News

October, 2005

• 13 October

  Phishing E-Mails Fell, But Phishing And Malware Sites Rose, in August

  The number of unique e-mail campaigns sent as part of phishing frauds fell in August to 13,776, almost 400 fewer than in July and the lowest number since March, according to statistics released today by the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a consortium of payments processors, software vendors, and law-enforcement agencies that …
• 12 October

  Study: Signature Debit Fraud Runs 15 Times Higher Than on PIN Debit

  Financial institutions lost an estimated $546 million to debit card fraud in 2004, with fraud rates running much higher on signature-based cards than on cards secured with PINs, according to study released this week. Banks lost $345 million in fraud committed on ATMs, while fraud on signature-debit cards cost them …
• 11 October

  Businesses Favor Interchange Caps, Agree with Suits, Survey Shows

  More than two-thirds of treasury professionals within businesses that sell to consumers favor capping card interchange fees, according to a survey released today by the Association for Financial Professionals. Moreover, nearly three-quarters of these executives would trade rewards programs for lower interchange rates, even if their own companies lost incentives. …
• 10 October

  My Payment Network Looks for Big Growth from Niche Web Markets

  An Internet payments processor founded early this year is looking to tap into underserved niche markets like schools, service companies, and other small businesses with what it bills as an inexpensive and easy-to-use application. My Payment Network Inc., Corte Madera, Calif., just began operation in August but hopes to be …
• 10 October

  PayPal Will Pay $370 Million to Buy VeriSign’s Payments Gateway

  PayPal Inc. will acquire the online payments gateway business of Verisign Inc. for $370 million under an agreement reached today by VeriSign and eBay Inc., Paypal's parent company. The deal, which is expected to close before year's end, also includes a multi-year agreement under which eBay will invest in VeriSign …
• 7 October

  Paymentech-CMS Combo Creates Huge Acquirer?with Potential Pitfalls

  This week's announced integration of giant merchant acquirers Chase Merchant Services LLC and Paymentech L.P. by their respective owners (Digital Transactions News, Oct. 5) creates a single entity of unprecedented scale?more than $500 billion in annual bank card charge volume through 13 billion transactions in the U.S. and Canada?but one …
• 5 October

  ReD Confirms Rumor It Is Seeking to Buy a Related Business

  In a statement released today, Retail Decisions PLC confirmed it is seeking to buy an unnamed company “whose key activities are complementary to those of ReD.” In confirming what it called a “market rumor” about a pending transaction, the U.K.-based transaction processor and Internet payments gateway, which operates a U.S. …
• 5 October

  Amazon.com Could Start Accepting WEB ACH Payments This Month

  Internet retailing giant Amazon.com Inc. will likely begin accepting payments cleared through the automated clearing house from at least a portion of its customer base, possibly by the end of this month, says a source familiar with the matter. This source, who asked to remain anonymous, says the move would …
• 5 October

  JPMorgan, FDC Agree on Long-Awaited Paymentech-CMS Combo

  JPMorgan Chase & Co. and First Data Corp. have come to terms on the long-awaited merger of acquiring-service providers Chase Merchant Services LLC and Paymentech L.P. in a deal that will create a behemoth processor handling 13.1 billion electronic transactions annually. According to a news release distributed this afternoon by …
• 4 October

  Publix Joins Retailers Suing Visa, MasterCard over Interchange

  The ranks of major retailers suing the bank card networks over interchange swelled by one today when Publix Super Markets Inc. announced it had filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Visa USA and MasterCard International. The Lakeland, Fla.-based grocery chain's suit alleges the practice of setting interchange by the two …