Data security

Modern technology has turned the payments industry into a juggling act, particularly for those charged with deploying new techniques to protect payment card data.

Biometric authentication may seem all the rage now that Apple uses fingerprint authentication in its mobile wallet, but the Bitcoin ATM provider RoboCoin has concluded that biometric technology can be more of a hassle than a help.

VendorSafe Technologies has named Kevin Watson as its new chief executive. The provider of cloud-managed security for payments and wireless systems for small businesses also announced Providence Equity Partners out of Rhode Island has become its majority shareholder.

V-Key, a mobile security provider in Singapore, has received a $12 million investment from the Ant Financial Services Group, the Chinese financial services company that operates Alipay.

More people than ever are becoming aware of the impact of data breaches and the resulting fraud. But what about the rest of the fraud types: internal fraud, account takeover, elder abuse and even the old generic scam?

Mobile tech providers are racing to incorporate EMV chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature security into their offerings. But many of these companies are taking fundamentally different approaches to linking EMV and mobile technology.

In what amounts to eliminating password use and evolving the Verified by Visa and SecureCode online authentication processes, MasterCard says a new security protocol it is developing with Visa could be implemented next year.

Square Inc. may have more incentive than other acquirers in urging merchant clients to accept EMV-chip cards, but its pricing strategy could deter some from adopting the secure technology.

Third-party vendors will receive a lot more security scrutiny under new Payment Card Industry security requirements taking hold next year, if merchants are vigilant in following the new compliance guidelines.

Mocapay and Merchant Link are partnering to offer a bundle of mobile payments services that includes data-driven security and loyalty programs, both areas that have held back merchant uptake in the past.

Security passwords that have become common for e-commerce transactions and financial accounts translate poorly to mobile devices, fueling consumers' bad habits regarding weak or reused passwords.

This is an exciting time to be in the payments industry. The U.S. deadline for the EMV chip-and-PIN migration is officially less than one year away, and Apple Pay recently became available to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users.

Apple Pay and the card networks' support is boosting tokenization as a security option for mobile payments, though fraud trends suggest an even more layered approach will be necessary.

Home Depot Inc., which suffered a data breach between April and September, said 53 million e-mail addresses were taken by hackers during the attack, in addition to the 56 million payment cards that were previously disclosed.

Visa Europe may find itself in a damage control mode after researchers say they found a flaw in the brand's contactless cards, but the organization is expressing confidence in its security.

As Apple and the Merchant Customer Exchange battle it out over smartphone-based payments, Royal Bank of Canada and MasterCard are jumping past the phone to cement their roles in the fast-growing market for wearable payments.

Tokenization, a security method that eliminates account data from exposure, is fast becoming linked to the advancement of mobile payments. American Express' latest service is designed to push both technologies along.

The PCI Security Standards Council on has released updated standards on ways to promote company-wide security awareness.

Fraudsters are quickly developing a way to sidestep EMV-chip security ahead of the U.S. card networks' October 2015 deadline for adopting the technology.

The Merchant Customer Exchange is informing individuals and businesses involved in the testing the venture's CurrentC mobile payment system that "unauthorized third parties" have obtained some of their email addresses.