News

February, 2010

• 10 February

  As ID Fraud Ensnares More Victims, More Fraudsters Get Caught

  The number of identity-fraud victims increased by 12% last year to 11.1 million from 9.9 million in 2008 and was 37% higher than in 2007, and the estimated amount of fraud hit $54 billion, the highest since 2006. That's according to Javelin Strategy & Research's 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report. …
• 9 February

  Ex-MasterCard Execs Get Processor Set for U.S. Web Gambling

  In expectation that legislation regulating online gambling in the U.S. will pass, the United Kingdom-based payments-processing company UC Group Ltd. has opened a U.S. subsidiary, SecureTrading Inc., headed by three former MasterCard Inc. senior executives. UC Group, a provider of online payment-processing services, is an advocate for regulated Internet gambling …
• 9 February

  Flat-Fee Pricing on PIN Debit Hurts Acquirer Margins, Expert Says

  Americans now spend more than half a trillion dollars a year on PIN-debit cards, but the merchant-acquiring industry is still adjusting to consumers' embrace of point-of-sale debit. At the same time, debit card pricing is shifting from a simple, flat-fee model to a more complex one, which is raising the …
• 8 February

  As Competition Heats up, USA Technologies Settles With Dissidents

  USA Technologies Inc. and a dissident shareholder group buried the hatchet last week, but their settlement agreement sets some high hurdles for the provider of vending-machine card readers and remote networking transaction-processing services to clear. If not, the dissidents could reassert themselves?just as competition for processing payments from unattended locations …
• 4 February

  Same-Store Card Sales Continue to Plunge for Small Businesses

  Same-store sales on credit and debit cards continue to drop for small businesses, indicating that any signs of recovery from the recession have yet to be seen by either Main Street merchants or their acquirers. Sales on cards for small merchants fell 12.15% in the fourth quarter last year compared …
• 4 February

  Encryption, PIN Security, EMV Top Busy Agenda for PCI Council in 2010

  A busy year is on tap for the PCI Security Standards Council, with revisions due not only for the main Payment Card Industry data-security standard but also standards governing PIN-entry devices and payment-processing software applications. Plus, the PCI Council plans to take a close look at two widely discussed security …
• 4 February

  Debit Growth Is Still the Story As Visa And MasterCard File Results

  The bank card networks have weighed in with their latest earnings reports, and operating statistics within them show debit continues to boom while the unprecedented, recession-induced credit contraction over the past year may be nearing its end. At Visa Inc., which reported late Wednesday, U.S. debit payment volume hit $238 …
• 3 February

  Hackers Target Hotels for Card Data As Malware Gets More Insidious

  A growing emphasis by computer hackers on stealing payment card data from hotels and resorts and their increasingly sophisticated malicious software and attack methods are two highlights in a new report from security consulting and technology firm Trustwave Holdings Inc. Trustwave's Global Security Report 2010 summarizes findings from the Chicago-based …
• 2 February

  Fiserv Sees An Opportunity in Filters for the ACH’s New IAT Code

  As financial institutions find themselves processing more and more international transactions through a new application on the automated clearing house, the burden of sorting out payments that match various watch lists is mounting fast. That's creating an opportunity for processors and software vendors. One of the first to act is …
• 1 February

  VeriFone Goes Outside Usual Channels to Sell Its New iPhone Product

  VeriFone Holdings Inc.'s PAYware Mobile mobile-payments initiative includes not just the previously announced card swipe for Apple Inc.'s iPhone and an iPhone app, but also a marketing campaign that aims to make the payment terminal maker's brand name more familiar with consumers, especially consumers that run small businesses. San Jose, …