A new report has revealed that there was a 10 percent increase in the number of payment cards compromised at U.S. ATMs and merchants in 2017.

“The number of compromises and the number of card members impacted set a new record last year,” said TJ Horan, vice president of fraud solutions at FICO. “While most devices are safe, fraudsters are developing new technology and methods for hacking ATMs. This is why it’s important for consumers to be cautious when withdrawing cash, and also for them to check their account regularly and confirm that all the transactions on their debit card are legitimate.”

The data – which is taken from the FICO Card Alert Service that monitors hundreds of thousands of ATMs and other readers in the U.S. – also showed that compromised card readers at U.S. ATMs, restaurants and merchants went up 8 percent in 2017.

ATM hacks have proven to be a real concern for consumers and financial institutions. Earlier this year, Diebold Nixdorf and NCR Corporation – the two biggest ATM makers in the world – warned that hackers are going after ATM machines in the U.S. with tools that can force the machines to spit out cash. A confidential alert was sent to banks from the U.S. Secret Service that hackers are targeting standalone ATMs that are usually found in drug stores, big-box retailers and drive-thru ATMs.

And while financial institutions are launching cardless ATM transactions in which customers can use their mobile phones to withdraw money, Krebs on Security found that feature can be hacked, with criminals using stolen bank account usernames and passwords to quietly take cash out of ATMs.

In its report, FICO offered tips to keep payment card info safe, including staying away from an ATM that looks odd, or where your card doesn’t enter the machine smoothly; avoiding an ATM if anyone is hanging around nearby; calling your bank immediately if your card is captured inside of an ATM; requesting a new card number if you believe your card has been compromised; and checking your transactions frequently.

– pymnts.com –

Brits used their NFC-enabled mobile phones to spend nearly a billion pounds at the checkout last year, a 328% year-on-year rise, according to figures from Worldpay.

With Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay all beginning to establish themselves, the number of in-store contactless transactions made via mobile devices totalled 126 million last year, with the amount spent topping £975 million.

Almost a third of consumers are now taking advantage of their phone’s payment capabilities, says Worldpay, which predicts exponential growth over the next 12 months.

Accounting for 59% of all in-store mobile transactions, the supermarket sector has been an important driver in the uptake of digital wallets, as time-poor shoppers grab groceries on the go. Pubs, bars and restaurants make up a further 12.5% of the total spend.

But, shoppers are also now starting to use their phones for higher value items. In the second half of 2017, the average spend per transaction increased by 11%, driven in part by the increase in retailers accepting ‘limitless’ Apple Pay transactions in May.

James Frost, CMO, Worldpay, says: “Digital wallets are growing in popularity every day, but what’s interesting is the shift in the way people are shopping with their smartphone. No longer just restricted to light bites and post-work pints, mobile contactless payments are becoming increasingly popular for higher-end purchases too, as manufacturers integrate more sophisticated security features into handset designs.”

With this in mind, more than half of Brits – and nearly two thirds of Gen Z – can now see a future where their mobiles replace cards within five years.

The Worldpay stats are backed up by Barclaycard, which has released data showing strong growth in mobile and wearable payments, with the amount spent increasing by 365 per cent and 129 per cent respectively in just 12 months.

– www.finextra.com –

Visa has published EMV chip card statistics for December, and they show that the technology has made major inroads since the company’s first liability shift went into effect in October 2015.

Between September 2015, one month before the shift, and December 2017:

• The number of storefronts where EMV cards were accepted grew from 392,000 to 2.7 million, a 578 percent increase.
• As of December, approximately 6 in 10 stores in the U.S. accepted EMV cards.
• The number of Visa chip cards grew from 159 million to 481 million, a 202 percent increase.
• By December, 67 percent of all Visa cards were chip cards.
• Approximately 209.1 million Visa chip cards were debit cards and 272.7 million were credit cards.
• In December, 96 percent of payment volume — 1.5 billion transactions representing $78 billion — was on chip cards; this compares with 79 million transactions representing $4.8 billion in September 2015.

Finally, and perhaps most meaningful to the payments industry, the dollar amount of card fraud dropped 70 percent from September 2015 to December 2017, according to Visa.

– atmmarketplace.com –

Japanese credit card companies are gearing up to cultivate demand for smartphone-based funds settlement services in Southeast Asia, where many people still lack such basic financial services as banking and credit cards.

Aeon Financial Service will launch a smartphone-based payment service in Cambodia as early as April. Users will pay for shopping and send money with a smartphone app and e-money offered by the company. The riel-denominated e-money will be purchasable at malls of sister company Aeon Mall and elsewhere.

The unit of Japanese retail giant Aeon sees strong demand for electronic funds settlement services in Cambodia, where maintenance fees discourage many locals from having bank accounts. By keeping fees for merchants low, the company aims to encourage more stores to offer the service. The initial target is set at signing up 300,000 to 500,000 users by 2020.

JCB is working to launch a smartphone-based credit card payment service in Thailand around 2019. The user will pay for a purchase by simply scanning its QR code with a smartphone camera. The company hopes that the service will help increase its credit card customers among the middle class.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is home to some 600 million people, nearly five times the Japanese population. ASEAN’s overall per capita gross domestic product amounts to a tenth or so of Japan’s. But many see great future potential for electronic funds settlement services in Southeast Asia, given its fairly low bank and credit card usage.

That Chinese rivals have yet to establish a presence in many parts of ASEAN is also driving Japanese credit card issuers to move into the region.

Gemalto, the digital security company and payment card supplier, announced news on Wednesday (Feb. 7) that it is joining forces with Entrust Datacard, a provider of identity and secure transaction technology solutions, to provide a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based instant issuance solution for U.S. financial institutions.

In a press release, the companies said that instant issuance began to make its mark in 2006 and has now become important for financial institutions to integrate into their portfolio. Gemalto highlighted research from market research firm Aite Group, which said that from 2017 to 2021, the number of financial firms in the U.S. to implement instant issuance will increase to 5,483 from 3,312 — a 55 percent increase in the adoption rate of financial companies.

“The ability to instantly issue a card in a branch was a luxury in the past, but as more and more issuers implement this capability, it is slowly moving from a nice-to-have to a must-have,” said Aite Group’s Tiffani Montez in the press release.

According to Gemalto, under the deal, Entrust Datacard’s instant issuance solution will be integrated with Gemalto’s SaaS platform to lower the barriers of entry for financial institutions of any size. With the solution, the wait for a new card is nearly eliminated. Gemalto noted that cards instantly issued at bank branches increase activation rates by 82 percent and usage rates by 32 percent. Additionally, Entrust Datacard’s printers are installed on site at the branch. EMV cards that can be personalized and printed on demand are then possible. The issuance software is hosted remotely by Gemalto’s cloud-based SaaS infrastructure.

“With both Gemalto and Entrust Datacard’s strong experience in the banking and payment industry, we’ve been able to apply that expertise to bring instant issuance to market,” said Paul Kobos, SVP Banking and Payments, North America, Gemalto, in the press release. “The SaaS aspect really sets the solution apart from others in the field, and financial institutions of all sizes will be able to reap the benefits.”