Payment processing

CHICAGO—Last week, the PCI Security Standards Council pushed advanced encryption as a way to protect consumers’ card data. But one point-of-sale vendor executive contends authentication at every step of the payments process would work better to combat fraud.

Customer credit card data was not endangered during last week’s security breach of a small portion of websites hosted by GoDaddy.com Inc., a company executive says.

Responding to merchant complaints that their payment network would not allow them to switch to a less-expensive processor, gateway provider FeeFighters announced Sept. 21 plans to launch an online-payment service that simplifies the ability to make such changes.

Third-party payment services in China are gaining momentum over bank-led payment services among users thanks to e-commerce growth and changes in government regulations, suggests a research report released last week by research firm Analysys International.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–Merchants generally welcome the new industry guidance and requirements for security payment card data through advanced data encryption, but many questions surround specifics about prospective products and their implementation, say attendees at the PCI Security Standards Council's annual meeting that concludes here today.

Discover Financial Services more than doubled its third-quarter net income to $649 million as its customers increased their spending and its credit card loan portfolio grew for the first time in over two years.

Merchants and processors may find Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council requirements for the use of advanced encryption hardware to secure card data useful, but encryption alone is not security’s “silver bullet,” fraud-prevention vendors say.

The likelihood that S1 Corp. will merge with ACI Worldwide Inc. is increasing, despite S1’s stiff resistance (see story). And if such a deal does not occur, the rapidly consolidating commercial payments industry may force S1 to form another alliance soon, according to analysts who been closely watching the push-me-pull-you action unfold among S1, Fundtech Ltd. and ACI since June.

Protecting customer credit card data was not on the priority list for P.J. Jacokes when he started his own business three years ago.

Payments processor and technology provider Jack Henry & Associates Inc. has expanded the processing relationship between its iPay Technologies division and MasterCard Worldwide’s RPPS electronic bill-payment network, the companies announced Sept. 20.

Google Inc. has reached agreements with Visa Inc., American Express Co. and Discover Financial Services with the goal of eventually enabling other financial institutions to add their Near Field Communication-enabled payment card products to Google Wallet, the company announced Sept. 19.

A five-year terminal contract that will enable Avis Europe PLC Inc. to process and manage transactions from numerous European countries will help position French terminal maker Ingenico SA to corner the European car-rental market, company executives and an industry analyst say.

Lost in the drama–and it was drama, as the payments technology world goes–of Fundtech Ltd.’s cancellation of its merger with S1 Corp. was an answer to the most important question: why?

Members at BECU, formerly Boeing Employees Credit Union, and hundreds of credit unions had their cards rejected at Co-op Financial ATMs on Sept. 16 because of a disruption in the system at processor Fidelity National Information Systems.

PHILADELPHIA — In his first speech since taking over for Elizabeth Warren as the public face of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Raj Date warned that the agency will take a firm stance when it identifies practices that are harmful for consumers.

The board of the payments technology vendor Fundtech Ltd. plans to halt its intended merger with S1 Corp. after receiving a separate offer from the private equity firm GTCR.

S1 Corp.'s board advised the company's shareholders not to accept the exchange offer ACI Worldwide Inc. made in its hostile bid for the Norcross, Ga., bank technology vendor.

Fraudsters are increasingly using alternative payment methods to make bogus transactions, in many cases moving away from debit cards and checks, merchants report.

Acculynk Inc. is beginning to test the international market with PaySecure, its Internet PIN-debit product, and has inked an agreement with Evertec Inc. in Puerto Rico.

An agreement with CRE Secure Payments LLC may help Global Payments Inc.’s online merchants cut Card Payment Industry Data Security Standard compliance processes and costs, the Atlanta, Ga.-based companies announced Sept. 12.