As fear of fraud climbs at electronic-funds transfer networks along with PIN debit traffic counts, the networks are adopting a variety of technologies to detect fishy transactions. The latest is Pulse EFT Association LP, a Houston-based unit of Discover Financial Services Inc. Pulse on Tuesday announced it is rolling out …

The Sept. 30 deadline for large merchants to certify compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI, passed quietly over the weekend with an estimated half of so-called Level 1 merchants meeting the card industry's guidelines for protecting card data from fraudsters. And, according to experts contacted by …

For all the publicity surrounding merchant dissatisfaction with payment-acceptance costs, the issue doesn't rank high with online retailers looking into alternatives to bank-issued credit and debit cards, a payment-industry researcher says. E-commerce merchants are adopting, or investigating, such payment providers as PayPal Inc. and Bill Me Later Inc. hoping most …

Data Insecurity Part 7 In the lore of payments innovations, there's a maxim that seems to always hold true: Before you ever reach critical mass, beware of the New York Times article that raises questions about your security or operability. If you can't weather that storm, your payments innovation will …

Assurz Inc., which this week signed up its biggest merchant so far for its transaction-guarantee service, expects to have about 10 large merchants and between 20 and 30 smaller ones on its client roster by year's end, according to Steve Hoffman, chief executive of the Redwood City, Calif.-based startup, which …

The electronic payments venture formerly known as GratisCard Inc. added more muscle this week with a free person-to-person payments service, a credit card, new bank partners, and a new name to boot. Now called Revolution Money, the payments system founded by an investment firm created by America Online Inc. co-founder …

It wasn’t just another Monday for processor First Data Corp. The company started its new life as a private company by completing its widely watched, $29 billion leveraged buyout, and it installed a new management team under new chairman and chief executive Michael D. Capellas. Edward Labry, the head of …

Cellular South expects to launch some time in the first quarter what would almost certainly be the first commercial application of near-field communication (NFC) technology for point-of-sale payment, and also the first driven by a wireless carrier rather than a payment network. The plan follows a three-month, two-city pilot in …

Off-price retailer TJX Cos. Inc. late Friday announced it had settled the consumer class-action lawsuits it faced in the wake of a security breach that compromised nearly 46 million payment card records in its computers, but big-picture issues facing card networks, processors, and merchants about the best ways to enhance …

Data Insecurity Part 6 The electronic payments industry's continued prowess in holding fraud in check despite the mounting scourges afflicting online transacting is all the more remarkable when you consider that the banking industry, whose fundamental business is risk management, is largely a no-show in this channel. Merchants and their …