Independent software vendors, value-added resellers, and point-of-sale software developers facing the daunting task of certifying their unique products for EMV payment acceptance may face costs starting at $30,000. That figure, which comes from Andrey Tikhonov, senior director of payment technology at Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based Infinite Peripherals Inc., reflects the …

• Merchant processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. announced an integration of its Portico Gateway with Computop Paygate in an arrangement that will give Heartland merchants access to international payments. Heartland is set to be acquired this spring by Global Payments Inc. in a $4.3 billion cash-and-stock deal announced in December. …

• The nation’s movement toward faster payments took a step forward with Early Warning LLC’s announcement that it is now processing real-time peer-to-peer payments for Bank of America Corp. and U.S. Bancorp. Customers of these banks can send payments via mobile or online banking apps to other customers of either …

Processor Square Inc. expects its strategy of providing what it calls a “cohesive” set of services to merchants will aid its efforts to reach profitability, the company reported Wednesday in its first-ever earnings result since becoming a publicly-traded company. It reported earnings for the fourth quarter and all of 2015. …

  Nothing like an unexpected chargeback to turn a recalcitrant merchant into an EMV believer. According to new survey results from Javelin Strategy and Research, only 8% of small and so-called micro businesses queried in February who didn’t accept EMV chip cards cited as a reason the lack of a …

• Four directors of cash-strapped Powa Technologies Ltd., including the startup’s founder and chief executive, Dan Wagner, were ousted from the board as long ago as Feb. 19, according to a report on BusinessInsider.com. The news follows the development on Thursday in which accounting firm Deloitte, appointed as administrator of …

We’ll never get there so long as we rely on traditional tools. Since criminal tactics are constantly evolving, solutions must be adaptable, as well. The economy relies on secure and safe transactions. Maintaining a stable and efficient business depends on effective security. In particular, eliminating fraud is fundamental to the …

Biometric security has gained enormous momentum since my first warnings on this subject several years ago in this column. By now, millions of us have surrendered our biological patterns, exposing our fingerprints, facial features, palm layouts, irises, ocular vein structures, even our heartbeat patterns. And once this information is out …

    The European Commission and the US agreed on a new framework (EU-US Privacy Shield) for the transatlantic flow of data on the 2nd February 2016. So, what brought us to this point and what does it really mean for EU merchants? The so-called “Safe Harbor” agreement was made …

Merchant acquirers are reporting more chargebacks now that the U.S. conversion to the EMV chip card standard is underway, but chargeback exposure varies widely by acquirer. And, so far at least, relatively few of the chargebacks are translating into actual financial losses. That’s the word from First Annapolis Consulting Inc., …