Visa Inc. disclosed that it plans to enable dynamic currency conversions (DCC) on international ATM transactions around the world. The card brand said the capability will become effective April 13, 2019, with the release of the revised Visa Rule Book. "Visa is updating the rules and expanding Visa/Plus ATM network services to help issuers cost-effectively increase their ATM footprint while providing added convenience to cardholders with additional banking transactions and services," the company stated.
Web security is about to get turbo charged with a new set of access security standards that eliminate the need for passwords, replacing them with cryptographically secure login routines. The new standards are the work of the FIDO Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium. FIDO was created in 2012 to promote interoperability among authentication technologies and to foster an environment where web users don't need to rely on multiple user names and passwords to access web services.
Verizon's 2018 Payment Security Report, published Sept. 25, 2018, identified widespread vulnerabilities in financial services. For the first time in six years, a majority of survey respondents had not fully implemented security best practices or complied with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), researchers found. While 87.3 percent of respondents are securely transferring cardholder data, only 71.8 percent comply with PCI guidelines.
The trend toward ISOs and merchant level salespeople offering to support merchant cash discounting initiatives is gaining steam. VizyPay LLC, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, is the latest ISO to disclose it has created a cash discount program for card-accepting merchants. "The program creates a more reliable, transparent payments process for business owners and incentivizes customers to pay in cash," the company said in a statement.
Widespread adoption of cash discounts had been hampered by card brand rules, which were negated following passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. It authorized merchants to offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use certain payment methods provided the programs are "conspicuously disclosed."
The Federal Reserve Board is considering changes to how the Reserve Banks support bank-to-bank payment services, with an eye toward real-time settlement. It has issued a request for public comment on potential actions to make real-time interbank settlement of payments a reality, but those actions could be several years off.
In 2015 the Fed published a set of strategies it would undertake with the private sector to identify and pursue faster payments capabilities. It also convened the Faster Payments Task Force comprising representatives from hundreds of banks, nonbank providers of payment services, business and government end users, consumer groups, and government entities.
Just over a month after the Sept. 4, 2018, launch of the Electronic Transactions Association's Self-Regulation Program (ETA SRP), the global trade association has garnered positive reviews and broad support for the program across multiple payments channels. Designed to provide industry stakeholders with practical tools and guidance, the program sends a clear message to lawmakers that the payments industry adheres to consistently high standards of ethics, security and risk management, said Jason Oxman, CEO of the ETA.
Google Inc.'s parent company, Alphabet Inc., disclosed on Oct. 8, 2018, that it deactivated the Google+ platform for consumers after detecting a software flaw that can potentially expose private data to software developers. Security analysts said a bug in the Google+ API made it possible for third-party app developers to access data for users and individuals in their Google+ networks. Some have criticized Google for failing to report the vulnerability as soon as it was discovered; keeping the matter private only delayed the inevitable public relations nightmare, they stated. 
Following are excerpts from news stories recently posted under Breaking Industry News on our home page. For links to these and other full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/breakingnews.php?flag=previous_breaking_news.
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
Prev Next
