Data security

Some retailers falsely think that if they are using EMV chip credit cards that they have eliminated any chance of security breaches at the register since the EMV approach is stronger than conventional credit cards.

Card-not-present fraud is creating "silent revenue killers" for card issuers because many consumers will close their accounts after dealing with fraud from shopping online, new research indicates.

A data encryption method that Heartland Payment Systems CEO Robert Carr swears by has received high-level acceptance as part of a new standard.

Rather than increased emphasis on the card, or even the way we pay, more needs to be done to secure the terminal through which the transaction is processed.

More than two-thirds of all U.S.-issued MasterCard consumer credit cards are now chip-enabled and the number of merchants accepting EMV transactions continues to climb, MasterCard said March 31.

Mobile wallets and related technologies are starting to look very different. Whether they are absorbed into other mobile offerings or removed from the phone altogether, these systems are looking less and less like the old-fashioned billfolds they replace.

An 11-page paper by the agency signaled its intent to take a higher-profile role in ensuring that regulators are not inappropriately hampering banks' adoption of new technologies to reach customers, while also keeping an eye out that institutions are able to handle the risks involved.

Despite email filters and training programs, bank customers still click on fake emails and malicious links at an alarming rate. Newer technologies and methods hold promise for getting phishing under control.

A white paper released Thursday said the agency might issue new guidance on fintech product development, third-party risk management and new products targeting the underbanked; streamline its licensing procedures; and appoint experts on "responsible innovation." It is still deciding whether to open an office dedicated to monitoring the fintech sector.

Some debit card users are so loyal to their cards that many would go so far as to say using a PIN is more convenient — and less secure — than a using a signature, according to a recent report from Auriemma Consulting Group.

BMO is betting that newly popular biometric authentication options can solve an age-old problem—the headaches business travelers face when managing smaller expenses.

In the coming years, biometrics will be the leading security metric to protect payment systems, but a single ultra-hack could derail this progression permanently.

EBay has become a member of the Fast Identity Online (FIDO) Alliance, making it the first e-commerce company to achieve FIDO certification.

The attention around tokenization — replacing static account numbers with a one-time-use token — has been good for security but worrying for businesses that rely on a static identifier for future reference.

Marriott International's efforts to acquire Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide — combining two major hotel chains that have suffered data breaches — should force both chains to reexamine the way they handle sensitive payment card data.

Fallout from widespread data breaches hurts many payment industry sectors, but this year's tax-filing season brings fresh pain for the prepaid card industry, with new details out connecting prepaid cards with some of last year's biggest tax refund fraud busts.

The capacity for EMV cards to swiftly and drastically reduce payment card fraud in the U.S. is by no means assured.

Banks have to know a lot about their customers, who generally trust them to keep personal information secure. Who better to serve as digital identity providers in a post-password world?

Ryan Singer, CEO and cofounder of startup Blockchain Health, discusses the problems with the traditional "shared secrets" method of verifying identities, and the possibilities opened up by mobile computing devices.

Around the world, technology companies, governments and even some banks are coming up with new, safer and easier ways for people to prove they are who they say they are. Generally the goal is to allow people to be authenticated once by a trusted identity provider (a role banks could play) rather than share sensitive information with countless third parties, as they do today. Here we highlight just a few of the many organizations innovating in this space.