Entertainment companies providing cable, satellite, and pay-television services experience the highest rates of global fraud, says 2Checkout Inc., an e-commerce payment-services company, in its inaugural Fraud Index report. The index is based on transaction data made via more than 600 million devices that connect to 2Checkout’s payment service. Columbus, …

Bitcoin may remain volatile and controversial, but the digital currency holds enough potential that it is starting to attract seasoned payments professionals, particularly in the business of merchant acceptance. Witness Bitnet, founded in January by a pair of former executives with payments processor CyberSource Corp. to make it easier for …

It’s still very early in the U.S. smart card game, but so far chip-and-PIN authentication dominates among commercial card issuers, according to new research by First Annapolis Consulting Inc. The findings could signal that chip-and-PIN will beat out chip-and-signature authentication as the United States prepares for broader smart card issuance …

In an unusual tactic to thwart credit card fraud, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. nearly a year ago quietly implemented a policy in which its point-of-sale terminals prompt some cardholders to enter their card’s verification number, a code normally used for card-not-present transactions such as mail-order/telephone order (MOTO) and Internet purchases. The …

Yet another tablet-based point-of-sale system has joined the fray, this one from daily-deal provider Groupon Inc. Dubbed Gnome, the iPad-based system not only accepts credit and debit cards, but is the centerpiece of a Bluetooth low energy-enabled setup to enable Groupon offers redemption without requiring the consumer to present a …

Apple Inc. is making a change in the mobile point-of-sale hardware it uses at its 254 U.S. retail stores. In an exclusive deal, the consumer-brand manufacturer has begun using mobile POS devices produced by VeriFone Systems Inc., the San Jose, Calif.-based payment-terminal maker says. Apple outfits its employees with mobile …

Citing little enthusiasm by either consumers or merchants for contactless card payments, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has quietly begun informing cardholders that it is discontinuing its blink contactless program. While at first glance blink’s demise seems like a setback for chip-based card payments in the United States, it is unlikely …

A new type of gift card is set to debut this summer that will be backed not by cash but by shares of stock. The virtual card will come from a startup called Stockpile Inc., which has created a waiting list for interested potential accountholders and is planning to market …

Tablet-based point-of-sale provider ShopKeep.com Inc. has lined up payment-processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) as a reseller. Columbus, Ga.-based TSYS will offer ShopKeep products in addition to traditional POS terminals, contactless readers, mobile payments, and online payment acceptance. TSYS say it added ShopKeep because it knows merchants have a need …

Despite the impending loss of consumer payment cards from mega-bank JPMorgan Chase & Co., MasterCard Inc. is winning new business from U.S. card issuers, its top executives said Thursday at the No. 2 payment card network’s first-quarter earnings call. U.S. credit card purchase volume grew 8.1% year-over-year to $138 billion …