Cards

General purpose reloadable prepaid cards continue to evolve, exceeding the expectations of many, and in some ways are helping to shape the future of banking.

More financial services companies are landing on MaRS, a corner of Toronto where developers are building new uses for smartphones, wearables and alternative currencies all under the same roof.

As part of the transition to EMV-chip cards in the U.S., some issuers are adding PIN security to cards that used to require only a signature. But as technology advances, the PIN may not provide as much security as consumers believe.

As mobile wallets and other high-tech payment mechanisms proliferate, they bring with them more options for security. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to use devices' built-in cameras to urge consumers to take self-portraits for authentication.

Avidia Bank of Hudson, Mass. has contracted payments technology company FIS to offer card-free ATM transactions through a mobile app.

American Express is introducing one of the payments industry's first prepaid debit cards with cashback rewards in an age where the best rewards are typically reserved for the more lucrative credit card market.

Total System Services (TSYS), the Columbus, Ga.-based payment processor, has hired Patricia A. Watson to be senior executive vice president and chief information officer, effective Sept. 14.

The rise of mobile payments has had only a narrow impact on the use of cash, according to a new report from the ATM Industry Association and business strategy consulting firm Tremont Capital Group.

The Debit Network Alliance has hired the Dutch firm Gemalto to provide consulting on implementing EMV anti-fraud technology.

Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, Spain's top two banks, said last month they'd start charging non-customers about 2 euros ($2.19) a time to use their ATMs, joining CaixaBank SA, the third-biggest bank, which began levying the fee in March.

When the card networks' October deadline for EMV-chip card adoption arrives, things will likely have changed very little compared to how they are today.

When cardmaker American Banknote (ABnote) CIO John Ekers discussed his company's Apple Passbook Android clone last week, he observed that "in the last 3-4 weeks, we're getting a lot more interest in limited use keys (LUK)," which is the first element of tokenization.

Fraudsters, anticipating the U.S. shift to EMV security at the point of sale, are busy looking for ways to hack into the e-commerce sites and consumer bank accounts that will be unaffected by the change in payment card security.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called for dismantling the Dodd-Frank Act Thursday night during the first Republican primary debate.

Debit cardholders initiate an average of nearly 30 debit transactions a month for the top issuers, but the rate of activity can vary wildly — with those top issuers seeing about twice as many transactions as those without strong debit business.

The issues tied to its MoneyPak reload cards continue to plague Green Dot Corp., despite the prepaid card issuer's decision to discontinue the product back in 2014.

NCR Corp. said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission doesn't intend to recommend enforcement action against the company over 2012 allegations of foreign business violations.

To eliminate its fraud-prone MoneyPak reload cards, Green Dot introduced a swipe-to-reload system last year that seemed more streamlined but added a new requirement — the customer had to have the card present to top it up with cash.

American Express and Best Buy will allow consumers to make purchases on the retailer’s website using the reward points earned from their Amex spending.

With regulatory scrutiny from the Card Act of 2009 and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, various prepaid and gift card products have come and gone in recent years. InComm's Vanilla Gift Card is not one of them.