Analytics

Merrill Halpern received an “unexpected benefit” when traveling recently in Europe without an EMV smart card in his wallet. He got a free cup of coffee from a coffee shop employee who felt sorry for him because she couldn’t initiate the transaction on her terminal with just Halpern’s signature.

Following a data breach, merchants are required by law to notify a host of authorities and agencies, a daunting task that presents an opportunity for ISOs and agents.

New U.S. consumer credit data from CreditForecast.com, a product of Equifax and Moody's Analytics, projects a rebounding consumer environment along with recovering home and auto markets in 2012.

Debt from student loans in the U.S. increased to $867 billion in the quarter ending Dec. 31, up from $865 billion in the previous quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Some tweaks to its travel-related fraud-protection strategies helped an Iowa credit union last year to reduce its credit card charge-offs by 16%.

The fight against fraud is an ongoing one for most banks, particularly as fraudsters figure out increasingly cunning ways to defang the security walls that bankers build.

Cryptomathic LLC has launched a cloud-based encryption-management service targeting banks and government agencies that handle large amounts of data and secure software applications in their networks, the company announced Feb. 29.

Smartcard technology security provider Oberthur Technologies has started negotiations to acquire financial services software provider MoreMagic Solutions Inc., the companies announced Feb. 28.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has chosen digital security provider Gemalto NV to protect and support delivery of data in Chase’s mobile-payment program, Chase announced Feb. 27.

Smartphones and social media remain relative new frontiers for consumer banking, and they pose new risks.

NEW YORK – Bankers, consumer advocates and other industry members gathered this week to hear officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau outline their concerns about overdraft practices.

If an online merchant or bank composed a fraud-prevention wish list, it likely would have two important factors right at the top: Confirm the customer is actually who he says he is, and make sure the device he is using to access our website matches his profile and hasn’t been used in previous fraud attempts.

Trustwave wants to establish barriers at the “front door”–software-applications customers use to enter and move around a merchant or bank website–that many cyberhackers enter to attack payment systems and retrieve personal or card data.

A U.S. district court has issued a contempt ruling against promoters of a credit repair, debt relief and food stamp operation who violated a 2010 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

Credit unions and community banks served by The Members Group now have access to a fraud-prevention tool that adds flexibility for them and a more hassle-free experience for their cardholders.

Americans across the country continue to slash away at their credit card debt, but a return to card borrowing may be around the corner.

To calm consumer fears about having card-account numbers stolen wirelessly, the University of Pittsburgh has developed a way to switch contactless cards off automatically when they are not in use.

As more merchants store credit card data in the virtual servers of cloud-based payment systems, the challenge for security providers is to keep the data safe.

Indian banks have seen incidents of ATM-skimming rise substantially over the past month, even as they have scrambled to warn their cardholders and increase their safety measures.

WASHINGTON–With its nonbank supervision program finally under way, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to bring debt collectors and consumer reporting firms under its oversight umbrella.