News of a possible card-data breach at chicken-sandwich chain Chick-fil-A caps a year that saw a number of franchised businesses compromised and throws into relief what some experts say is the unique security vulnerability of the franchise business model. Franchised chains, in which so-called owner-operators run stores under a license …

Components Biometrics in electronic payments didn’t have much life until last year, when Apple’s Touch ID and other applications gave the technology a shot of adrenaline. What’s next? It’s Act II for biometrics in payments. The now-defunct Solidus Networks Inc., better known as Pay By Touch, dominated Act I for …

The Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance, a non-profit with more than 150 members in banking, payments, technology, and other industries, on Tuesday published its first standard for a better system of online authentication than the common but vulnerable user name and password. “Today, we celebrate an achievement that will define …

  Braintree, the PayPal Inc.-owned online processor, says it has expanded the availability of its One Touch mobile-payments service into international markets. Announced in September for U.S. merchants, One Touch enables consumers to make payments without typing their user names and passwords for each transaction. Braintree says this helps reduce …

  Consumers using smart phones and tablets based on Android, iOS and Windows Mobile operating systems tend to have lax security measures in place, finds a report commissioned by authentication vendor Nok Nok Labs. Google Inc. developed Android. Apple Inc. created iOS for its mobile devices, and Microsoft Corp. owns Windows …

With non-stop data breaches and the coming of EMV chip cards, virtual currency, and mobile wallets, payments seemed to be all over the news in 2014. Here’s our annual review of the top issues in electronic payments. They all defy a soundbite solution. Heading toward its close, 2014 seemed to …

Apple Inc. is selling a ton of its new iPhone 6 smart phones, but before launching the device earlier this month it had already attracted a much less desirable crowd of devotees: phishers. Among all brands targeted by these cybercriminals, Apple is now tops, and the company’s expected introduction next …

In case you spent the entire Labor Day long weekend in a fishing boat on a remote lake, you could barely miss the stories moving over the business wires in recent days about Apple Inc. and electronic payments. In sum, the iconic computer maker and iTunes and App Store provider …

The Networks’ Signature Charade The card brands should stop pushing signatures and start working with merchants to implement effective authentication, says Mark Horwedel. Merchants view the EMV migration as an opportunity to eliminate an outdated process that inflicts billions of dollars in damages on consumers and merchants. Few things ruffle …

In a move that could significantly boost mobile-payments activity, PayPal Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a single-click payment method for merchant apps. Dubbed One Touch, the method allows mobile users to log in once with their user names and passwords, then simply touch or click on a “buy” button for all …