Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
With a freshly revised version of industry rules for payment card data security having just emerged (Digital Transactions News, Oct. 28), further evidence is also surfacing of the compliance challenge acquirers face with the smallest merchants. Indeed, the smaller the business, the less sensitive it is to the possibility of …
Read More »As Regulation Looms, Visa Reports Recovering Volumes
The specter of regulation cast a pall of uncertainty over Visa Inc.’s latest financials, but the U.S. operating statistics the world’s largest payment network reported on Wednesday bespoke a transaction machine shifting in high, or least a higher, gear. U.S. debit card payments volume broke the trillion-dollar mark in fiscal …
Read More »Visa Joins the Parade of Networks Adopting Open Platforms
Third-party software applications linked to payment processors’ and networks’ systems are becoming the name of the game for attracting merchants, and No. 1 network Visa Inc. is now a player thanks to upgrades to the Authorize.Net unit of its new CyberSource Corp. subsidiary. The new features on Authorize.Net’s Developer Center …
Read More »Processors Report Tentative Signs of Consumer Spending
While tales of unemployment, foreclosures, and other economic woes abound, some payments-industry reports indicate that consumers are coming out of their shells and spending more than they did a year ago, though the picture is still mixed. JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Wednesday reported that its mega merchant-acquiring subsidiary Chase …
Read More »PCI Compliance Should Be a ‘LifeStyle,’ Says Assessor Verizon
Merchants are most likely to remain compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards and avoid data breaches if they adopt security as a lifestyle, according to a study released earlier this week by Verizon Business. Verizon Business provides audits and other PCI-related services. When we've seen people be …
Read More »Citi Will Pilot a New Card with a Button for Rewards
Citigroup Inc. revealed on Tuesday it will start a pilot next month for a new type of credit card that will let cardholders apply rewards they’ve earned by pressing a button on the card. The pilot for the new card, which Citi has dubbed its 2G credit card, will start …
Read More »PCI Council Issues Guidance on EMV And Point-to-Point Encryption
With end-to-end encryption of payment card data rapidly spreading throughout the credit and debit card industry and calls for the U.S. to replace magnetic-stripe cards with so-called EMV chip-and-PIN cards, the card industry’s security overseer is attempting to ensure that security standards change with the times. The PCI Security Standards …
Read More »Chase’s Outage: Fact of Life in E-Payments World
After being out all day Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s online-banking service sputtered back to life early Wednesday. Service, however, was spotty at times, though by mid-afternoon it seemed to be working normally again. But with 16.6 million active online-banking customers potentially affected, the outage was big enough to warrant …
Read More »Advice to Issuers: Shift from Debit to Credit—And Soon
Hammered by the worst economic downturn in decades, consumers have been abandoning credit cards in droves, instead using debit cards as their plastic of choice. But new research suggests card issuers will soon have to revamp their credit card programs and beef up prepaid card marketing to offset an expected …
Read More »Visa Guidance Targets Slipshod Payment Card Software Practices
Recognizing that sloppy payment-processing software installations can lead to data breaches, Visa Inc. on Tuesday issued what it calls the top 10 best practices for secure software management. Visa is aiming the guidance mostly at third-party software vendors, integrators, value-added resellers (VARs), and others that sell or license card-processing applications …
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