Finance

While it is easy to vilify Target for its recent data breach, the card networks' refusal to take on real card security makes the retailer a victim along with consumers.

Judges for an appeals court appeared sympathetic to the Federal Reserve Board's defense of its rule capping interchange fees on debit cards, fueling hopes by bankers that the agency will beat back a legal challenge.

A Virginia congressman is seeking a law that would provide consumers with prepaid card fee disclosures they can easily understand. But the industry doesn't operate in a one-size-fits-all manner.

The Target Corp. data breach just before the holiday shopping season triggered another round of rhetoric on the merits and shortcomings of chip-based cards. But the breach's direct effect on merchant EMV plans is largely up in the air.

Following the lead of other retailers, the National Retail Federation filed an appeal Jan. 2 of a U.S. District Court ruling to approve the years-long class action against the card brands that resulted in a $5.7 billion swipe-fee settlement.

Alabama State Employees Credit Union has filed the first class action by a financial services company against Target Corp. over costs from the massive card security data breach.

Despite various technology challenges and a recent legal stumbling block in resolving the EMV debit routing issue in the U.S., the EMV Migration Forum says it made significant progress in the past year.

Senator Patrick Leahy pledged to pursue cybersecurity legislation in the wake of a massive data breach at retail giant Target.

ATM owners and operators will watch closely and provide support from the sidelines as the new Debit Network Alliance seeks to resolve the industry's nagging EMV debit routing issue at the retail point of sale.

A new company has formed to tackle the pressing issue of routing EMV debit transactions in compliance with federal mandates, a task the payments industry has undertaken for nearly two years.

The Federal Reserve Board says it followed a proper system for establishing debit interchange caps and fully abided by the Durbin Amendment's requirement for merchants to have two unaffiliated networks to choose from for routing debit transactions.

New York's city council recently voted to allow campaign contributions to be made by text message.

As the prepaid card market has matured, it has become a "business not for the faint of heart or haphazard investor" because of regulatory scrutiny and competition's effect on pricing, according to Aite Group.

Just as U.S. policymakers are taking a more supportive approach to Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, countries that have taken a hands-off approach may soon weigh in with regulations that mirror those of the U.S.

As a fast, low-cost payment system, Bitcoin provides healthy competition for legacy banks. It's also a bulwark for financial privacy and freedom of speech.

GrowLife, a company that serves the legal cannabis industry, has developed kiosk-based retail point of sale software.

Just as legal online gambling gets started in the U.S., banks and payment processors are refusing to play.

Mobile wallets, often funded by linked bank accounts, are sometimes described as decoupled debit accounts in disguise — and may suffer from the same challenges decoupled debit faced.

Financial institutions rely on debit cards to create consumer loyalty and engagement, and the product's business case hasn't been diminished by rising costs and regulatory uncertainty.

A New York law banning merchants from surcharging customers to make up for credit-card swipe fees was halted by a federal judge who ruled the statute is unconstitutional.