Data security

Visa, MasterCard and American Express are seeking ways to replace account numbers for digital payments. As they research possibilities, they can learn from the many existing and developing technologies that already accomplish much of what the card networks want.

The only way for the payments industry to thwart future hackers is to create a system that can adapt quickly to unanticipated threats – but many companies still struggle with the costs of handling their basic security needs.

The original iPhone revolutionized consumer technology and breathed life into the market for mobile payments — but the newest iPhone's most futuristic feature may signal a growing problem for banks and card networks.

Bad guys are very good at sharing technology and systems that work with other criminal networks — and payments companies can suffer if they embrace the same technology without realizing how it is being exploited.

The payments industry has a significant security challenge on its hands as too many consumers become "chronic oversharers" of their personal and payment card data, says Ellen Richey, chief enterprise risk officer for Visa Inc.

In his first day as Global Payments' chief executive, Jeff Sloan shared his thoughts about how a new security initiative from Visa, MasterCard and American Express could affect his company.

Daon, an identity services provider, is providing its biometric authentication system to online payments provider Optimal Payments to support high-risk businesses with stringent Know Your Customer requirements.

Visa, MasterCard and American Express introduced a proposed framework for new global standards that would replace traditional account numbers with a digital payment "token" for online and mobile transactions.

Because third-party processors are on the hook for losses from fraudulent transactions, they have as much interest in eliminating bad actors as anyone.

PCI services and merchant intelligence provider Sysnet Global Solutions is working with iScan Online, which specializes in security scanning of devices, to provide acquirers with new mobile security.

The PCI council continues to expand its reach, with the intent of remaining a strong guide for data security well into the future.

General Payments Systems has developed a software and hardware system that will allow its government agency clients to automate the collection of payments by check.

Alan Reiner, 30, thought he wouldn't find any career more interesting than missile defense simulations, but the self-described nerd left physics recently to work full-time on an ultra-secure Bitcoin wallet, Armory.

The various stakeholders in the U.S. payments system may need to put their differences aside to stay relevant as technology advances. But whether wide-scale collaboration is practical — or even possible — is open to debate.

Terrorists have put a bulls-eye on the U.S. financial system, including payments infrastructure, as a target that fits in with their plans to cripple the country's economy, says Juan C. Zarate, senior adviser for the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

SecureKey is developing new payments technology that will allow consumers to use their mobile devices to enable fast authentication at the point of sale.

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. won a tentative court ruling they don’t infringe a patent owned by SmartMetric Inc., a technology development company that seeks $13.4 billion in damages.

Nacha, the electronic payments association, is advocating security as a reason to adopt faster processing — a move that would require a change in the association's rules that has thus far proven elusive.

U.S. banks and merchants face many obstacles in preparing for EMV chip-based cards at the point of sale — and the Web is no less reluctant to change.

Many banks consider money transmission to Somalia too risky because of concerns about terrorism. But U.S. Bancorp continues to pursue a relationship with Dahabshiil, the largest Somali money transmitter, whereas Barclays dropped the business citing the risk.