News

March, 2015

• 25 March

  COMMENTARY: Banks Are Responsible for Weak Authentication in Apple Pay Fraud

  Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay mobile-payment system has taken some hits over rumors of rampant fraud. According to some reports, Apple Pay fraud is 60% higher than mag-stripe credit card fraud. And now, with the announcement two weeks ago of the Apple Watch and its support of Apple Pay, there is …
• 25 March

  ShopKeep Buys Long-Time ISO Partner Payment Revolution To Offer Integrated Payments

  ShopKeep.com Inc., a provider of tablet-based point-of-sale technology, on Wednesday announced the formation of a new payments division built around its long-time independent sales organization partner, Payment Revolution LLC, which ShopKeep has acquired for an undisclosed price. Payment Revolution co-founder and chief executive Etie Hertz is now senior vice president …
• 24 March

  An AmEx Appeal Likely as Network, DoJ Still Far Apart on Anti-Steering Rules

  American Express Co. and the U.S. Department of Justice submitted proposals Monday for rules changes conforming to a federal judge’s ruling that AmEx’s current ban on merchants steering customers to cheaper forms of payment violates antitrust law. The proposals show the two sides remain far apart, and AmEx reiterated that …
• 23 March

  Optimal Buys Skrill for $1.2 Billion, Eyes Gaming Opportunities

  Online-payments provider Skrill Group has a new owner. United Kingdom-based Optimal Payments Plc is buying London-based Skrill for 1.1 billion euros (U.S. $1.2 billion), Optimal announced Monday. Both companies provide digital-wallet services, with Skrill specializing in wallets for online-gambling users, e-commerce and money transfers. Skrill also offers a payment gateway and …
• 23 March

  EMV May Crush POS Fraud, But Will Losses Online More Than Offset That Gain?

  The U.S. payments industry is counting on EMV chip cards to eliminate much if not all of the counterfeit and lost-and-stolen fraud merchants suffer at the point of sale. They may well do that when EMV is fully deployed, but is it likely that rising e-commerce fraud will swamp any …
• 23 March

  Square Unveils Debit-Based Square Cash for Businesses, and ‘$Cashtags’

  By Jim Daly Square Inc. on Monday introduced a business-oriented version of its Square Cash person-to-person payments service aimed at displacing checks. The merchant processor also unveiled so-called “$Cashtags,” which Square touts as a simple and fast way for people to get paid through Square Cash. Dubbed Cash Pro for …
• 20 March

  Analyst: Target Settlement Signals a Change in How the Courts View Data Breaches

  By Jim Daly Target Corp.’s $10 million settlement of a consumer class action stemming from its late-2013 data breach is significant not only because of its size, but also because it signals that courts are becoming more attentive to the harm consumers suffer from data breaches even if the payment …
• 19 March

  Plenti Offers Cross-Merchant Rewards—But Will Consumers Use It?

  When the Plenti loyalty program—announced Wednesday by American Express Co.—debuts this spring, it will mark the first time a U.S. consumer-rewards program on a national scale enabled points to be earned and used across multiple merchants. The inaugural group of merchants includes AT&T, ExxonMobil Corp., Macy’s Inc., Nationwide Mutual Insurance …
• 19 March

  Target To Pay $10 Million To Settle Data-Breach Consumer Class Action

  By Jim Daly Lawyers for Target Corp. and consumers affected by the big discount retailer’s 2013 data breach were scheduled to meet in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., today to review a proposed settlement under which Target will pay up to $10 million to customers who suffered financial …
• 18 March

  With 92% Backing, NACHA’s Same-Day Proposal Will Go to Ballot Within Weeks

  A proposal to speed up processing on the automated clearing house network from next-day to same-day settlement will go to a ballot among NACHA voting members as early as next month, according to information posted this week on NACHA’s Web site. NACHA took comments on the proposal from early in …