The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
What are they biting on?
Netflix, PayPal and Microsoft are among the most "spoofed" brands in North America, making them prone to phishing attacks.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo are also among the 25 most copied brands online, reports
The security firm reports a 21 percent overall increase in phishing attacks, noting Office 365, OneDrive and Azure have all been targets for phishing attacks in the past year.
Crypto's middle ground
Circle and Coinbase have created the CENTRE Consortium, a vendor that will work on standards for cryptocurrency and blockchain.
The two companies are pushing an open system, which would require collaboration among cryptocurrency ventures and agreement on parameters for technology.
The consortium's first project is a network scheme and technology for the USD Coin stablecoin.
Facing the future
The National Australia Bank is working with Microsoft on an ATM that allows consumers to withdraw money using facial recognition.
The proof of concept was developed using Azure Cognitive Services, and supports ATM transactions via facial biometrics and a PIN, reports
The ATM does not store images of people. Their biometric data is stored on Microsoft's cloud, and is used only for authentication.
Canadian Clover
First Data has launched its Clover point of sale system in Canada, where it will offer access to a third party app market for specific business tasks such as accounting, marketing and employee management.
Merchants will also be able to support multiple communication modalities in one device and can send receipts in email, paper, or text.
Clover has expanded to several new countries in the past year, including
From the Web
Yahoo News | Wed October 24, 2018 - Two Chinese mobile payment apps Alipay and WeChat Pay reportedly will enter the Indonesian market. Their entrance will be backed by PT Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) or National Bank of Indonesia.
USA Today | Wed October 24, 2018 - Many Americans who hoped to fund their dream of winning the Mega Millions jackpot by buying a 6-number lottery ticket with their credit card had to pay with cash instead.
The Wall Street Journal | Wed October 24, 2018 - For nearly two decades, Synchrony Financial was the exclusive issuer of Walmart Inc. credit cards. The Connecticut-based bank stationed dozens of employees in Walmart’s headquarters city of Bentonville, Ark., some of its executives lived in the same gated community as their Walmart counterparts.
More from PaymentsSource
NCR has turned to the acquisition market to shore up its defenses against fintech challengers, a further signal that longtime retail industry staples such as payment hardware and ISOs are going by the wayside as dedicated business models.
The hacks keep coming — most recently to Facebook and the federal government’s health insurance sites — and consumer trust in online security systems disintegrates along with them, according to a number of recent surveys.
Grab and Mastercard have formed a partnership extending the reach of the ride-hailing app by making a prepaid card available to Grab’s 110 million users across Southeast Asia.
Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. and Canada will be able to use Alipay at HMSHost-operated restaurants in most major airports.
