The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
Apple Pay at the movies: As apps like
EVO targets Spain: EVO Payments International, a payments processor and acquirer based in Atlanta, has signed a deal with Liberbank SA to support merchant payments in Spain. The deal will take effect in the first quarter of 2018, providing acquiring services, digital transactions and other technology to Spanish merchants. “We are delighted to partner with Liberbank in Spain,” said James G. Kelly, CEO of EVO Payments International, in a press release. “This alliance fits perfectly with our strategy to expand our global footprint through partnerships with market-leading financial institutions."
Protecting passwords: It's common security advice to create hard-to-remember passwords for online banking and payment accounts, then protect them in a password locker app that can autofill them on desktop and mobile websites. Users of the LastPass app had to contend with a flaw that could bypass the app's fingerprint security, but the app's maker has just posted a fix to lock down its security once again, reports
Can the password be killed? It's no secret that the static password is not a strong enough security mechanism for modern e-commerce. The problem is, many alternatives still don't measure up.
From the Web
Krebs On Security | Thu Dec 28, 2017 - Dec. 18 marked the fourth anniversary of this site breaking the news about a breach at Target involving some 40 million customer credit and debit cards. It has been fascinating in the years since that epic intrusion to see how organized cyber thieves have shifted from targeting big box retailers to hacking a broad swath of small to mid-sized merchants. In many ways, not much has changed: The biggest underground shops that sell stolen cards still index most of their cards by ZIP code. Only, the ZIP code corresponds not to the legitimate cardholder’s billing address but to the address of the hacked store at which the card in question was physically swiped.
CBS | Thu Dec 28, 2017 - They say cash is king, but it may not be for long. A growing number of eateries are going cashless and accepting plastic only. Experts said with credit card companies offering rewards programs, and mobile apps like Venmo and Apple Pay technology, not cash, is the new king. “This is something that’s not going to change,” Fast Company editor and managing director, Robert Safian said. The downside to the change is that there’s still a threat of security and ID theft when paying electronically.
Forbes | Thu Dec 28, 2017 - The transaction fees on the Bitcoin network have skyrocketed to new all-time highs of over $30 in the past couple of months, which has led some to suggest that there could now be an opening for a cheaper, less congested alternative to the world’s most popular cryptocurrency. Although on-chain transaction fees have priced some types of payments out of Bitcoin completely, various solutions to this issue are currently in development, with the Lightning Network being perhaps the most promising option.
More from PaymentsSource
As bitcoin's market swings steal the headlines, there are some people in the cryptocurrency industry who are trying to push the market back towards its original intent as a decentralized means of payment.
China's central bank has put the brakes on mobile and e-commerce payment schemes in the past, mostly from the standpoint of having a wary eye on third-party players elbowing their way into financial services.
J. Mark McWatters, chairman of the National Credit Union Administration, is said to be in contention to take over as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Many restaurateurs expect more from their merchant services than a paper bill at the end of the month listing the basic credit card transactions, writes Andrew Szala, a content specialist at Upserve.
