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OP-ED: Retailers need to do more heavy lifting on payment security
The availability and convenience of electronic payments hinge on them being a secure method of exchanging money. For now, consumers are still willing to use these technologies, but retailers risk eroding trust in commercial institutions with their lack of security preparation. Consumers expect the retail and payments industries to move forward together in developing safer, more secure technologies that will protect consumers from the intrusion and disturbance of fraud. Clearly, the data breaches of the past few years have made an impact on consumer attitudes, and they are becoming more vocal. Retailers must decide if they will heed this call and do the right thing by investing in the security we need today and the innovation of tomorrow. Continue Reading
Once Again, Voters Call on Retailers to Pull Their Weight When It Comes to Payments
WASHINGTON (June 18, 2018)—Financial institutions continue to dedicate resources towards developing and implementing innovations to make payments more convenient and secure, just as voters expect them to do. However, a majority believe both retailers and large financial institutions should invest in innovation, according to new Morning Consult survey data. “Time and time again, retailers have shown they are more interested in cutting their own costs instead of making the necessary upgrades to make checking out more efficient and protect customers from fraud,” said Jeff Tassey, chairman of the board of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC). “While financial institutions remain committed to innovation in order to strengthen consumer choice, retailers must step up and catch up to the times.” With a majority of consumers trusting innovative payments authentication methods, such as biometrics and encryption, retailers must fulfill their role in the payments ecosystem by adopting and supporting new technologies. In fact, … Continue reading
Financial Institutions Still Trusted to Innovate and Protect Payments, but Retailers Must Do More
Voters still trust financial institutions over retailers to develop new payment technologies and safeguard personal information during the checkout process, according to new Morning Consult survey data. In fact, a strong majority of voters expect retailers to step up when it comes to payments. Four in five voters agree that stores should update their technologies to ensure customers have a range of payment options at the register and that retailers should share in the infrastructure fees that make electronic payments possible. “Financial institutions continue to develop new technologies to make electronic payments quicker, safer, and more convenient—all of which make retailers’ and consumers’ lives better,” said Jeff Tassey, chairman of the board of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC). “However, the onus is on retailers to step up and protect their customers at the checkout. As the recent data breach at Lord & Taylor showed, retailers must be proactive and do … Continue reading
Op-Ed: National data security standards are better than PIN
The National Retail Federation (NRF) has launched an ad campaign to advocate for “uniform national” data breach standards for “all affected industries.” Welcome to the cause. The financial services industry already is subject to uniform standards and continually has fought for national rules to cover all affected industries. Retailers opposed these efforts. Instead groups like the Retail Industry Leaders Association push lawmakers and regulators to instead adopt a government mandate that would cost billions to implement and do little to protect consumers. Barclays of London introduced Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) in 1967, the year the Beatles and Monkees battled for the top of the charts. That music is timeless. PIN is not. Because PINs are a static data element, they don’t protect against counterfeit or card not present (CNP) fraud, which together account for about 85 percent of total U.S. card fraud. According to the Aite Group, it would cost … Continue reading
New Video: Electronic Payments 101
New Report Demonstrates Need for Choice and Innovation in Order to Prevent Payment Fraud
Today, the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) released a report that found multiple dynamic fraud technologies are necessary to combat payment-card fraud. EPC analyzed information from 20 countries that have varying levels of EMV adoption and use a mix of PIN and signature authentication. EPC found that chip-enabled smartcards—also known as chip cards—have dramatically reduced counterfeit card fraud. In countries where chip cards comprise at least 75 percent of payment cards, counterfeit fraud has declined by 84 percent over the last 11 years—even as the number of in-store transactions has increased 21-fold. The report also examined the use of PIN and signature authentication, with research showing “there is no clear relationship between total card fraud and a country’s preference for using signatures or PINs” in conjunction with payment cards. This point emphasizes the need for choice—and not a government mandate—when it comes to payment-card security. “This report confirms what we’ve said … Continue reading
NAFCU’s B. Dan Berger: Tell Congress it’s time for data-security standards for retailers
Every time there is a retailer data-security breach, credit unions step forward to make their members whole. A NAFCU survey found that its member credit unions paid an average of $226,000 each in costs associated with retailer data breaches in 2014. Meanwhile, large companies like Target might lose less than one-tenth of one percent of their annual sales due to a data-security breach; and if they want to recoup expenses, they can always raise prices. Credit unions, as not-for-profit, member-owned institutions, have no such remedy. It’s time to get a national data-security standard in place for retailers. And to do that, we need everyone in the industry – trades, credit unions and the more than 107 million credit union members nationwide – to raise their voices and make Congress take action. Continue Reading
Blumenthal Demands Explanation of Retailers Blocking New Secure Mobile Payment Methods
(Hartford, CT) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protections and Data Security, requested answers from the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) whose members have blocked use of new mobile payment systems. In a letter to MCX Interim CEO Brian Mooney, Blumenthal requested answers to reports that retailers have chosen to disable their payment systems in order to block new “tokenization” technology that may better protect consumers.
ABA Ads Urge Payments Innovations, Not Mandates
ABA this week is running ads in Capitol Hill publications and on D.C.-area talk radio stations urging Congress to let the payments industry continue to develop innovative solutions to secure payments — and not mandate static technologies such as chip-and-PIN, which is fast becoming out of date.
Cheap chip card readers are on the way for merchants
U.S. banks are steadily shipping more secure chip-embedded credit and debit cards to consumers, but industry attention is also focused on whether merchants have installed updated payment terminals to accept the new cards.