POS and Retail

As we approach the midpoint of 2016, two of the most pressing matters in the payments industry have become more acute—the push for greater transparency and accountability in merchant acquiring and processing.

Merchants have long sought to change how the card networks charge fees, and are getting a new chance after more than a decade of court squabbles.

Initial coin offerings are the latest fad for many emerging cryptocurrency companies and projects. From the recently completed Lisk, Waves and Mycelium coin offerings to the historic crowd sale by the DAO – which was subsequently hacked for about $60 million – to Bitland, Project Decorum, Elastic Project and a good number more sales, the trend is clear.

Grocery chain Aldi, which manages overhead by requiring consumers to bag their own groceries, is a late adopter--but it is starting to add new payment types.

The approach of many payment and financial services companies to security is still stuck in the 20th century. But luckily, firms of all sizes can choose to travel in time to 2016.

First Data has secured a partnership with Silicon Valley Bank, giving the payments technology provider and processor a front seat to take notes on all of the technology development taking place among the bank's clients.

People and businesses expect access to their money and payments in real-time, and electronic funds transfers such as Fedwire and Swift transfers offer a convenient way to send payments to vendors, clients and partners rapidly.

Since consumers find EMV cards frustrating and difficult to use, EMV may do more to promote NFC as the preferred payment method among consumers and business owners.

Big banks like Canada’s RBC, Capital One and Wells Fargo are pouring resources into proprietary NFC-based digital wallets to outflank third parties like Apple, Samsung and Android and regain top-of-wallet status.

Kroger is suing Visa, alleging the network threatened to raise fees and cut off the supermarket chain from accepting its debit cards.

The major card networks are losing value along with the rest of the stock market in the wake of Britain's historic vote to leave the European Union, but Visa and MasterCard may not face the type of doom and gloom that others endure in the current shaky political and financial situation in the U.K.

While the most common early use case for Internet of Things involves a smart refrigerator detecting its owner is out of milk and then automatically debiting a bank account to order more, the technology opens a vast trove of data that can have a major impact for both cross-selling and risk.

Avoiding fraud committed by large-scale criminal organizations using stolen credit cards and botnets or proxy servers can be particularly difficult.

WASHINGTON – More than fifty state bankers associations have rallied behind legislation from Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, to repeal caps on debit interchange fees.

A group of the largest banks in the world is working on a global standard for Bitcoin’s blockchain ledger technology, a secure funds-transfer system that advocates and industry watchers have likened to “email for money.”

Costco Wholesale Corp. customers have deluged the retailer’s Facebook page with hundreds of complaints about a new credit card from Citigroup Inc., saying they endured lengthy wait times and had trouble activating accounts.

Early Warning's clearXchange is starting to show the bank-led network's potential to catalyze faster processing, and now the enterprise is also executing on its broader goal to power other products beyond person-to-person transfers.

One of the first items on a company’s wish list is a request to make compliance easier. So, why do so many organizations make compliance more expensive and complicated than it needs to be — all on their own?

PNC Bank will make instant card issuance available in 85% of its branches by the end of this year, advancing what's becoming a staple of EMV-era card strategy.

Retailers both online and off have noted an increase in chargebacks since the U.S. moved to microchip cards back in October. None of them are happy about it.