• Mastercard Inc. has agreed to acquire NuData Security, whose technology identifies users from their online, mobile-app, and smart-phone interactions. Terms were not disclosed. • Fair Isaac Corp., otherwise known as FICO, said it detected 70% more compromised debit cards at U.S. ATMs and point-of-sale terminals in 2016 than it did …

• China-based UnionPay International says more than 41 million merchants and more than 2 million ATMs in 160 countries and regions now accept its UnionPay card, as do 10-million-plus Web-based merchants. More than 80% of U.S. merchants accept the card, the company says. • Point-of-sale terminal maker Equinox Payments said …

• Punchh, provider of mobile loyalty systems for restaurants, has introduced a chatbot that allows customers to “converse” with dining clients on Facebook Messenger, Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa, and other platforms. Punchh says the chatbot integrates “quickly and easily” with existing point-of-sale, loyalty, and ordering programs. • Royal Bank of Canada said …

Payment card maker CPI Card Group Inc. says it will focus on small and mid-size issuers migrating from magnetic stripe cards to cards bearing an EMV chip in 2017 as it contends with a saturating market for the advanced cards. As larger banks and credit unions complete their migration programs, …

• McDonald’s Corp. is adding order-ahead and payment features to its mobile app as part of a new global growth strategy; mobile order and pay will be enabled in 20,000 restaurants in the U.S. and other countries by year’s end, the fast-food giant giant said. • Dwolla Inc. has introduced Transfer, …

Just as they once issued proprietary plastic, retailers are introducing their own mobile wallets. But just how much consumer appeal do these apps have, and will they work equally well for all merchants? In the business of mobile payments, everyone is familiar with the trio of so-called Pays—Android Pay, Apple …

Green Dot Corp.’s chief executive on Wednesday hailed the company’s pending acquisition of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau <![endif]–> The company finished 2016 with $718.8 million in total operating revenue, up 3.5% over its 2015 revenue total. Net income for the year came in at $41.6 million, up 8% from $38.4 …

By Rick Oglesby @DTPaymentNews PayPal Holdings Inc. has always been an enigma. It’s not really a payment network, not really an independent sales organization or merchant acquirer, not really a wallet or a prepaid card issuer, not really a person-to-person payments solution, and not really a payment gateway. Yet, it …

By Jim Daly@DTPaymentNews The lingering impact of some retailers’ slow conversion to EMV chip card acceptance continued to plague prepaid card services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk reported late Wednesday that revenues fell short of its expectations in part because of a “continued EMV headwind” …

• PayPal Holdings Inc. reported in a filing that it has received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice “seeking the production of certain information related to our historical anti-money laundering program.” PayPal said it is cooperating with the DoJ and cannot predict the outcome of the government’s investigation. • A point-of-sale software …