Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
After announcing a coming rebranding for its Android Pay mobile and online payment service in January, Alphabet Inc.’s Google subsidiary on Tuesday formally unveiled the new Google Pay. But the rebranding, centered on a new mobile app for Android devices, is a work in progress, with more changes and new …
February, 2018
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20 February
NthCard Launches Gift Card POS App and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/20/18
NthCard LLC, a prepaid gift card processing and distribution firm, launched nthPOS, an app for Android, iOS, and Windows 10 devices that enables merchants to activate, redeem, and reload gift cards using a mobile phone or tablet. Fraud-management vendor Giact Systems LLC announced it and Advanced Fraud Solutions are offering a …
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19 February
Bombshell Mueller Indictment Details How Stolen Identity Information Fueled Fraudulent PayPal Accounts
Stolen identity information obtained by several Russian defendants named in Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s indictment, released last week, was used to create fraudulent PayPal Holdings Inc. accounts. The defendants were named in connection with alleged activities surrounding the 2016 presidential election. The indictment provides details about an alleged conspiracy …
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19 February
Bitcoin’s Price Rebounds Past $11K As Its User Fees Slide to Lowest Level in Five Months
Capping an eventful week for cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is now trading above $11,000 for the first time in three weeks. Even more important, the fees its users must pay when they spend Bitcoin—which had soared into the stratosphere in recent months— have crashed back to earth, according to data available Monday …
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19 February
Consumers Increasingly Prefer To Use Debit Cards Instead of Credit Cards, Researcher Shows
Some 61% of consumers surveyed in the fourth quarter by New York City-based Auriemma Consulting Group cited a debit card as their most frequently used card, up from 52% a year earlier. Only 24% named a credit card, down from 35% at the end of 2016. “Based on our consumer …
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19 February
Wire Fraud-Prevention Firm Debuts and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/19/18
BuyerDocs has been formed to secure wires for down payments made by home buyers from hacking, phishing, imposters, and spoofing. Wire fraud plundered approximately $1 billion from the real-estate industry in 2017, the company says. The Smart Payment Association and payment card manufacturer CPI Card Group Inc. announced that CPI …
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16 February
Senators’ Letter on Pot Won’t Sway Card Networks, But Could Parry Sessions’s Thrust
The efforts of 18 U.S. senators to persuade the Senate Appropriations Committee to honor state laws for legal cannabis are not expected to sway Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. to drop their prohibitions on marijuana-related purchases over their networks. Earlier this week, a group spearheaded by Sens. Michael Bennett (D) …
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16 February
POS Malware Hides in Plain Sight; 18 Senators Vs. Jeff Sessions; Plus Weekly Recap from 2/16/18
The cryptocurrency Litecoin was still riding high Friday morning following a mid-week announcement that a new entity called LitePay Inc. will provide merchant processing in 41 countries, including the United States, starting Feb. 26. As of mid-morning, Litecoin traded at $220, up 38% from $160 at noon Tuesday. Also this …
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15 February
A New POS Software Malware Strain Avoids Detection By Fitting in With the Crowd
A new point-of-sale software malware strain wants its victims to think it is a nondescript bit of code that computers and networks commonly use when surfing the Internet. Uncovered by investigators at Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint, a data-security services provider, the malware, dubbed “UDPos” by Forcepoint, attempts to conceal itself in …
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15 February
U.S. Bank To Pay $613 Million in Penalties and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 2/15/18
The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc. and the PCI Security Standards Council announced they will jointly develop a unified PIN-security standard. Currently each organization maintains a separate standard for PIN use, which could result in an entity being subject to one or both of the existing standards. The joint effort …