Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance, a non-profit with more than 150 members in banking, payments, technology, and other industries, on Tuesday published its first standard for a better system of online authentication than the common but vulnerable user name and password. “Today, we celebrate an achievement that will define …
December, 2014
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9 December
Will the Persistence of Checks Undermine Efforts To Build Faster-Payments Systems?
Financial institutions, processors, and regulators have been moving toward systems that speed up electronic payments, but ironically their success in replacing paper checks with electronic processing may undermine their efforts. That’s because image exchange, the process by which paper checks are replaced by electronic images for clearing, has driven down …
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8 December
COMMENTARY: Think Apple Pay is the Biggest Thing in Payments? You’re Missing the Poynt
By Rick Oglesby, Double Diamond Payments Research Apple Pay was the talk of the Money20/20 trade show last month, but should it have been? Before Apple Pay can become a dominant payment vehicle, merchants need the ability to accept it (only about 2% of merchant locations can do so today), …
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8 December
MasterCard Makes an Interactive Card Investment
MasterCard Inc. said Monday it is taking a two-pronged approach to developing interactive payment cards with an investment in Dynamics Inc., a maker of interactive payment cards, and a deal to commercialize the devices. Pittsburgh-based Dynamics makes payment cards that have features such as buttons, display and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Consumers can …
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8 December
Digital River’s Stock Craters on Fears of the Company Losing Microsoft’s Online Store
Gateway and e-commerce services provider Digital River Inc. on Monday joined some other payments companies that have experienced the wrath, or panic, of investors on news that their relationship with their largest customer was threatened. Shares of Minnetonka, Minn.-based Digital River plunged 22.7%, falling $5.80 to close at $19.71, after …
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5 December
Trade Groups Petition Congress in Effort to Ease Cybercrime Information Sharing
The Merchant Financial Cyber Partnership, a unique coalition of eight financial-services trade associations and 11 merchant groups, wants Congress to make it easier for retailers and financial institutions to share information with each other related to data breaches. Merchants and financial-services companies often are bitter foes when it comes …
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5 December
Though Under a Cloud of Doubts, Bitcoin Marches Past 100,000 Mark in Daily Transactions
While governments and established payments networks around the world reckon with Bitcoin, the upstart digital currency has itself had to reckon this year with volatility that has seen its price plunge about 50% since its $700-plus January high. But in other respects, Bitcoin is riding high. One of the latest …
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4 December
Commentators Want New York’s BitLicense To Be Clear and Ensure a Level Playing Field
More than 3,700 individuals, groups, and companies have submitted comments regarding New York State’s novel proposal to regulate virtual currencies. A Digital Transactions News sampling of comments from payments organizations about the so-called “BitLicense” shows they want more clarity in definitions and exemptions from some proposed licensing requirements. New York’s …
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4 December
The Value of Words: How Contract Terms Affect Portfolio Valuation
When negotiating a merchant-portfolio acquisition, buyers and sellers may want to examine more than the usual terms and conditions for elements that could affect the value, and potential, of the portfolio, advises an analyst. While there are obvious terms to look for, such as those directly related to ownership …
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4 December
MPaay Combines Loyalty, Rewards, And Payments in One App
With the recent release of MPaay by New Media Insight Group Inc., merchants have another option when considering a smart-phone app that can provide mobile loyalty, rewards, and payments capabilities. n Consumers choose from three options to make a payment. One is via existing point-of-sale terminals at merchants that accept …