Google plans to track credit card spending. Image copyright Getty Images Google is planning to track billions of credit and debit card sales to compare online ad clicks with money spent offline. Google Attribution will allow advertisers to see whether online ad campaigns generate offline sales. Announcing the service, Google said that it captures around 70% of credit and debit card transactions in the US. Critics said it represented another blow to privacy.
Google announced the new product in a blogpost, saying: "For the first time, Google Attribution makes it possible for every marketer to measure the impact of their marketing across devices and cross-channel - all in one place. " Google has vast amounts of data on net users, from services such as AdWords, Google Analytics and DoubleClick Search which combine details about the ads displayed on devices with what has been searched for in Google. It introduced store visit measurements back in 2014, using the location data on mobiles to track when people visited a store. Credit card with a fingerprint sensor revealed by Mastercard. Image copyright Mastercard A payment card featuring a fingerprint sensor has been unveiled by credit card provider Mastercard. The rollout follows two successful trials in South Africa. The technology works in the same way as it does with mobile phone payments: users must have their finger over the sensor when making a purchase.
Security experts have said that while using fingerprints is not foolproof, it is a "sensible" use of biometric technology. 'Nine changes' Mastercard's chief of safety and security, Ajay Bhalla, said that the fingerprint technology would help "to deliver additional convenience and security. However, fingerprint sensors can be compromised. Karsten Nohl, chief scientist at Berlin's Security Research Labs, told the BBC: "All I need is a glass or something you have touched in the past. " He adds that if that information is stolen, "you only have nine fingerprint changes before you run out of options". "With the combination of chip and PIN, the PIN is the weaker element. Infographic: The Definitive Black Friday Payments Report | Cayan.
Here at Cayan, we know how important Black Friday is for retailers and consumers alike. And with all the transactions that take place, it's a day that creates huge volumes of data -- data that we're excited to scour for fresh insights every year. We've identified the most noteworthy stats from this year's Black Friday data in an infographic below. Take a look and share with anyone else that's interested in the latest payments trends! And if you like what you see, check out more of our Black Friday information! You might be interested in more of our Black Friday research: Part 2 of Our Black Friday Payments TrackerThe History of Black Friday3 Things Customers Hate About Holiday Shopping--And How to Solve Them. 'Frighteningly easy' for criminals to get Visa card details, study claims.
Image copyright PA It is "frighteningly easy" for criminals to get security details for a Visa debit or credit cards, according to research from Newcastle University. Fraudsters are able to work out expiry dates and security code numbers by making multiple invalid attempts on different websites, the team claims. It is thought a similar method was used in the recent Tesco Bank fraud hack.
Visa said the research did not take into account other layers of security such as its Verified by Visa system. According to the research, which has been published in the journal IEEE Security & Privacy, fraudsters use a so-called Distributed Guessing Attack to get around security features put in place to stop online fraud. Mohammed Ali, a PhD student at the university's school of computing science and lead author, said: "The current online payment system does not detect multiple invalid payment requests from different websites.
Prepaid Cards Play Bigger Role for ‘Unbanked’ Households, Survey Finds. Credit card with fraud-busting display. Image copyright Oberthur Technologies A credit card with a digital display that randomly generates a security code is being launched as a way of combating fraud. Oberthur Technologies is currently in discussions with UK banks about rolling out the technology and will have cards "in the hands" of consumers in France by the end of the year. Credit card fraud costs banks millions of pounds each year. One expert said a different design for credit cards was overdue. "In some ways, it's surprising it has taken so long for this to appear," Prof Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert from Surrey University, told the BBC. The card provides an extra layer of security by replacing the static printed three-digit security code on the back of the card with a mini screen which displays a random code that changes automatically every hour.
It is powered by a thin lithium battery designed to last for three years. It found at least 12 sellers offering skimmers capable of stealing victims' fingerprints. Mastercard faces £14bn card fee claim. Image copyright Reuters A £14bn legal claim has been filed against Mastercard on behalf of UK consumers seeking damages for anti-competitive card fees. In 2014, the European Court of Justice ruled that regulators were right to condemn the cost of its interchange fees - the fees retailers pay banks to process card payments. Mastercard lowered its fees but now faces a claim for damages for 16 years of charging from 1992 to 2008.
It has vowed to fight the action. "Now that the claim has been filed, we will take time to review it in detail. However we continue to firmly disagree with the basis of this claim and we intend to oppose it vigorously," Mastercard said. "We deliver real value through the benefits of security, convenience and consumer protection, and we are committed to investing in our payment services in order to continue to meet the rapidly evolving needs of all our customers. " 'Watershed moment' Mastercard is the second-largest credit and debit card provider after Visa. PayPal's Old Enemies Are Its New Pals - Bloomberg Gadfly. PayPal Holdings has buried another hatchet. The digital payments company spun off from eBay last year ended another quarrel with a rival, this time MasterCard. The tension between the card networks and PayPal stemmed from a turf war staged in the plumbing of the financial system. PayPal had encouraged its 188 million users to fund their accounts by connecting them directly to their banks.
That allowed the company to utilize what's known as the Automated Clearing House, which is a much cheaper way to move money through the pipes than the systems run by credit and debit card networks. No Cash, No Problem PayPal had almost 190 million active accounts at the end of the second quarter Source: Bloomberg Intelligence Much like the armistice reached with Visa in July, the deal means PayPal will no longer encourage users to connect accounts directly to their banks. Pays to Play Shares are still languishing below where they were before PayPal settled its dispute with Visa Source: Bloomberg Pay Stub. Contactless cards' popularity grows. Image copyright Thinkstock The use of contactless payments in the first half of the year outstripped use in the whole of 2015 as consumers switched from cash to cards.
Spending and the number of transactions on contactless were higher in January to June than all of last year, figures from the UK Cards Association show. Contactless now accounts for 18% of card spending - up from 7% a year ago, the data shows. The average contactless transaction is for £8.60. This suggests that marketing by the card companies to encourage the use of contactless for small retail purchases - particularly food and drink - has worked. Use is high in London, reflecting the common use of contactless by commuters on the capital's transport system. Cash is still the most common method of payment despite the increasingly popularity of contactless card use and online shopping. 'More to come' Home Depot sues Visa, Mastercard, saying new chip cards not secure enough. Adoption of safer credit-card technology slow -- for a variety of reasons. It was supposed to be a technological change to rival the big Y2K computer upgrades at the turn of the century.
More than six months ago, everyone was supposed to have credit cards embedded with chip technology that would make it more difficult for customers' account information to be stolen and used to make fraudulent purchases. Most shoppers know that implementation is going way slower than expected. But the overall story is complicated, involving the nation's biggest retail chains and banks, and how they cover the costs when fraud occurs. "This whole experience has been frustrating for consumers," said Bob Sullivan, author of the best-selling book "Stop Getting Ripped Off. " "The big surprise is when they use the chip and it takes a long time. Bigger than that, credit-card fraud means consumers must endure the time-consuming headache of getting a new credit or debit card and then contacting all of the companies that charge those cards for routine bills.
Plenty of blame Pushing back.