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You Said How Many EMV Cards? The conversion of U.S. magnetic-stripe credit and debit cards to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) chip card standard is finally under way, but just how quickly most Americans will be carrying smart cards is a matter of debate. Citing reports from industry suppliers, the EMV Migration …
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Acquiring: Transit’s New Payment Routes
Jim Daly For a time, it seemed like open-fare contactless smart cards might take over payments on America’s buses, subways, and commuter trains, but then along came smart phones and EMV. The only thing that moves slower than a bus stuck in a 5:00 p.m. traffic jam is the process …
Read More »Estimates Vary, But There’s No Doubt: EMV Cards Soon Will Be in Millions More Wallets
The conversion of U.S. magnetic-stripe credit and debit cards to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) chip card standard is about to shift into high gear, and the payments forecasters are busier than their counterparts at The Weather Channel just before a hurricane’s landfall. The EMV Migration Forum, an affiliate of the Princeton …
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Vantiv-Mercury: Bad News for ISOs? Mercury Payment Systems LLC made its reputation as the leader in a rising niche of independent sales organizations that offer payment processing as part of business-management applications sold to merchants by software developers, dealers, and value-added resellers. In contrast, many ISOs still peddle straight payments …
Read More »EMV Commercial Card Issuers May Herald PIN Dominance With Consumers
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 …
Read More »Stockpile Emerges To Offer Digital Gift Cards Backed by Stock to ‘Everyday’ Consumers
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 …
Read More »U.S. Readiness for EMV at a Low Ebb Despite Looming Deadline, Report Warns
By John Stewart With a crucial deadline looming in 2015, the U.S. payments industry will have only partially converted to the Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) chip card standard by the end of that year. Indeed, it will likely take years to equip small merchants especially to accept EMV, according to a report …
Read More »Acquiring: Doubling Down on Gambling And Payments
Kevin Woodward Online gambling, now legal in only three states, could produce a big payoff for payments companies. Payment companies hoping to hit the jackpot by providing services for online gambling in the United States will want some patience, education, and a bit of luck. Just three states—Delaware, New Jersey, …
Read More »Cover Story: Annual Field Guide to Alternative Payments
Our Guide spotlights how mobile payments and digital currency drive payments innovation. by John Stewart, Jim Daly, and Kevin Woodward Alternative payment schemes are becoming almost too numerous to count. A few months back, one payments-industry veteran listed all the mobile wallets he knew of and came up with about …
Read More »Euronet’s Money-Transfer Business Poised To Get a Big Lift From New Wal-Mart Deal
It may be headquartered in Leawood, Kan., but payment-services provider Euronet Worldwide Inc. looks abroad for most of its revenues. Thanks to a new deal with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., however, Euronet’s Ria unit is about to become a major force in domestic wire transfers. Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart on Thursday unveiled …
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