Data security

The explosion of startups developing payment tools hasn't ceased, and simple consumer mobile wallets are starting to make way for products suitable for large corporations.

Host Card Emulation, which enables Near Field Communication payments without accessing a smartphone's secure element, has major supporters like Google, Visa and MasterCard. But some are expressing concern over the technology's approach to security.

When more U.S. issuers and merchants start using EMV-chip cards to improve security at the point of sale, fraud will likely surge online.

Card-not-present (CNP) fraud is generating quite a bit of chatter in financial and payments circles today. Much of the talk centers on the link between greater global use of the EMV standard and rising CNP fraud.

EMV-chip cards might take until 2018 to reach full ubiquity, and a lack of education about the technology is hindering adoption, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research.

Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel is stepping down as chairman, president and CEO, effective immediately, Target's board announced May 5.

Fraud schemes are constantly changing, as criminals exploit new channels and methods of perpetrating their crimes. It is the ultimate game of whack-a-mole; stamp it out in one place, and it pops up somewhere else.

While mobile wallet providers try to simplify the payment process by taking physical plastic cards out of the equation, others are looking further into the future to an era where all things are connected.

North American Bancard (NAB) is adding technology from Moki in an attempt to secure and manage its in-store mobile point of sale system.

Ever since the Target data breach made national headlines late last year, customers at City Bank Texas in Lubbock have been deactivating and reactivating their debit cards with much greater frequency.

Security can be difficult to improve at gas stations because payment hardware is built into the pumps, making it costly and difficult to upgrade. First Data and VeriFone are teaming up to overcome this challenge.

The Target data breach has sparked more awareness of card security issues, but nearly 90% of U.S. consumers responding to a Phoenix Marketing International survey don't know much about the EMV-chip cards Target and others are adopting to deter counterfeiting.

When mainstream banks reacted to Target's holiday-season breach by reissuing cards, their biggest worry was active accounts. But for a prepaid card issuer like Green Dot, the inactive cards on retailers' shelves were also a significant concern.

Spreedly is launching a vaulting service that allows e-commerce merchants to manage payments without using a third-party gateway provider to authorize online transactions or handle related tasks such as data security.

VeriFone Systems and First Data are launching a solution that addresses payment security at gas stations and convenience stores.

Equifax is working with the mobile payments company Zumigo to jointly develop fraud prevention software.

Target Corp.'s choice to work with MasterCard Inc. for chip-and-PIN credit and debit cards next year makes a strong statement about payment security.

Target Corp. took two big steps to put the holiday data-breach nightmare behind it today.

WePay is adding application programming interface (API) capabilities to its risk management product, Veda, in an effort to streamline the way WePay's clients enroll new customers and handle transactions.

The U.S. is roughly two years into its migration to chip payments, but in the last few months I have seen the tide turn and this migration start to really pick up speed. But before I talk about where we are now, it’s important to understand where we have been and how we have arrived here.