Network rules

The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council is providing updated guidance for merchants to protect against fraudulent card skimming, which it says costs U.S. businesses and consumers $8 billion a year.

MasterCard Inc. won a court clash with European Union antitrust regulators who refused to hand over a study comparing the costs of bank cards with cash.

Card data security has to become a 24-hour priority for businesses, not just when PCI compliance assessors come around for annual checkups, according to the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

Nacha, the electronic payments association, has stepped up scrutiny of the automated clearing house network in an attempt to weed out fraudulent charges.

Planet Payment has partnered with Banco Espirito Santo do Oriente S.A. in Macau to provide UnionPay card acceptance to local merchants.

In the age of digital commerce, more business are using third parties to manage operations, increasing the risk to any payments data they handle, says the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council.

American Express Co. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth I. Chenault defended company rules that bar merchants from asking customers to use cards with lower processing costs as a needed measure to protect its brand.

The Secure Remote Payment Council wants a more open process in the development of a standard for tokenization, with the goal of ensuring a single token can be handled by multiple parties to improve security.

American Express Co. courts wealthy clients with perks like access to premium tickets. That business model would be jeopardized if it cut processing fees to match those of rivals, an Amex executive testified in a trial over claims the card company violates antitrust law.

The appeals process initiated by retailers just a few days after a district court approved a $5.7 billion settlement in the years-long swipe-fee case will proceed, as U.S. District Judge John Gleeson refused to dismiss the suits.

Merchants are wary of the proprietary look and feel of the process by which the card networks and issuers are adopting new security standards.

Payment processor Vantiv Inc. now offers EMV testing software for U.S. merchants to use to validate the steps of their acceptance of chip-based payment cards.

The French interbank network in charge of governing card payments, Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB, is expected to approve the use of biometric technology for authentication this year.

By the end of 2015, 70% of U.S. credit cards and 41% of U.S. debit cards will be EMV enabled, and chip-and-signature will be preferred by issuers out of the gate, according to a recent survey.

Visa Inc. has announced a new specification for reloadable prepaid providers focused on simplifying fees and disclosures.

LifeLock Inc. has temporarily pulled its LifeLock Wallet app off the market to address security issues.

Bringing a point of sale terminal to market isn't as easy as it used to be. Since the introduction of contactless and mobile payment tech, the number of tests a manufacturer must pass for certification is "unbelievable," executives at U.K.-based Spire Payments say.

First Data reported a better financial picture in the first quarter, a period that also saw the company make inroads into small business technology and accelerate its support of EMV-chip card technology.

Retailers have been entangled in a legal showdown with Visa and MasterCard over swipe-fee rates for nine years now, and despite the approval of a $5.7 billion settlement in December, the battle is far from over.

Target Corp. is backing the moving of class actions related to the retailer's massive data breach to the company's home state of Minnesota.