Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
If the start of the holiday-shopping season this year has demonstrated anything, it is the new prominence of mobile in the mix of payments. But for all the talk among online merchants about mobile payments, not all will benefit equally from the trend, according to Bill Ready, chief executive of …
December, 2012
November, 2012
-
29 November
Apriva Extends Agreement With Visa To Offer Discounted Vending-Machine Pricing
Fewer than two months after a competitor announced a similar deal, wireless payments provider Apriva Inc. this week reported that it would continue offering pre-Durbin Amendment discounted acceptance pricing on Visa cards to vending-machine operators. Debit card interchange in late 2011 became a major concern for vending-machine operators and other …
-
27 November
Commentary: Not Responding to Square’s Wakeup Call Could Be Hazardous to Acquirers
By Todd Ablowitz If you’ve attended any acquirers’ conferences, tuned into industry news, or followed payments trends this past year, you’ve surely noticed a common topic: “Should we beware of Square?” Square has created quite a stir by growing in just three years from a Silicon Valley startup to a …
-
27 November
With FSV Under Its Wing, U.S. Bank Poised To Become a Full-Service Prepaid Card Provider
Already a major player in the prepaid card industry, U.S. Bancorp on Tuesday announced plans to bolster that part of its payment card business by acquiring FSV Payment Services, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based prepaid card program manager and processor. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank issues prepaid cards for more than 4 million account …
-
27 November
Merchants Appeal a Key Part of the Credit Card Interchange Settlement
Merchants opposed to the agreement settling a massive, 7-year-old credit card interchange case filed an appeal on Tuesday challenging the court’s preliminary approval of a key part of the pact. The appeal, filed by four merchants and seven merchant trade groups, comes on the same day as the U.S. District Court for …
-
26 November
Thanksgiving Weekend Shopping Numbers Generally Soar Upward Vs. Last Year
The reports about consumer spending over the long Thanksgiving shopping period extending into today, Cyber Monday, continue to flow ad nauseam in the mainstream press. Digital Transactions News sifted through the statistical stew to find the numerical nuggets of greatest interest to merchant acquirers. The early data indicate that, when …
-
26 November
Visa Says New Online Authentication Tool Will Cut Risk While Reducing Abandonment
With the fabled Cyber Monday shopping frenzy under way, Visa Inc. launched an authentication tool for online transactions intended to cut fraud while reducing the risk of shopping-cart abandonment. The tool, which Visa calls its Consumer Authentication Service, can be deployed by any Visa issuer starting on Monday. The network …
-
21 November
Fraud Tied to Remotely Created Checks Figures in Bank’s Downfall
A controversial form of automated debit called the remotely created check (RCC) has figured prominently in the demise of a small bank that processed payments for fraudulent merchants and their third-party processors. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia announced this week that First Bank of Delaware agreed to a settlement …
-
21 November
Exceeding $700 Million, Payments Investment in 2012 Could Be Most Seen Since 2001
Venture-capital and private-equity investors are on pace to meet or exceed the $753 million they infused into the payments industry in 2011, the most since the $1.4 billion they invested in payments in 2001. Through the first three quarters of 2012, venture-capital and private-equity investors pumped $711 million into startup …
-
19 November
Pressing Acquisition Strategy, TSYS Uses ProPay Deal to Get into Mobile Acceptance
Total System Services Inc.’s announcement late last week that it has agreed to buy ProPay Inc. is the latest chapter in TSYS’s strategy of bulking up its position in the merchant-acquiring business through acquisitions. The deal will also hand the Columbus, Ga.-based processor a key stake in the rapidly growing …