More Than 90 Percent of People Plan to Give Gift Cards in Next Three Months

Will Hernandez — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:35:52 GMT

The Retail Gift Card Association reported that in a survey of 1,000 people, 91.4 percent said they plan to give gift cards as gifts within the next three months, though they are careful on how they would spend them. According

Bitcoin Foundation Says Currency's Anonymity a Myth

Will Hernandez — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:23:32 GMT

During a recent daylong conference sponsored by Thomson Reuters and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, Gavin Andresen, Bitcoin’s lead developer, and Patrick Murck, Bitcoin Foundation general counsel, addressed one of the chief criticisms of the digital currency,

UK Payments Council Outlines New Payments Roadmap

Will Hernandez — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:22:37 GMT

As the British government continues its 2013 push to increase competitiveness in the payments industry, the UK Payments Council just published its ‘payments roadmap’ which sets forth recommended targets with the eventual goal of a shared payments infrastructure in the

PayPal Hope to Obtain Payment License in China

Will Hernandez — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:50:31 GMT

PayPal CEO John Donahoe recently said it soon hopes to obtain a payment license in China, but much uncertainty remains.From IT News Donahoe sees "encouraging signs" from the Chinese authorities, but said it remained next to impossible to guess when

PayPal Offers Transaction-Fee Waivers to Merchants

Will Hernandez — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:22:03 GMT

PayPal has announced that, beginning July 10, it will waive transaction fees for up to $20,000 of transactions each month for merchants employing a tablet based POS solution from either ShopKeep POS or Vend, two of PayPal’s partners. PayPal is

Visa Plays Offense in Interchange Fee Fight by Suing Wal-Mart

Will Hernandez — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:24:39 GMT

In what is shaping up to be a “high noon” moment in payment card history, retailers and card networks seem ready to meet at an ultimate showdown in a New York courtroom. The latest move is Visa filing a lawsuit

Apple's iCloud Keychain Presents a Potential PCI Issue

Will Hernandez — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:15:35 GMT

During Apple’s recent Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple didn’t reveal Near Field Communication capability on its next iPhone version, but it did announce something seemingly similar to a digital wallet, with a password manager to boot.The iCloud Keychain Apple announced is

Insurance Companies May Make It Impossible for Unbanked to Be Insured

Will Hernandez — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:07:09 GMT

Under the Affordable Card Act, uninsured Americans must sign up for health insurance or risk paying a penalty, but limits on acceptable forms of payments by insurance companies may make it impossible for people without bank accounts to comply. From

Lawsuit Filed Against McDonald’s Franchisee Over Payroll Card Fees

Will Hernandez — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:56:13 GMT

A former McDonald’s employee is suing the owners of the franchise she worked at because she says she was forced to use a prepaid debit card that charged her fees to access her wages. The McDonald’s Corp. is not named

Starbucks Adds Contactless Payments in the UK

Will Hernandez — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:40:49 GMT

Starbucks Monday announced it is the latest major merchant in the United Kingdom to begin a widespread deployment of contactless terminals in its stores, which follows Marks and Spencer (M&S), the Co Op and Boots. Working with Barclaycard Global Payment

Is MCX What Consumers Want?

Will Hernandez — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:04:23 GMT

Is the noise around mobile wallets drowning out the eventual winner? That’s the position this writer takes in presenting the Merchant Customer Exchange as the dark horse in the mobile wallet race. MCX is the retailer payment network strategy being

UK Banks Promise to Make Changing Accounts Easier

Will Hernandez — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:31:29 GMT

The UK Payments Council recently said the banking industry will provide “hassle free” account switching to consumers starting in September following a £750 million campaign on infrastructure changes and a national advertising blitz. As part of the UK payments and

Visa Integrates Ethoca’s Fraud Alerts with CyberSource

Will Hernandez — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:07:40 GMT

E commerce merchants using CyberSource for payment gateway and risk management solutions now have another tool in their antifraud toolkits an alert service that helps identify fraudulent transactions prior to order fulfillment. Additionally, Ethoca’s merchant base (whether using the CyberSource

The NSA Is Monitoring Credit Card Transactions Along With Phone Records

Will Hernandez — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:24:30 GMT

Along with phone records and e mail and Web search information, the National Security Agency is also tracking credit card transactions according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine. From the Journal The disclosure this week of

Chirpify Nixes PayPal Requirement

Will Hernandez — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:05:36 GMT

Chirpify, a social commerce startup that enables participants to pay using a Twitter tweet, Instagram hashtag comment or Facebook reply, is removing the requirement that users tie their account to PayPal, thus alleviating the need for them to pay both

Telefonica Digital Says New Mobile Security Division Will Operate Like a Start-Up

Will Hernandez — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 15:35:56 GMT

London based Telefonica Digital has launched a new mobile security division that will operate as a distinct business unit in charge of developing next generation security solutions for the mobile company’s platform. The company, which is known as Eleven Paths,

Banco Santander Invests in iZettle mPOS Solution

Will Hernandez — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:15:19 GMT

Banco Santander, the largest bank in the Euro area, has invested more than 5 million euros ($6.6M) in Swedish mPOS solution iZettle. iZettle is a Square like mPOS solution for Europe, competing for dominance within the region with SumUp, payleven,

CFPB Releases Overdraft Study

Will Hernandez — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:26:20 GMT

In keeping with its mandate to use data driven analysis, the CFPB released its study of overdraft use and practices today. The CFPB in the study analyzes results from a public request for information issued in 2012 and detailed study

Green Dot to Buy Walmart MoneyCard Portfolio from GE Capital Retail Bank

Application Administrator — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:00:30 GMT

Green Dot Corp. announced that it has agreed to buy the Walmart MoneyCard portfolio from GR Capital Retail bank in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On June 7, 2013, GE Capital Retail Bank (formerly known as GE

Underbanked Consumers Key for Mobile Payments

Will Hernandez — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:00:43 GMT

The U.S. underbanked population represents the key to growth of mobile payments, but increasingly strict government regulations reportedly could hinder the opportunities among financial technology companies offering underbanked Americans an opportunity for financial conclusion.New laws, such as the California Money

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