Leading ATM manufacturer NCR Corp. this week issued a warning about a new variant of card skimming that gives an ATM user no clue that the machine’s card reader is stealing debit card information. Meanwhile, a report says payment cards used at a theme park in Hershey, Pa., may have …
Read More »PayPal and eBay Will Officially Go Their Separate Ways July 17
Directors of online auction and e-commerce giant eBay Inc. on Friday formally approved previously announced plans to separate eBay from its big payments subsidiary, PayPal Inc. The separation becomes official July 17, when, under a stock distribution plan, eBay shareholders of record on July 8 will get one share of …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Common Errors in Merchant Funding And How To Fix Them
As I see it, there are three main areas of vulnerability for merchant cash-advance (MCA) providers: 1. Incorrectly assessing the risk. What systems do you have in place for being able to analyze and manage your risk? Many MCA funders come into the market with six months’ runway and then …
Read More »Canadian Parliament Report Recommends a ‘Light Touch’ in Virtual-Currency Regulation
As states and national governments consider regulations for virtual currencies, a new report from a Canadian Senate committee recommends a “light touch” lest regulation stifle a promising young industry. In considering any legislation, regulations or policies, the Canadian federal government should “create an environment that fosters innovation for digital currencies …
Read More »Global Payments Set To Debut AmEx’s OptBlue Program for Its Canadian Merchants
Processor Global Payments Inc. says it will offer American Express Co.’s OptBlue merchant-acceptance program to its Canadian merchants beginning June 24. Participation in OptBlue enables merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations to offer AmEx acceptance to small businesses and set the pricing through a one-stop-shopping option when they sell acceptance …
Read More »Green Dot Forges a ‘More Certain Path Forward’ With Five-Year Wal-Mart MoneyCard Deal
Green Dot Corp. late Monday removed a big source of uncertainty about its near-term future by announcing a five-year renewal of its contract with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to be both program manager and issuer of the Wal-Mart MoneyCard prepaid product. But while the deal secures a major source of revenue …
Read More »MyCheck’s Mobile App Climbs in the Tech Race, Adds Twin Peaks as a User
The MyCheck mobile app is gaining some ground in a crowded field of applications that enable consumers to order and pay restaurant tabs. New York City-based MyCheck LLC announced Thursday that the 68-location Twin Peaks restaurant chain will offer its iOS and Android white-label app to customers for payments and …
Read More »With Certification in Hand, Pivotal Aims FlexPoint Encryption Service at ISVs, VARs
Independent sales organization Pivotal Payments Inc. says its FlexPoint point-to-point encryption service for point-of-sale software systems has been certified by its processor, Total System Services Inc. (TSYS). FlexPoint, which launched in 2014 in Canada, encrypts payment data directly on the payment device and sends the encrypted data directly to the …
Read More »First Data Launches Clover Mini, a Compact Version of its Clover Station POS Technology
First Data Corp. has added the Clover Mini to its roster of tablet-based point-of-sale products, the Atlanta-based processor announced Tuesday. The device has the same capabilities as the countertop-sized Clover Station, but in a 7-inch screen. The Clover products offer merchants the ability to add a wide variety of apps …
Read More »FANF’s Offspring: Debit-Network Participation Fees
With little fanfare, some of the nation’s major PIN-debit networks over the past couple of years have instituted so-called participation fees that are assessed for each merchant location in the network. The fees’ progenitor, says a veteran market observer, is Visa Inc.’s Fixed Acquirer Network Fee (FANF), which Visa instituted …
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