Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Minneapolis-based remittance processor MoneyGram International Inc. is acquiring ACH Commerce LLC, a processor of automated clearing house transactions, in a deal expected to close by June 30. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but ACH Commerce will remain based in Ooltewah, Tenn., where it was founded five years …
Read More »Mer-Tec Set to Launch Its Micropayments Service Next Week
Mer-Tec Inc., an online transaction processor based in Lewisville, Texas, will switch on a micropayments service next week for handling online payments and rights management for digital content, with an emphasis on song and video downloads. The service, which Mer-Tec calls SecureCastle, will open with about 10 independent artists as …
Read More »Buoyed by Song Sales, PayPal Now Smiles on Micropayments
PayPal Inc.'s experience with processing payments for music downloads is encouraging the San Jose, Calif.-based processor to begin investigating other micropayments markets, including downloadable games, electronic greeting cards, and news media. “The success of PayPal adoption for the music vertical has inspired us to look at other verticals,” says Peter …
Read More »Drive-Through Issues Slow PIN Debit Adoption at Burger King
Burger King Corp., the Miami-based fast-food giant, may be rolling out credit and signature-debit card acceptance chainwide, but don't look for its stores to accept PIN-based debit cards on a wide scale any time soon. Julian Gomez, director of operations, services, and programs for Burger King, says his chain is …
Read More »Discover’s Spin-Off Could Lead to Major Changes, But Not Immediately
A spin-off of Discover Financial Services Inc. by its parent, Morgan Stanley, won't likely change the card network's strategy, but an acquisition of the newly independent company would likely occur soon after the spin-off, leading to probable changes in direction at the 20-year-old card company, including a possible break-up, according …
Read More »Axalto First to Set up Full-Scale Smart Card Production in the U.S.
In a vote of confidence for smart card technology in North America, a leading producer of chip-embedded plastic cards has achieved full production of the technologies necessary for smart cards at a plant outside Baltimore. Axalto Holding NV, a France-based card manufacturer, says this is the first time such full-scale …
Read More »BiPSA: A Battle Plan for Taking the Initiative Away from Hackers
With hackers, phishers, and other criminals undermining the trust all transaction networks depend on for their survival, some experts say the time has come to fight back. In the following excerpt from “The Myth of Invincible Encryption,” an article that will appear in the May-June 2005 issue of Digital Transactions …
Read More »How Airlines Are Adopting Alternative Electronic Payment Channels
With credit card fees having become one of their biggest operating expenses, airlines are turning to alternative, lower-cost payment options. The aim is to reduce the collective $1.5 billion in card-acceptance costs airlines pay annually, according to a recent study by Edgar, Dunn & Co. Houston-based Continental Airlines has moved …
Read More »Startup Brings Check-Guarantee Concept to Online Risk Management
A Manhattan-based startup company is bringing the concept of check guarantee to the business of processing card-not-present payments. Precharge Risk Management Solutions, founded less than two years ago, has only in the past few months been actively marketing its service but has already signed up more than 1,000 online merchants, …
Read More »Ambiron-TrustWave Merger Comes As Data-Security Issues Peak
With transaction-data security a top-of-mind concern these days in the wake of such breaches as the ChoicePoint case and the theft of card data from the DSW Shoe Warehouse chain, executives for two leading security-audit firms say their merger couldn't have come at a more propitious time. Chicago-based Ambiron LLC …
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