David Heun

When major card networks revealed the EMV chip card liability shift timeline four years ago, the Merchant Advisory Group was quick to make its stance clear: A conversion to chip cards won't mean a thing without a PIN authorization to go with it.

Knowing that fraudsters will target those unprepared to handle EMV chip cards when the liability shift takes place Oct. 1, payment processor Elavon has developed a data security package to protect small businesses.

Pushing for more businesses to convert to electronic payments rather than using paper checks, the Remittance Coalition plans to have a working model in place next month for a business-to-business payment directory and network.

The EMV chip card-enabled PayPal Here will be available in the U.S. on Sept. 30.

Many different data security technologies exist, but the payments industry “does not have what it needs for a global standard,” said Marianne Crowe, vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The payments industry's next big challenge may be to get out of its own way and allow innovation to unfold in an open and collaborative manner.

The Faster Payments System in the U.K. and the New Payments Platform in Australia serve as excellent models to emulate, but it is not likely that the U.S. can create similar systems.

Small merchants may not have a full grasp of EMV chip card acceptance at the point of sale as the Oct. 1 liability shift nears in the U.S., but e-commerce merchants are building layers of defense for the expected spike in online fraud.

As payments technology went into warp speed the past four years, many banks, acquirers and independent sales organizations (ISOs) faced the difficult task of keeping up with all of the potential changes.

High fashion and contactless payments collided this week on the catwalk at the London Fashion Week event as Near Field Communication rings stole the show.