Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has been seeking lately to differentiate its 4-year-old Samsung Pay mobile payments service, and on Monday came its latest gambit: an integration with Curve 1 LTD, a London-based startup that allows cardholders to consolidate all of their Mastercard and Visa cards into a single card or …
Read More »Discover Contactless Cards Coming and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 11/4/19
Discover Financial Services said it will begin issuing contactless cards over the next several months, starting first this month with holders of Discover it and Discover More cards who need cards reissued or replaced. New cardholders will get contactless cards beginning in December.ACI Worldwide expanded its long-term relationship with ATM network operator …
Read More »How Cash-Out Attacks Are Becoming the Next Big Worry for ATM Operators
Payments executives are starting to go public with concerns about a growing type of ATM fraud called the cash-out attack. Unlike the well-known, single-machine attack known as jackpotting, cash-out frauds allow criminals to gain access to multiple machines simultaneously at the network level. They then employ accomplices to visit these …
Read More »Cardtronics Experiences Revenue Increase and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/31/19
ATM network operator Cardtronics plc reported revenues of $351.5 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 3% year-over-year. ATM operating revenues totaled $333.4 million, up 1%. The company reported agreements in the quarter to place more than 1,000 ATMs, as well as a renewal and expansion of its agreement with leading …
Read More »Kroger Subsidiaries End Visa Credit Card Boycott, but Terms of Their Accord Are a Secret
Two subsidiaries of The Kroger Co. have ended their boycott of Visa credit cards that started 14 months ago over acceptance costs, but it’s unknown if Visa granted the grocery-store giant any fee reductions. Local media outlets in the West reported Wednesday morning that Visa credit card acceptance had resumed …
Read More »Green Dot Extends Pact With Walmart, And Both Firms Will Collaborate on a Fintech Lab
Walmart Inc. and Green Dot Corp. reported Tuesday they have extended the prepaid program manager’s agreement with the giant retailer for another seven years, assuring that Green Dot will continue to serve as the issuing bank and manager for the Walmart MoneyCard program. Walmart says the new contract begins Jan. …
Read More »Kroger Lifts Visa Ban and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/30/19
The Kroger Co. lifted its acceptance ban on Visa credit cards at its Smith’s Food & Drug and Foods Co subsidiaries, according to news reports. Kroger, citing what it called high acceptance costs, first banned the cards at its small Foods Co chain in August 2018 and extended it to the larger Smith’s …
Read More »EMVCo Is Eyeing Some New Initiatives for EMV 3-D Secure 2.0
While much attention in the payments industry in recent months has focused on EMVCo’s Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) specification, another e-commerce spec from the standards body could be receiving some tweaks. These possible initiatives, which concern the EMV 3-D Secure specifications, include a way of adding users’ travel data to …
Read More »Uber Money Debuts and other Digital Transactions News briefs from 10/29/19
Ride-share provider Uber Technologies Inc. announced Uber Money, an update to its roster of financial services, mostly for its drivers. Among the products is the relaunch of the Uber credit card in a deal with Barclays. Uber Money also can provide Uber drivers real-time access to their earnings in an Uber Debit …
Read More »COMMENTARY: Three Huge Misconceptions Business Owners Have About Payment Solutions
Owners of small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) generally have a negative outlook on the payments industry, and for good reason. The merchant-services world, in particular, has an ugly track record, including lackluster customer support, not to mention misleading sales practices that lead to costly processing rates, hidden fees, and burdensome …
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