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A second major data breach occurred at Dixons Carphone PLC, a publicly held British electronics retailer that operates as Currys PC World and Dixons Travel. The company reportedly found anomalies in its POS network in July 2017 but took nearly a year to disclose the malicious activity. In a June 13, 2018, statement, Dixons Carphone revealed the attack may have compromised 5.9 million credit and debit cards and more than 1 million consumer accounts. Security analysts criticized the delayed disclosure and failure to protect critical infrastructure after suffering an earlier attack in 2015.
Alior Bank developed a new digital platform with the intent to establish a bank that bundles best-in-class financial services from different fintechs and financial institutions. Four distinct enterprises joined forces to create such a bank, set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2018. Alior Bank stated it will deliver multicurrency accounts with international transfers and deposits; solarisBank will add the banking infrastructure with its technological, compliance and regulatory framework; Raisin is adding various savings and investment possibilities to the offering; and Mastercard’s Benefit Optimization program will be used to offer additional value-added services to customers.
A Javelin Strategy & Research study, underwritten by Verifi Inc. and published in May 2018, cites communication gaps as a leading cause of disputes and chargebacks. The 36-page report, titled The Chargeback Triangle, examines chargeback costs and impacts while demonstrating how to prevent chargebacks by resolving open issues. In 2017, a survey of U.S. firms revealed chargeback volumes reached $31 billion, including $19 billion in merchant losses and $12 billion in issuer losses, researchers found.
After 26 years, the Supreme Court overruled its decision in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota. At the time, the justices decided the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from forcing businesses to collect sales taxes unless those businesses have a substantial connection to the state, such as a physical location. In a 5 to 4 ruling handed down June 21, 2018, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., et al., which means Internet retailers can now be required to collect sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence.
The 2018 Spotlight Report on Financial Services, published by Vectra Co. on June 20, describes how cybercriminals use hidden tunnels to access encrypted networks. Researchers believe this methodology may have been used in the 2017 Equifax Inc. data security breach, when hackers stole 145.6 million consumer records while remaining undetected for 78 days. Chris Morales, Head of Security Analytics at Vectra, observed that hackers mimic user behavior to blend into networks, which makes them difficult to expose.
It is no surprise that directly after the Supreme Court decided a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit in favor of American Express Co., the company and retailer groups issued differing opinions on whether the ruling would be good for consumers. The National Retail Federation called it a blow to competition and transparency in the credit card market. Stephen J. Squeri, AmEx Chairman and CEO, issued a statement praising the ruling. "The Court's decision is a major victory for consumers and for American Express," he stated. "This was a long battle, but well worth the fight because important issues were at stake: consumer choice, fair market competition, and the ability to deliver innovative products and services to our customers, both consumers and merchants."
San Jose, Calif.-based PayPal Holdings Inc. revealed June 21, 2018, that it plans to acquire Simility, a fraud prevention and risk management platform. The purported $120 million transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. PayPal was an early investor in Simility when it launched in 2014, along with Accel and Trinity Ventures, the company reported. Bill Ready, Chief Operating Officer at PayPal, said cyberattacks have become more sophisticated and innovative; merchants need better methods to monitor, detect and mitigate them. 
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