Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Visa Inc. has launched Visa Consumer Transaction Controls, a service that lets Visa-card issuing institutions offer cardholders the ability to set transaction limits with their credit, debit, and prepaid cards. Visa says it works with more than 14,000 financial institutions, but does not provide a U.S.-specific total. Announced Tuesday, the …
February, 2016
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9 February
The PCI Council Sets Security Rules for Token Service Providers as their Role Grows
With the coming of mobile payments and their attendant security issues expanding demand for so-called token service providers, the PCI Security Standards Council has issued rules intended to keep the tokenization environment safe. The Wakefield, Mass.-based PCI Council in December quietly released a 92-page document titled, “Additional Security Requirements and …
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8 February
A Tipping Point May Be Nearing for NFC Terminals, But Some Big Retailers Aren’t Sold
How many point-of-sale terminals have to be enabled for near-field communication (NFC) before the technology becomes a must-have experience for consumers in stores? In the U.S., at least, the answer is 35% of the installed base, according to Osama Bedier, president of Poynt Co., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup that …
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8 February
Universal Card Coin Faces a Lawsuit Over Alleged Misrepresentations
The prospect of ubiquitous merchant acceptance and the ability to carry just one card in lieu of several was too much of a promise, alleges a lawsuit filed last week against Coin Inc., a startup offering a universal card service. Filed on behalf of two consumers who each purchased a …
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5 February
Despite ‘EMV Cloud,’ Cardtronics Pushes Forward With Growth Plans
Look for more ATM placements, capital spending, and possible acquisitions by leading retail ATM network owner and operator Cardtronics Inc. in 2016. The growth plan mostly conforms to the long-term strategy the company has been following in recent years, according to comments by top Cardtronics executives late Thursday. Houston-based Cardtronics …
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4 February
Eye on Branding: Vantiv Renames Mercury and Element; PayPal Debuts ‘New Money’ Campaign
Vantiv Inc. and PayPal Holdings Inc. are, separately, creating new looks for their brands. Vantiv, which bought integrated-payments specialist Mercury Payment Systems LLC in 2014 for $1.65 billion, is renaming Mercury and Element Payment Services, an integrated-payments provider it purchased in 2013, as a single unit called Vantiv Integrated Payments. This …
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4 February
Visa Opens Scores of Its APIs to Developers in a Bid To Speed Payments Innovation
In a move that recognizes the powerful role application developers play in the global payments arena, Visa Inc. on Thursday opened scores of its application programming interfaces to thousands of outsiders worldwide, including merchants, banks, and technology companies. The new program, called Visa Developer, embraces some 155 APIs and includes …
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3 February
Eye on Acquirers: Charge Volumes and Processing Revenues Grow for Vantiv and Heartland
Two leading merchant acquirers, Vantiv Inc. and Heartland Payment Systems Inc., are reporting strong transaction growth in their most recent financials. Boosted in part by its first full year of owning Mercury Payment Systems, Symmes Township, Ohio-based Vantiv on Wednesday said its Merchant Services segment processed 19 billion transactions in 2015, …
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3 February
Eye on Fraud: EMV Spurs Fraud Increase, Says Javelin; Landry’s Reports a POS System Breach
A new report finds that fraud activity is surging, while Landry’s Inc. says it has uncovered malware on its point-of-sale system and removed it. Identify fraud is on the rise, finds the 2016 Identity Fraud Study released Tuesday by Javelin Strategy & Research. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based research firm found that …
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3 February
Eyeing the Market for ‘On-Demand’ ACH Transfers, Dwolla Launches Its Latest API
It’s common for consumers who use a recurring service to designate a credit or debit card that the service provider can charge each month. With the automated clearing house, this is much less common. Dwolla Inc. says that’s because it’s too difficult and time-consuming for most businesses to set up …