gift card balances as state property after two years and requires gift card sellers to obtain buyers’ ZIP codes is taking heavy fire. If it survives a repeal effort and court challenges, however, opponents fear gift card issuers will leave the state …

Groupon Inc.’s acquisition of a Web site that lets processors bid for merchant contracts represents a big opportunity for the online rewards giant but also underscores the dependence of such services on the merchant-acquiring business, a researcher who follows acquiring says. In the deal, announced on Friday, Groupon bought FeeFighters, …

It’s no wonder consumers are confused about debit cards these days, what with big banks discouraging use and merchants doing just the opposite. Influencing payments choices now calls for extra finesse, says Beth Robertson.   Javelin data shows that 70% of consumers believe that recent debit card regulations will actually …

Payment card transaction-processing technology developer VeriFone Systems Inc. is betting that consumers might want to play the lottery while they’re semi-idle gassing up their cars or moving around town in a taxicab. The leading point-of-sale terminal maker said on Wednesday that it would test sales of state lottery tickets by …

Too many mobile-wallet approaches exclude ISOs and other merchant acquirers, to the detriment not only of the acquirers but also of merchants and even of the wallet providers themselves, says Paul Coppinger. Paul Coppinger is president of Apriva, Scottsdale, Ariz.   There can be little doubt that, while there are …

  n San Francisco-based Square posted a notice for a “Square U Representative” position last month on its Web site and has put out reminders about it this month through Twitter as well as a feature story about it on its Facebook page. The job posting indicates the position is …

Compliance has become the goal of PCI, rather than data protection and fraud reduction. It's high time that changed, says Mimi Hart. Occupy PCI. ItÕs time the 99% are heard. The Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI) is pernicious, collusive, and inane. ItÕs also ineffective for fraud reduction. Imagine youÕre …