All articles by Charles Davis
Charles Davis
Fidelity National shakes up the payments technology world
In a seismic reshaping of the US payments technology market, Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) $2.94 billion acquisition of Metavante Technology promises to vault Fidelity to the top of the global ranks of providers of technology services to financial institutions
Fingerprints tell no lies
Card-not-present fraud costs US airlines over a billion dollars each year, a problem 41st Parameter is tackling with a unique solution computer fingerprinting The online security firms chairman Ori Eisen provided Charles Davis with insight into the thinking behind the highly successful approach In 2008, a single US industry sector airlines lost some $1.4 billion, or 1.3 percent of its total online revenue thanks to online fraud
US to follow UK Faster Payments lead
The UKs pioneering Faster Payments service has drawn the attention of payment systems operators in other countries, including the US where a vice-president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Richard R Oliver, provided EPI with insight into plans to follow the UKs lead As the clearing of payment items speeds up around the globe, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) banks are joining the movement, developing a way for financial companies to clear and settle some automated clearing house (ACH) transactions in a single day.
Cash-use decline accelerates in the US
A study of US consumer payment trends shows the use of cash is declining more rapidly as an ever-wider range of card-based payment options is embraced Of those who have reduced cash use, 97 percent are shifting towards debit, credit or giftprepaid cards
Enticing renters away from cheques
In the US housing rental market the cheque still reigns supreme when it comes to monthly payments by tenants For rental-focused electronic payments processor Yapstone this presents a huge opportunity, something to be tackled with an array of options aimed at breaking the cheque habit
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US banks on an ATM fee-hike spree
Despite consumer resistance, many US banks have increased ATM surcharges and foreign bank fees aggressively over the past two years a development non-bank, surcharge-free ATM networks are using in combination with highly innovative value-added services to gain market share Even as the US Congress seeks to re-regulate the financial services industry in response to the ongoing financial crisis and populist outrage over bank fees, banks are steadily increasing ATM surcharges.
Fighting an uphill security battle
The largest identity theft incident in US history involving nine major retailers highlights the vital need to comply with payment card security standards. Bob Russo, GM of the PCI security standards council provided EPI with insight into the daunting challenge of ensuring compliance. Charles Davis reports.In the wake of the spectacular fraud bust in which 11 perpetrators allegedly hacked nine major US retailers and stole more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers no one needs reminding of the importance of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDS).
Digital lockbox goes mobile
Used to facilitate payment of bills, lockboxes in the US usually take the form of a post office box accessible to a billers bank. Now, Wausau and ClairMail are aiming to harness mobile short message services to provide an alternative that is both highly user friendly and secure. Charles Davis reports.Linking the ever-popular short messaging service (SMS) feature of mobile phones with payments, two US companies, payments services provider Wausau Financial Systems and mobile financial service developer ClairMail, hope to tap into a whole new category of consumers: phone-savvy text users.
Kiosks on the rise in the US
With ATM use on the decline in the US banks, payments companies and ATM manufacturers are on the prowl for new revenue sources High on their list of priorities are self-service kiosks that are capable of providing a myriad of services, from bill payments to prepaid cards
Monitise Americas finds its niche
With the backing of payments processing giant Metavante, UK mobile banking technology developer Monitise has made solid progress in the US among smaller banks.