This week saw a few developments in the Payments realm, as a virus was expected to have infected over a 1,000 US retailers in the past year - meanwhile rumors about Paypal's fortune.
The idea of spinning PayPal into its own standalone service has been a topic of discussion since the firm was acquired by eBay back in 2002. Stakeholder Carl Ichan had proposed the spin off earlier this year, only to have the idea publicly thwarted by eBay CEO, John Donahoe. However, rumors have recently risen on plans to in fact spin-off PayPal into its own payment providing entity.
US Homeland Security Department: 1,000+ US retailers HIT by Malware
According to the US Homeland Security Department, over a 1,000 US retailers could be infected by a malware virus, which in result can comprise sensitive card and payment data.
In a statement released late last week, the government office urges all retailers with card swiping POS systems to search their back-office for any files or software called “Backoff." The Backoff malware was first unveiled back in October 2013, and the Homeland Security Department offers information and instructions on finding and removing it from card terminal systems.
Last week, we posted about UPS’s malware incident which infected 51 of its stores. According to the US government, the virus is in fact the same.
You can view the full article HERE
Rumor Mill: Is PayPal Being Spun-off from eBay?
According to recent rumors, Ecommerce giant eBay is looking at spinning off its own payment service, PayPal, into a standalone company.
The rumors allegedly come from candidates for David Marcus’ previous position of President and CEO. Some candidates mentioned the notion of a standalone company was told to them during interviews and meetings with eBay higher-ups.
PayPal began to see immense growth back in 2001 when it was used primarily as the only way to pay for goods on eBay.com. In 2002, eBay decided to eliminate the middle man and acquired the PayPal payment solution for $1.5 billion. Since then, the company has been said to have a faster growth rate and is capable of expanding its business far beyond that of eBay’s.
You can view the full article HERE
India’s Central Bank to Strictly Enforce 2-Step Verification for Credit Card Transactions
India’s Central Bank recently made an announcement reminding merchants and service providers about the mandatory 2-step verification process needed to legally collect payments in India.
While not specified by name, the service which seems to have re-sparked the bank’s interest in following the regulations is taxi and black car hailing service Uber. Uber provides a simple payment flow allowing for users to pay for rides quickly and easily by using stored payment card details. The bulk of the complaints came from local taxi drivers who stated that the mobile startup is not incorporating a 2-step verification process.
You can view the full article HERE
Coinbase Announces It Insures Bitcoins against Theft and Loss
In an effort to make Cryptocurrencies more accessible to all users, Bitcoin payment processor and wallet service Coinbase has announced it now insures all Bitcoins within its system against theft and loss.
Coinbase chose Aon in November 2013 to insure its digital assets. While the Bitcoins have been insured since November, Coinbase felt it appropriate to announce it publicly only after other BTC related firms announced the same.
Coinbase points out that the insurance does not cover consumer negligence, such as an inability to secure personal login details. The coverage is primarily against forced theft and hacking breaches.
You can view the full article HERE
