Point-of-sale

North America remains a favorite target for hackers, with incidents at the point of sale rising dramatically in 2016 and payment card data again proving to be the most at risk, according to new research from Trustwave.

Getting a new payment terminal with advanced capabilities is not unlike getting a new phone or computer with its bells and whistles — there's so many new features that some will no doubt go ignored.

Given the breach epidemic, it's time for retailers to consider the security of the vendors that sell point of sale systems, according to RiskVision CEO Joe Fantuzzi.

Merchant acquirers are racing to sell "integrated payments," or a one-stop shop for transaction processing and myriad other services that stores can tie to the point of sale. But small to medium sized businesses are not often the targets for these efforts.

Attacks like the WannaCry ransomware require issuers to educate staff and shore up technology defenses, writes Bob Antia, cheif security officer of Unitrends.

Hackers installed software to grab customer data from point of sale systems earlier this spring.

The Internet of Things is making it possible for POS terminals to be connected to all sorts of applications and devices, which helps improve customer experience, but also makes these systems more vulnerable to hacking attacks.

Diebold Nixdorf, on a mission to expand its omnichannel banking and retail offerings, has formed a strategic partnership with Kony Inc., a maker of white-label mobile applications.

Verifone and Global Payments are the latest payments industry providers to try speeding up the EMV checkout process, with each company agreeing to adopt Mastercard’s M/Chip Fast technology.

Payments at connected devices are expected to grow quickly in the next decade. Gas stations are a key place to look in the short term.