All articles by EPI editorial
EPI editorial
Spain slowly breaking the cash habit
From a very low base of only 16.2 million in 2000 the number of credit cards has, according to Spains central bank Banco de Espaa (BdE), rocketed, reaching 45.36 million at the end of the third quarter of 2008
Tackling a hard-to-break US tradition
This appears true of bill payments in the US where despite the advent of direct electronic debits and more recently online bill payment services the primary means of bill payment remains the mail, reveals an analysis by the United States Postal Service (USPS)
Countering growing internal fraud
Though banks and other financial services companies place a heavy emphasis on combating external fraud they neglect internal fraud risk at their peril This warning comes from business intelligence consultancy Fair Isaac Corporation Though banks and other financial services companies place a heavy emphasis on combating external fraud they neglect internal fraud risk at their peril
Latin America prepaid boom ahead
Latin Americas prepaid general purpose card market holds the potential for substantial growth, believes prepaid card specialist NovoPayment Latin Americas prepaid general purpose card market holds the potential for substantial growth, believes prepaid card specialist NovoPayment. The companys optimism is based on research conducted by the organisation and presented at the third annual Underbanked Financial Services Forum held in June in Miami under the auspices of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, a nonprofit affiliate of US community bank ShoreBank Corporation.
3rd Man calls for unified stance in fight against CNP fraud
Unity is strength in the fight against card not present (CNP) fraud believes UK card fraud protection specialist 3rd Man. To promote this concept Man has launched a CNP forum designed to help retailers, banks, police and other groups involved in the fight against CNP crime to share data and collaborate.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Internet banking makes steady progress in Europe
The number of people in the European Union (EU) accessing banking services via the internet is increasing steadily, having risen from 15 percent of the regions population in 2003 to 29 percent in 2007, reveals a study by Thomas Meyer, an analyst at German Deutche Bank’s research unit.
Security compliance fails crucial test
Data breaches in the US soared in the first quarter of 2008, reaching 167 compared with 76 in the first quarter of 2007, according to non-profit organisation The Identity Theft Resource Center.
Academics slam UK banks’ slack security on PIN entry devices
Researchers at the University of Cambridges Computer Laboratory in the UK have created a furore with their assertion that two widely deployed PIN entry devices (PEDs) are not as secure as the banking industry claims. According to the researchers, their empirical study revealed that the devices, French payment systems vendor Ingenicos i3300 and US payment systems vendor VeriFones Dione Xtreme, fail to adequately protect customers card details and PINs Researchers Ross Anderson, Saar Drimer and Steven J Murdoch explained that fraudsters can easily attach to the PED what they term a tap that records PIN and account details as they are transmitted between the card and the PIN pad With this information, fraudsters can create a counterfeit card with no chip but a correct magnetic strip that can be used in shops in countries that do not yet use chip and PIN
Malaysian multifaceted NFC pilot project a resounding success
A five-month pilot project in which near field communication (NFC) equipped Nokia 6131 mobile phones were used as a multi-payment service incorporating credit card and transport payments has been hailed as a resounding success by trial participants and its technical backers, led by Malaysian mobile service provider Maxis Communications. Maxis and our partners pushed the global boundaries in mobile payment even further by achieving a worlds first in combining credit card and transport payment functions into an integrated application during these trials, said Maxis COO Jon Eddy Abdullah.
Electronic payments front-runner
Canada can look back on more than a decade of remarkable growth in the use of electronic payments, not least of the driving forces being the introduction of debit cards in 1994.