David Heun

After 20 years of working with a clunky, time-consuming 3-D Secure authorization method for online purchases, the wheels are finally in motion to get the upgraded 2.0 version in place for merchants and banks, granting access to more data for spotting fraud.

American Express is entering the arena of wearable payments in offering the Amex Band to cardholders attending the US Open tennis tournament in New York.

Domestic card growth has not lived up to the bank’s expectations, even after its Costco coup. So it is making changes here to get product development, payments technology and card portfolio management on the same page worldwide.

For Citigroup, a change in how it plans to operate in the U.S. is all about streamlining operations so its global network can be on the same page regarding product development, payments technology and card portfolio growth.

Processing.com has 25 acquiring banks lined up as its transaction network, creating a safety net for dealing with high-risk merchants.

In a move that could speed up the process of eliminating passwords, the EMVCo specifications body is opening its test platform for EMV 3-D Secure messaging to security providers.

Facebook in May placed Marcus in charge of a blockchain initiative, which would likely include some of the same work that is taking place at Coinbase.

PayNow Corporate enables corporations, businesses and government agencies to pay and receive funds instantly by linking a unique entity number to their Singapore bank account.

Cash discounting, or informing customers that items in the store are priced less expensively if purchased with cash, does not have the legal barriers of straight surcharging, which is simply charging more for products to cover card fees.

Visa has continued to establish a more complete B2B offering, working through its Visa B2B Connect blockchain payments service to help companies establish application interfaces and platforms to handle business transactions more efficiently.

The onset of artificial intelligence and machine learning could serve as the safety net some companies need, providing a different and more thorough twist on traditional underwriting and credit checks.

The company has tested Harbortouch Bar & Restaurant software at 50 locations and has informed independent sales organizations the service is ready to deploy for restaurant clients.

The partnership targets home improvement and some health care merchants that accept American Express. These merchants will be able to drive more sales by providing financing options for large purchases.

Business owners are understandably reluctant to allow employees, contractors and freelancers take the company credit card. But asking them to use a personal card raises other issues, such as scanning receipts for reimbursement.

One way for acquirers and independent sales organizations to stand out in a highly competitive field is to devote a part of their business to worthy causes.

In a post-Equifax world, independent sales organizations, acquirers and payment processors are under much more scrutiny over merchant account applications and underwriting.

Joe Kaplan, former president of the Electronic Transactions Association and most recently CEO of Paya, died unexpectedly on July 26.

Mark Horwedel, the outgoing Merchant Advisory Group CEO, wasn't always on the merchants' side. Through much of the 1970s through 1990s, his career path placed him firmly in the world of bankers.

Forget the stereotype that a cybercriminal has to be tech-savvy to get the job done. Their true gift is in social engineering.

To consolidate the data flows that are increasingly becoming part of real-time payment processing, Ingenico is turning to MapR Technologies to provide artificial intelligence and analytics to its platform.