News

September, 2015

• 25 September

  Regulators Try To Catch Up With Swiftly Changing Payments Technology

  By Jim Daly New York has its new BitLicense and California is actively looking at regulations for virtual currencies, but the organization that promotes uniform state laws is working on a prospective law that would guide regulations for alternative and mobile payments. The Chicago-based Uniform Law Commission (ULC) created its Alternative …
• 25 September

  Faster Payments for Business: How the Stream Prepaid Card Expedites Disbursements

  Heeding a call among businesses for faster and cheaper payments, payments provider Payment Data Systems Inc. has released the Stream general-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid card to make it easier for companies to send funds, like commissions or rewards, to contractors or customers. The card, which bears a MasterCard Inc. brand, …
• 24 September

  When “Free, Unlimited, Forever” Turns out To Have Limits, After All

  By John Stewart While some startup transaction processors have capitalized lately on the idea of so-called free processing, at least one has now decided to backtrack on that concept. BitPay Inc., an Atlanta-based processor of Bitcoin transactions for merchants, announced Wednesday it is scrapping a plan it introduced only 14 …
• 24 September

  A Week Out, Merchants Are in a Rush to Get, And Activate, EMV Terminals

  The Oct. 1 onset of the EMV-inspired liability shift for fraudulent transactions represents a potential financial impact for retailers, and now with that date only days away, many of them have become eager to get their hands on EMV point-of-sale terminals. Merchants could be on the hook for fees related …
• 23 September

  How Google Wallet’s New P2P Focus Could Rescue the App From a Mediocre Legacy

  The latest version of Google Wallet tended to get lost in all the hoopla surrounding Google Inc.’s launch two weeks ago of its Android Pay mobile-payments service, but while Wallet now has more modest ambitions, it could prove to be a potent force in the rapidly growing person-to-person payments business. …
• 23 September

  With EMV Looming, a Tool Emerges To Simplify Integrations with POS Systems

  Managing the integration of EMV payment acceptance into point-of-system software can be replete with nuances unfamiliar to many developers. That’s where a product announced Tuesday by two payments companies working jointly could assist. Seattle-based independent sales organization Gravity Payments Inc. has teamed with Creditcall Ltd., a United Kingdom-based transaction gateway …
• 22 September

  COMMENTARY: Five Questions Merchants Should Ask About EMV Terminals

  By Terry Dooley Deadline: A date or time when something must be finished: the last day, hour, or minute that something will be accepted. The word “deadline” carries with it the implication of pressure—pressure to act or face the consequences. That’s the very word being tossed around when people talk …
• 21 September

  With EMV’s Big Date Just 10 Days off, Consumers Say They’re Not Ready for It

  The three-legged stool of merchants, payments companies, and consumers necessary to enable EMV chip card acceptance may be a little wobbly in the early going if the results of a new consumer survey are any indication. Fifty-nine percent of consumers say they are not ready for EMV, finds a survey …
• 21 September

  With Its Spree Commerce Buy, First Data Aims To Bolster Its Online Tech Foundations

  Payment processor First Data Corp. has acquired Spree Commerce, a provider of open-source software for 45,000 e-commerce storefronts. The addition of Bethesda, Md.-based Spree could bolster First Data as it competes with processors and tech providers for more business in the fast-growing world of online retailing. “Spree is at the …
• 18 September

  As Criminals Redouble Their Efforts, Merchants Sustain an Eye-Popping Jump in Fraud

  Merchants contend with fraud all the time, but the 2015 edition of the LexisNexis True Cost of Fraud study has found that their fraud costs are tallying 1.32% of revenue in 2015, a whopping 94% increase from the 0.68% rate in 2014. All categories of merchants in the LexisNexis Risk …