Network rules

Many times, it seems, the best way for a company to learn whether it was compliant with the Payment Card Industry data security standard is to experience a data breach.

MasterCard is requiring acquirers and payment service providers to offer clear fee disclosures as part of an initiative aimed at smaller merchants.

MasterCard and Visa have formed a new group to improve efforts in the U.S. to migrate to the EMV-chip cards other security methods.

The U.S. payments industry has long agreed to disagree on the way to properly route EMV debit transactions, stalling the country's shift to chip-based cards. First Data hopes its decision to support and share Visa's technology will finally break the stalemate.

American Express Co. won preliminary court approval of a settlement with U.S. merchants over transaction fees that the retailers say complements a multibillion-dollar accord with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.

Federal legislation is needed to enhance cyber-threat information sharing so that good-faith responsive actions and information sharing will not trigger legal liability.

Congress is hearing two sides to the story about the role the card networks' Payment Card Industry data security standard has in fighting fraud.

Acquirers and independent sales organizations can generate more revenue by closely studying what security levels their merchants need, according to a new survey.

Merchants can't pass the blame for data breaches onto financial institutions because protecting consumers is a shared responsibility where both sides have to meet their responsibilities.

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.

It's been roughly a decade since Target executives ended their attempts to convert to EMV-chip payment cards to improve security. After a massive breach of magnetic-stripe card data, it seems they have changed their minds yet again.

MasterCard's recent commitment to its U.S. EMV-chip card migration timeline is only one piece of the puzzle. Now, all eyes are on Visa to see if it will support or counter its rival's move.

American Express Co. said it's appealing a federal judge's order approving Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.'s $5.7 billion settlement that ended years of litigation with U.S. merchants over allegations that credit-card swipe fees are improperly fixed.

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.

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.

If Target can't protect itself from a data breach, how can any retailer hope to do so?

MasterCard is tightening the screws around the use of prepaid cards as a way to pay employees. Some issuers will find its demands are straightforward and achievable; others may consider discontinuing the product.

The docket at the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals quickly attracted appeals to Judge John Gleeson's Dec. 13 ruling to approve the class-action swipe-fee settlement on an antitrust case that has lingered in his court for nearly nine years.

A federal judge approved the multi-billion dollar settlement of a lawsuit over credit card swipe fees, resolving an eight-year long battle between banks and retailers.