News

March, 2016

• 3 March

  By 2020, 45% of Wearables Owners Will Use Them for Payments, Mostly Open-Loop

  Payment with a wearable device, such as a smart watch, wristband, or fitness monitor, has the potential to be used by 45% of wearables-owning consumers by 2020, finds the IHS “Wearable Payment Devices Report—2016” issued Wednesday. In four years, the global market for wearables will reach 340 million devices shipped, …
• 3 March

  New Research Shows Low Usage Rates but High Satisfaction for Major Wallets

  While the mobile wallets launched by corporate giants Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. have sparked a good deal of publicity, not much is known about actual adoption and usage so far, since the companies have been characteristically tightlipped. But that doesn’t mean researchers who …
• 3 March

  MasterCard’s Possible VocaLink Buy Could Shake Up the U.S. Faster-Payments Scene

  MasterCard Inc. reportedly wants to acquire VocaLink Ltd., operator of the United Kingdom’s Faster Payments system, for just under £1 billion ($1.4 billion), according to reports in the British media Thursday. Such a deal, if consummated, could shake up the budding faster-payments movement in the U.S., where VocaLink is building …
• 2 March

  Discount Grocer Aldi Reverses Course and Now Accepts Credit Cards

  The prominent, slightly self-effacing graphic on discount grocery-store chain Aldi Inc.’s home page says it all: “OMG! We FINALLY Accept Credit Cards!” Indeed, Batavia, Ill.-based Aldi is believed to be the last major grocery holdout in accepting general purpose credit cards, which typically cost merchants more to accept than the …
• 1 March

  8 SMB Payment Security Tips for 2016

  This year brings a lot of opportunity for small and medium businesses (SMBs). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects world economic growth for 2016 to be somewhere around 3.6 percent – higher than the predicted 2015 growth of 3.1 percent. Unfortunately, amidst this positive backdrop lurks the negative threat posed …
• 1 March

  Safe Harbor Decision and Its Implication for EU Merchants

      The European Commission and the US agreed on a new framework (EU-US Privacy Shield) for the transatlantic flow of data on the 2nd February 2016. So, what brought us to this point and what does it really mean for EU merchants? The so-called “Safe Harbor” agreement was made …
• 1 March

  The Brand Power of Apple and Samsung, Plus HCE, Are Lending Momentum to Contactless

  The role of EMV in pushing tap-and-pay solutions is well known, but research released on Tuesday indicates the brand value of Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. can’t be underestimated. At the same time, a cloud-based technology called host card emulation is also playing a role in spreading contactless …
• 1 March

  Cash Remains Favored Person-to-Person Payment Option Even Among Millennials

  Cash, it seems, remains king, especially among younger consumers who want to use person-to-person payments. Of the 1,000 18-to-34-year-old U.S. consumers surveyed, 58% prefer cash for their P2P payments, says GoBankingRates.com, a financial-services site that conducted the online survey in January. The popularity of cash, even among Millennials, for P2P …
• 1 March

  Acquirers Report Varying Levels of Chargebacks in the New EMV Environment

  Merchant acquirers are reporting more chargebacks now that the U.S. conversion to the EMV chip card standard is underway, but chargeback exposure varies widely by acquirer. And, so far at least, relatively few of the chargebacks are translating into actual financial losses. That’s the word from First Annapolis Consulting Inc., …

February, 2016

• 29 February

  Citi’s Deal To Buy the AmEx Costco Portfolio Moves a Step Closer

  The cessation of the cobranded Costco Wholesale Corp. credit card issued by American Express Co. moved another step closer with Monday’s announcement that Citigroup will buy the AmEx Costco portfolio for an unspecified sum. Citi’s acquisition of the portfolio is expected to close this summer. That’s when Citi will begin to …