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Hiccups in the U.S. payment card industry’s monumental shift to EMV chip card technology are beginning to surface, and one problematic area is chargebacks among card-present merchants. That’s the observation from one large merchant-services provider, and it’s corroborated by a recent report from First Annapolis Consulting Inc. containing similar …
Read More »In Its First Action on Data Security, the CFPB Hits Dwolla With a $100,000 Penalty
With its enforcement action against Dwolla Inc., announced on Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made plain it is expanding its writ to include data-security practices and putting digital-payments startups in its cross-hairs. The ripple effect could reach a number of payments providers if they are incautious about data …
Read More »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., …
Read More »With Its EMV Conversion Nearly Complete, Canada’s POS Debit Fraud Falls to New Low
Canada’s Interac Association PIN-based debit card network once again is reporting lower fraud losses as the country’s conversion to the EMV chip card standard nears completion. The Toronto-based network said Thursday that fraud losses from skimming, in which card data are stolen from the magnetic stripe, to financial institutions that …
Read More »MasterCard Adding Location Tech As Part of Trend Toward User-Based Card Controls
With an eye to giving credit and debit card holders a measure of greater control, MasterCard Inc. unveiled a new alert feature that provides issuers with verifiable data about a cardholder’s location. That can help prevent authorization refusals, for example, when the cardholder travels. Available now in the United Kingdom, and …
Read More »The PCI Council Plans an Early Release of Its Updated Data-Security Standard
The PCI Securities Standards Council said Wednesday that the next iteration of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard will be coming in the first half of this year, probably in March or April, about six months earlier than called for in the current update cycle. The new version, dubbed PCI …
Read More »Security Questions Arise as Biometrics Gain Ground in Authentication
With biometric authentication now enabled in millions of smart phones and the focus of intense technological development, some payments experts are warning that biometric data can, just like old-fashioned passwords, be stolen, potentially leading to big problems for consumers and payment-service providers. “Biometrics are sure to proliferate in the next …
Read More »Can PAR Keep Tokens Out of the Payments Sand Trap?
A new data element is getting a lot of discussion in merchant-acquiring and mobile-payments circles. It’s the so-called Payment Account Reference, or PAR, and it’s meant to associate all the payment tokens linked to a single credit or debit card primary account number, or PAN. But implementing PAR could be …
Read More »MoneyGram Reports Growth in Digital Channels Amid Mixed Results for 2015
Dallas-based MoneyGram International Inc. posted a mixed set of financial results for all of 2015 and for the fourth quarter as it looks to continued growth in its online business. The money-transfer specialist also said Thursday it has settled for $13 million a legal inquiry into its fraud-prevention measures. For …
Read More »ETA Releases Updated Underwriting Guidelines for Acquirers and ISOs
As promised, the Electronic Transactions Association has updated its 2014 guidelines for merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations on merchant underwriting and monitoring. And more updates are likely as technology and regulators keep the pressure on merchant processors to stay ahead of risks to the payment system. “We really want …
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