For mobile payments to succeed, merchants and payment companies need to think in terms of incentives. That's a key takeaway from a new report by the market research firm Ipsos. Separately, a study prepared by Payments.com and Bank of America Merchant Services points to a notable disconnect between quick service restaurant operators and their customers when it comes to mobile payments. The digital divide between what customers want and what quick-service restaurant (QSR) managers think they want exists at every stage of the dining experience, according to the Restaurant Readiness Index, which was just published by Payments.com. But it's most apparent in the way each party views mobile payments.

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The Northeast Acquirers Association will host its 34th annual conference Jan. 16 to 17, 2019, at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott. The payments industry's longest-running regional conference has focused on providing a diverse mix of exhibits, keynote presentations, breakout sessions and panel discussions aimed at educating merchant acquiring professionals. Event organizers said NEAA 2019 will continue that tradition while showcasing emerging talent, technologies and payments industry trends. NEAA president Alan Forgione attributed the show's year-over-year growth to the nonprofit association's board of directors and hardworking volunteers.

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Aite Group Research Director Julie Conroy extended an invitation to all interested professionals for a live, one-hour webinar slated for Thurs., Jan 17. In the webinar, Conroy and her team will discuss the top 10 trends they have identified as shaping the retail banking and payments landscape around the globe in 2019 and beyond.

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The retail sector appears poised to report its best year-end holiday sales season in years. According to the Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks spending trends across payment types (cash, cards and checks), retail sales this holiday season rose by 5.1 percent over 2017 to total more than $850 billion, the largest increase in six years. Online shopping sales registered the biggest gains, rising 19.1 percent over 2017 online holiday sales, Mastercard reported.

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The number and value of card payments continue to grow while check and ATM transactions decline. Card-not-present (CNP) transactions appear to be leading the overall card payments charge, while chip-authenticated cards dominate card-present transactions, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Board. The sum of all credit, debit and prepaid card payments grew by 11.3 billion between 2016 and 2017 to total 123.5 billion, the Fed said. The total value of card payments in 2017 was $6.5 trillion, up from $6.0 trillion in 2016.

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Record 2018 holiday spending may lead to high levels of returns, chargebacks and consumer fraud, retail analysts warned. The Chargeback Triangle, a May 2018 independent study by Javelin Strategy & Research and sponsored by Verifi, linked U.S. consumer disputes and chargebacks to $31 billion in losses, with merchants sharing almost $19 billion of the overall costs. Authors identified merchants, issuers and customers as three points of a chargeback triangle in which each should bear equal responsibility for prompt, accurate communication. "Greater collaboration between issuers and merchants can help preempt chargebacks and eliminate the burden of a formal dispute process," researchers wrote. "Victory is measured not only by avoiding financial liability for the transaction but also by securing the relationship with the customer who is disputing the transaction."

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Despite predictions to the contrary, cash remains a staple if the American consumer's payment choices. That's an underlying message gleaned from the 2018 Health of Cash Study, prepared by Cardtronics. Separately, a new report by the strategic research and consulting firm RBR predicts a decline in worldwide ATM installations over the next several years as Chinese consumers' growing adoption of digital payments contracts demands there for cash. According to RBR's Global ATM Market and Forecasts to 2023, the worldwide installed base of ATMs peaked at 3.28 million in 2017 and will drop to 3.23 million by the end of 2023.

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Episerver recently issued A-Z Seasonal Rules: Global Findings, its 2018 holiday commerce report, which includes 26 ways merchants can "stuff" their sites with holiday cheer to draw more shoppers and entice them to buy. Episerver found several features to be especially important this year. Top of mind for many shoppers is accurate information. "In search of the perfect gift, holiday shoppers are more willing to visit new websites," researchers wrote. "Since there is no context in which to trust the company, any element of a web page, from top to bottom, that seems “off” will send them packing. In fact, inaccurate or incomplete content dissuades half (46%) of shoppers from completing online purchases often, and 18% always."

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ESET researchers disclosed Dec. 11, 2018, that a Trojan attack vector is exploiting a weakness in the Android operating system. The internet security provider said the malware targets Android users who access the PayPal app and warned that it can override 2-factor authentication. The malicious app is designed to steal money from PayPal accounts and phish for credit card credentials by placing overlays on Google Play, WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, and Gmail. In a blog post titled “Android Trojan steals money from PayPal accounts, even with 2FA on,” researchers observed that four of the five overlays phish for credit card details.

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New product offerings and fluctuating prices continue to roil the cryptocurrency ecosystem, most recently with the Dec. 3, 2018, launch of a new trading platform called Pandora (not to be confused with the jewelry merchant or music streaming service) followed by Chatspin's decision to stop accepting cryptocurrency three days later. Enthusiasts view these signs of market volatility as further evidence that cryptocurrency schemes are gaining public awareness. Anton Kulikov, CEO at Pandora, described the service as a next-generation cryptocurrency trading platform, with forex trading technology designed to simplify cryptocurrency trading and portfolio management. "PANDORA is honored to usher in the next wave of cryptocurrency trading, with a complete solution for traders who want to leverage robust, professional tools to invest in the cryptocurrency market," he said.

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To celebrate the 2018 holidays, the Dark Web is having a clearance sale on personally identifiable information, offering criminals a generous inventory of names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers, at prices as low as $2 per record. Bryan Lewis, president and CEO at Intellicheck, a security technology provider, said much of the stolen data has been vetted for accuracy during a lengthy incubation period. "Bad guys are building a product, packaging it and getting it ready for sale," Lewis said. "Before these records go on the Dark Web, they are cross-referenced and confirmed with other data."

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Just in time for holiday shoppers, Walmart introduced Order and Pay. It's a new in-store ordering option that enables shoppers in physical store locations to order and pay for items that aren't available in the store. Consumers work with Walmart associates on the floor to process online orders from Walmart's Dotcom store and then pay for the items at the physical POS, along with other items selected from the shelves (if any). Consumers can pay with cash, credit and debit cards, checks, and Walmart Pay. The ability to pay with cash is expected to appeal to the unbanked and underbanked, who may not have access to other payment methods or who simply prefer to use cash.

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Updated PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) guidance, published Nov. 28, 2018, addresses the increasingly complex landscape of accepting payments by phone. Spearheaded by a PCI SSC Special Interest Group of call center and technology experts, Protecting Telephone-based Payment Card Data outlines best practices for mitigating fraud by removing sensitive data from scope. Ben Rafferty, global solutions director at Semafone and Special Interest Group member, said the council last issued call center guidance in 2011, and the landscape has evolved significantly in recent years. The new guidance pertains to a new set of risks posed by Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), softphones and chatbots, he said, noting that these emerging technologies are potential targets for card-not-present fraud.

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The Federal Reserve Board has torpedoed industry efforts to make checks a fully electronic payment option. Regulatory changes disclosed earlier this month make it clear that financial institutions cannot clear electronically created items (ECIs) through the Reserve Bank System. While most checks start out as paper items, the majority today clear between banks and credit unions (often through the Reserve Banks) as electronic images – over 99 percent by the Fed's reckoning. The conversion from paper to electronic images is often executed by payees using their banks' remote deposit capture services, or at the bank of first deposit.

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