Bank technology

Banks have spent billions of dollars to stop data thieves cold in their tracks, but despite the investments, lenders remain daunted by one of the oldest tricks in fraudsters' playbooks: card skimming.

Russell Investments has started an iPad-friendly version of its Helping Advisors website.

Heightened regulation is forcing more bank buyers to overhaul their entire computer platform as regulators zero in on a greater need for compliance.

Retail shoppers who download a Shopkick Inc. mobile application on their smartphones to earn rewards points, or "kicks," may earn extra points by paying for purchases with a Visa-branded card.

JPMorgan Chase is rolling out what it says is the first airline card issued in the U.S. that uses the EMV chip-card standard. The EMV standard is used in many other countries to add security at the point of sale.

International remittance service will now be available on iPhones, Androids and other handsets, a nod to the importance of mobile to this market.

Acquirers and processors are giving greater attention to the hardware-security module used to protect card data while transactions are processed.

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In a nod to ISIS' preferences, dozens of mobile operators — including huge networks in China — are backing near-field communication standards that make it easier for the operators to grab revenue share and offer similar technology around the world.

The authority expects to activate the system in late 2012 or early 2013.

A survey conducted by Auriemma Consulting has found that 58% of consumers would use mobile payments at a large retailer.

PayPal has developed an application for making person-to-person payments over Facebook.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have both updated mobile services for treasury management, as corporate mobile plans across banking start to shift into high gear.

The disappointment caused by the NFC-less iPhone 4S should be made up for in future releases.

nFinanSe is suing InComm in federal court for allegedly attempting to fix the price of reloading prepaid cards and violating its distribution agreement.

Like a pop star who sells more records posthumously, the Google Checkout payment service may prove most beneficial to Google after it is phased out.

Chase Card Services is dropping the Blink contactless-payment brand from new and renewed cards and instead is using the contactless brands supported by the major card networks — Visa's payWave and MasterCard's PayPass.

Open Solutions will offer its clients access to the FinApp system from Yodlee. The partnership will give Open Solutions access to a wider breadth of applications, as well as a personal financial management platform it can offer its small bank and credit union customers.

The touch-screen coffee-table computer used by RBC, Umpqua Bank and other banks in their branches now has more sophisticated sensors.

Card data security risks for online merchants or those operating payment schemes via cloud computing will get much attention next year from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.