David Heun

Chase Pay, JPMorgan Chase's mobile wallet, has just landed an unlikely early partner with a history of going it alone: Starbucks.

Chase Pay, JPMorgan Chase's mobile wallet, has just landed an unlikely early partner with a history of going it alone: Starbucks.

Fraud from organized crime and hackers may attract the spotlight from payment companies and security vendors, but issuers and merchants consider friendly fraud the main nemesis.

As mobile payments migrate beyond smartphones, Visa is offering Visa Ready to manufacturers of wearables, automobiles, appliances and other connected devices.

There is a different feel to the troubles American Express faces today, mainly because its lost Costco relationship represented what might be one of the last of its kind — a deal in which a large retailer gives exclusivity to a certain card brand and tells customers how to pay.

Data indicating a sharp rise in e-commerce fraud attacks since the first EMV installations at the point of sale in the U.S. is not yet available, but fraud's shift to the digital landscape and its favorite targets is apparent.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been pushing ahead with EMV card adoption and the Merchant Customer Exchange mobile wallet, but gave little to no attention to them during its Feb. 18 conference call to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.

Matt Taylor, formerly the CEO of Mercury and now group president of integrated payments and emerging channels at Vantiv, shared insights into how his company made the right decisions at the right time.

As it seeks new business in Europe, PayPal is expected to soon launch a partnership with Vodafone that would allow Android smartphone users to make contactless tap-and-go payments at the point of sale. At the same time, Apple has begun securing bank partnerships for an imminent launch in China, according to reports.

The Electronic Transactions Association released its updated Guidelines on Merchant and ISO Underwriting and Risk Monitoring last week, spotlighting various merchant categories that face the biggest scrutiny from law enforcement agencies.

It has been difficult for the card brands' 3D Secure technology to find a following in the U.S., in part because of a lack of awareness, and in part because of the consumer friction the authentication process has caused in the past.

PayPal has long sought to improve its ability to reach external developers, and on Thursday made a new move in that direction by putting an open network called PayPal Commerce into beta testing.

Silicon Valley companies like Marqeta, Stripe and Braintree cut their teeth on the open network concept, creating a place for themselves at the table of future embedded payments, instant card issuing or instant credit.

The cloud and Internet of Things may excite the payments and technology industries, but they are a source of mounting pressure for in-house data security professionals.

Hardware security modules have long been a staple in payments network security, but increasing transaction flow and coding in the mobile and digital age can create data bottlenecks with current technology.

Golf course management software provider Club Prophet Systems is using the linked2pay application interface to add Automated Clearing House payment acceptance as an option for its clients.

Cross-border payment provider Payoneer will partner with digital marketing company Tradedoubler to provide commission-based payments between advertisers and online publishers.

EMV certification provider Fime is providing validation for chip-based RuPay cards in India to comply with National Payments Corporation of India requirements.

"I realized that if you want more, you have to constantly look for new tasks and new areas to be involved and learn new skills, all while making yourself a little uncomfortable in the process," Elliott said.

In the past year, Verifone's European market share has grown more than 10 percentage points, and Felix declares it her proudest moment in a career that spans 26 years.