After bottoming out in 2010, identity fraud rose nearly 13% last year, according to new findings from Javelin Strategy & Research. Javelin’s findings also associate two hallmarks of the tech-oriented early 21st Century, social networks and smart phones, with a higher risk of identity fraud. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Javelin surveyed 5,022 …

Virtual Currencies: Bust-Out Ahead? Witness the recent travails of the euro if you want proof of how hard it is for any new currency, even a physical currency backed by multiple governments, to attain and retain widespread usage and acceptance. The obstacles blocking the new breed of electronic currencies from …

  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 …

A Comeback for Credit Cards Online Thanks in part to debit card regulation, e-commerce shoppers in the next few years will reverse a recent trend away from credit, according to new research. General-purpose credit cards will capture 40% of online spending in 2011 and 2012, level with 2010, but that …

The surging popularity of the smart phone has revived the digital wallet, and now Google, Visa, AmEx, the wireless carriers, and a wide assortment of other providers are jockeying for dominance in this nascent business. By Peter Lucas Still trying to make sense of the digital-wallet landscape? You\'re not alone. …

  A mobile comparison-shopping app that launched a digital wallet late last month says it has signed up more than 10,000 wallet users and is adding new ones at the rate of 2,500 a week in a nascent business that has attracted major players like Google Inc. and Visa Inc. …

  By Steve Mott   Scratch most of the proposed or existing wallets, and you’ll find the same payments infrastructure everyone is trying to move beyond. What’s needed is an alternative that benefits consumers and merchants as much as it does banks, networks, and carriers.       The rising …

n By Jane Adler   Retailers and consumers are shifting from plastic to virtual gift cards, drawn by instant availability and ease of distribution. Is the tangible gift card on its way out?       With holiday sales in their sights, retailers are expanding their gift card offerings with …

  By Karen Epper Hoffman   A technique that allows consumers to capture card information with PC or mobile-phone cameras could make for faster, more secure transactions. Is anything wrong with this picture?       A picture may be worth a thousand words, but is a picture also the …

  For banks, the e-payments business has become an oasis of stability and growth at a time of financial turmoil. But the threat of non-bank entrants, together with inflexible legacy payments systems, could undermine the business just when banks need it most, warns Louis Blatt.   The pressure of maintaining …