News

December, 2014

• 9 December

  Chick-fil-A Serves Up a Mobile Payment And Ordering App

    Fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A Inc. has jumped into the mobile-payments frying pan with the debut Monday of a mobile payment and ordering app. Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A says the app, available for iOS and Android smart phones, can be used for mobile ordering at 130 Chick-fil-A restaurants in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, …
• 9 December

  The FIDO Alliance Releases Version 1 of Its Post-Password Online Authentication Standard

  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 …
• 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 …
• 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), …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …
• 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 …