Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
BitPass Inc., which has relied on prepaid accounts since it began processing micropayments less than two years ago, is exploring a number of new payment options, including one that would allow users to pay spontaneously rather than from previously funded Bitpass accounts. In an e-mail survey it distributed last week, …
News
July, 2005
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7 July
Plunging Check Volumes Will Cool off ARC Growth by 2008, Report Says
Although the conversion of paper checks into electronic transactions at billers' lockboxes and other central locations is growing at a torrid rate, it will level off by 2008, in part because check volumes are dropping faster than expected, according to a new research report. The 3-year-old conversion process, in which …
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7 July
How DataTreasury Could Become a Toll Collector in Check Imaging
Little noticed until now, a small, privately held technology company on Long Island this week scored a major victory in a patent-infringement case that is sending shock waves throughout the electronic payments business, observers say. One direct result, they say, could be sharply higher costs for banks and third-party processors …
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7 July
Star Survey: Consumers Prefer PIN, While PIN Fees Are Less Frequent
Consumers generally prefer PIN-based debit to signature debit, and are less frequently subjected by banks and merchants to fees for PIN-debit usage, according to a recent survey. At the same time, the number of banks offering rewards incentives to consumers for PIN-debit usage, already a small minority, is declining, says …
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6 July
Small Company Sues Big Banks, Wins Big in Check 21 Technology Cases
In a move that could have widespread implications for the fledgling business of check-image exchange, a small, privately held company holding patents on key elements of check imaging and processing filed patent-infringement suits today against four major banks. The federal suit, filed by Melville, N.Y.-based DataTreasury Corp. against Bank of …
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5 July
41st Parameter Gets Set to Roll out More Potent Anti-Phishing Software
Mindful of the rapid spread of online frauds depending on phishing, The 41st Parameter Inc. plans next month to roll out a new version of its machine-authentication technology. The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company is already piloting the new version of its software, called TimeDiff Linking, and last week filed for an …
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1 July
Merchants Misunderstand How Interchange Works, Former Visa Exec Says
Merchant complaints about credit card interchange pricing, which culminated last week in a class-action antitrust suit against the bank card associations and major banks, rest on a fundamental misunderstanding of how the interchange mechanism works, says a former Visa U.S.A. executive and payments-industry expert. The pricing system, indeed, allows for …
June, 2005
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30 June
AmEx And MasterCard Could Be Losers in BofA-MBNA Deal
Bank of America Corp.'s planned acquisition of MBNA Corp. and its 40 million active credit card accounts has payment industry executives pondering the fate of American Express Co.'s ambitious efforts to jointly issue credit cards with banks. The $35 billion deal, announced this morning and expected to close in the …
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29 June
Samid: More Major Data Hacks Could Happen Without Legislation
The huge theft of card data at processor CardSystems Solutions Inc., revealed last week by MasterCard International, has prompted litigation and drawn the attention of most of the state attorneys general, but at least one network-security expert cautions that more such incidents are likely. Indeed, he says, little is likely …
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29 June
Merchants Suing on Interchange Seek Major Reform of Fee System
The merchants that last week filed a class-action antitrust suit against major banks and the bank card associations seek more than to collect damages for what they regard as anticompetitive behavior. Indeed, according to the lead attorney representing them, they hope their case will lead to sweeping reform of the …