Data security

Since consumers find EMV cards frustrating and difficult to use, EMV may do more to promote NFC as the preferred payment method among consumers and business owners.

Even though cybersecurity jobs can offer six-figure salaries, generous signing bonuses and other perks, banks are struggling to find people to hire.

The sheer volume of data that collected by Internet-connected "things" — cars, homes, wearable devices, and yes, refrigerators — could help deepen banks' relationships with customers. But it also adds more avenues for security breaches and raises privacy concerns.

NEW ORLEANS — Most people, if they thought about it, would admit the way digital identity is managed in the U.S. is suboptimal. Those truly in the know find much stronger words.

Discover is offering its version of Quick Chip for merchants to speed up the EMV chip card checkout process at the point of sale.

American Express has joined Visa and MasterCard in adjusting chargeback policies for merchants that have not yet migrated to chip card payments.

Retailers both online and off have noted an increase in chargebacks since the U.S. moved to microchip cards back in October. None of them are happy about it.

Most would agree the way digital identity is managed is suboptimal. But how identity should be managed, and who should manage it, are shaping up to be hotly debated questions.

With 63% of all data breaches resulting from stolen, weak or default passwords, and recent compromises targeting millions of stored passwords, Fast Identity Online Alliance members say the time is now for device manufacturers and e-commerce merchants to embrace new authorization technology.

One of the supposed perks of EMV chip-card upgrades was that the process would enable more modern payment options such as mobile wallets. In practice, however, EMV is closing as many doors as it opens.

Following a similar move from Visa last week, MasterCard is streamlining EMV certification and will adjust its fraud-cost policy for non-EMV compatible merchants.

Changing the rules in the middle of the game. Rescuing the investors who took big risks at the expense of those who behaved prudently. Undermining the credibility of the system.

As sexy as decentralized systems and automation are these days, human involvement is still necessary in many areas.

The answer may be no, according to federal regulators. Their new guidelines on mobile security include other surprises, too, such as specific requirements tied to geolocation, security tests and cross-site scripting.

Visa is acknowledging a merchant EMV migration logjam by loosening fraud chargeback policies and enabling faster chip card certifications for merchants.

Despite some early success, it can’t be ignored that there are still many merchants that cannot accept EMV chip cards.

American Express has joined Visa and MasterCard as a major card brand offering faster authorization at the point of sale to ease the perception that EMV payments take too long.

If banks don't weigh in on an appropriate privacy standard, they risk letting outside events spark onerous new regulations.

Merchants and cardholders alike have been challenged by the perceived additional time to complete the EMV transaction. These concerns pushed both Visa and MasterCard to create a response to improve the speed of transacting: Visa's Quick Chip and MasterCard's M/Chip Fast.

Cybercriminals understand psychology just as much as they do technology. Here are steps your bank employees must take to mitigate the risk of phishing and other attacks.