The true cost of cash

One of the hot topics for the financial industry, the tech industry, retailers and consumers has been the development of payments via a mobile phone. Most of the talk is about how adoption will be impacted by the various technologies and which one will win out, or the fact that U.S. consumers are very concerned about the security of their financial information and how mobile transactions are processed.

Starbucks and Square push mobile payments forward

Starbucks recently announced it has inked a deal with electronic payment service Square Inc. The international coffee chain will begin processing U.S. card transactions through smartphones using Square’s payment platform this autumn.

Meeting the evolving payment needs of today's retailers

Mobile phones are changing the way we shop and pay for the items we buy.  The increasing ways in which a mobile wallet can enhance that shopping experience is evolving at a rapid rate.  Retailers need a solution that can rapidly adapt to the ever growing suite of payment applications and processors entering the mobile payments landscape.

New meaning to "open your wallet"

Google announced this week that it has opened its wallet to consumers, allowing them to associate any debit and credit card with their Google Wallet. It also has eased integration requirements for card issuers wanting to participate in the initiative. With such barriers removed, consumers could now have more ways to make payments from their smart phone using their debit or credit cards. Until now, Citi was the only bank to partner with Google.

Going cashless: the heat is on

It seems that Canada’s revamped polymer currency isn’t quite holding up the way they hoped. Recent reports say the money has been melting when placed too close to a heater or when left in a hot car. Not a problem they thought they’d have in the Canadian climate, I’m sure.

Using Mobile Innovation to Reduce Fraud

The Observatory for Payment Card Security recently released a report on card fraud in France and looked at several channels, including online and face-to-face payments. The data showed the overall rate of fraud in card transactions rose to 0.077% in 2011 from 0.074% in 2010. The rate of fraud in remote transactions, which includes purchases on the Internet, was 0.321% in 2011, while the rate of fraud in transactions made in person was 0.015%.

A mobile payments Q & A with Chris Dunne of VocaLink

Chris Dunne is the Strategy Director of Global Transaction Services at VocaLink. Chris spoke at this year’s ACI Exchange EMEA Customer Conference about how VocaLink is delivering the infrastructure for the UK Payments Council’s national mobile payment service, and how this will act as a springboard for mass adoption of mobile payments. In this Q&A, Chris talks about the landscape for mobile payments and some of the key issues that face the industry.

Personal fraud management: staying a step ahead

I just finished reading an article which discussed how to avoid becoming a fraud victim. The author discussed various schemes facing consumers today (e.g. e-mail scams, online banking fraud, etc.), ways to avoid or combat said attacks (e.g. anti-virus software) and ways to recoup lost money from a fraud scam (which can be contingent on how responsible you are as a consumer).

2012 is shaping up to be a year of payments transformation

2012 is shaping up nicely to become remembered as the year when banks started reviewing their cash management and payment platforms to gain the upper hand in customer engagement and brand loyalty.

The mobile loyalty opportunity for retailers

As I sat among hundreds of participants at a recent conference, I conducted of quick visual survey of who was listening to the speaker and who was on their mobile device. Easily 2 out of every 3 people in my immediate vicinity were heads down doing the Blackberry prayer or downloading the latest apps on their iPods and iPads.