Friday , March 29, 2024

Kevin Woodward

Kevin's role at Digital Transactions is to write news and features stories for publication on the Web site and in the magazine. He also oversees the digital editorial aspect of the site and the Digital Transactions News daily newsletter.

Decoupled Debit Could Have Prospects for New Growth As Merchants Take Another Look

Decoupled debit programs may yet yield rewards for merchants, especially as they look for ways to circumvent payment networks and spur loyalty among consumers. That’s the take from a new report, “Decoupled Debit: The Start of Mainstream Adoption?” issued by Mercator Advisory Group Inc. Decoupled debit is not a new …

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Verifone Says Its Breach Is Contained to Two Dozen Convenience Stores

VeriFone Systems Inc. acknowledged that hackers targeted two dozen convenience stores in an attempt to get at sensitive payment data by infiltrating the point-of-sale terminal maker’s corporate network in January. The confirmation follows a report Tuesday on KrebsOnSecurity.com that disclosed the attack. The site, which specializes in information-technology threats and …

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First Data And Fleetcor Form a Venture to Consolidate Their Gift Card Businesses

Processor First Data Corp. and Fleetcor Technologies Inc. are forming a joint venture to consolidate their gift card businesses, First Data announced Monday. The joint venture, whose name was not released, combines First Data’s gift card business, digital gift-card provider Transaction Wireless Inc., and its Gyft unit, with Fleetcor’s Stored …

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Eye on ATMs & Kiosks: Making the Card-Before-Cash Switch; Kiosks at McDonald’s

As the U.S. payments industry continues its massive migration to EMV, issues here and there, such as payment cards being left behind in ATMs, pop up. About six months after INTRUST Bank completed its ATM EMV conversion a year ago, the problem of unrecovered cards started, says Joe Morin, ATM …

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A Ripening EMV Migration Catches up to Cardmaker CPI Card Group

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, …

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Cofounders Exit Revel Systems Following a Fresh Investment from Welsh, Carson

The cofounders of Revel Systems, an early maker of iPad-based point-of-sale systems, have left the company following a fresh investment by private-equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, which has long been active in the payments industry. The press release from Welsh does not say why cofounders Lisa Falzone, who …

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Eye on Mobile: Vantiv To Resell CardFlight mPOS; USAePay Cinches Certifications

Merchant processor Vantiv Inc. has agreed to offer a mobile point-of-sale platform from CardFlight Inc. The platform, called SwipeSimple, includes an EMV reader, a mobile app for iOS and Android, and a back-office reporting portal. New York-based CardFlight says the devices will be co-branded with Vantiv’s branding and will be …

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TMS Adds Its Groovv POS System to Its Free-Hardware Program for Merchants And ISOs

Independent sales organization Total Merchant Services Inc. has added its Groovv POS system to its free hardware program, a move that places all of its products in the program. Prior to this week’s announcement, only point-of-sale terminals were part of the program, says Woodland Hills, Calif.-based TMS. This should make it …

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More Than 400 Million Visa Cards Bear EMV Chips As U.S. EMV Acceptance Grows

The total number of Visa Inc. credit and debit cards bearing an EMV chip numbered 408.1 million at the end of December, Visa announced Thursday. That’s a 2.1% increase from the 399.9 million tally at the end of November. Of the total, 219.4 million are debit cards and 188.7 million …

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Eye on Travel: Host Card Emulation for Ticketing, And a Mobile Wallet Guide for Airlines

Travel providers have new options for accommodating how consumers use their smart phones to pay for travel. Ticketing-software vendor Rambus Ecebs has introduced a set of products for mobile ticketing that rely on host card emulation to load smart cards into smart phones. Host card emulation enables download of payment credentials via …

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