Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Despite criticism that free point-of-sale terminals for card-accepting merchants undercut independent sales organizations’ profitability, the company that started the trend back in 2004 remains staunchly committed to the strategy. The investment in hardware is more than returned in reduced attrition, says Jared Isaacman, chief executive of United Bank Card Inc. …
December, 2011
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22 December
Christmas Season Throws Spotlight on a Developing Trend Toward Digital Gift Cards
With Christmas day looming, retailers that issue digital gift cards, along with the vendors that supply them, are expecting a rush of last-minute purchases from shoppers who don’t have time to buy plastic cards. With e-cards flying out to the handsets of recipients at parties and in homes and offices, …
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21 December
ACH Bill Payments Move into the Passing Lane
The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service is bemoaning the accelerating shift by consumers away from sending everything from Christmas cards to bill payments by physical mail. But, on the other side of the coin, new data confirm that the automated clearing house is where a lot of former paper-based …
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21 December
Intuit Launches a Feature That Lets QuickBooks Online Users Accept Visa, MasterCard
Bowing to feedback from small-business users, Intuit Inc. this week added the capability of accepting credit and signature debit cards to its QuickBooks Online product. The new capability allows users to accept Visa and MasterCard cards in addition to the existing ability to accept bank-account transfers through the automated clearing …
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20 December
PayPal Runs a Brief Test in Sweden to Check out Cloud-Based NFC for POS Payments
In a move that could be seen as a precursor to mobile in-store payments using so-called cloud-based near-field communication (NFC), PayPal Inc. is testing an app that works with contactless stickers to allow consumers to access their PayPal accounts. The test, which is taking place at two stores in Stockholm, …
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20 December
Though They’ll Remain Popular, Debit Cards Will See Some Growth Clipped by Regulation
Debit cards will remain popular with consumers, but the Durbin Amendment will take as much as three percentage points off its annual growth rate over the next five years, according to a new analysis from First Annapolis Consulting Inc. Some transactions that might have gone to debit cards will switch …
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16 December
Study Shows Merchants Still Store Massive Amounts of Unprotected Card Data
n Of 2,736 scans worldwide since Jan. 1 using SecurityMetrics Inc.’s PANscan tool, 71% revealed merchant computer systems were storing unencrypted payment card data, an 8% increase from a similar survey in 2010, according to the Salt Lake City, Utah-based provider of PCI security solutions. The participating merchants ranged in …
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15 December
Dwolla’s New Instant Service Offers Immediate Cash For Impulse Purchases
Dwolla Corp. on Thursday unveiled a credit option it hopes will appeal to users who want faster funds availability for spot or impulse purchases. The option, known as “Instant,” is available now and allows users to borrow up to $500 that they can use right away rather than waiting two …
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15 December
VeriFone Boss Says He Aims for Services to Account for Half of Revenue Within Four Years
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14 December
Banks, Credit Unions Plan Mobile-Payments Moves in ’12; Are They Moving Fast Enough?
Major financial institutions are prepared to make bigger investments in mobile payments next year, but may not be moving fast enough to ward off non-bank competition, according to a report issued earlier this week. The chief type of mobile payments these institutions will be pouring money into in 2012 …