Finextra Research: Latest fintech news, analysis, interviews, features and opinion by industry experts

Amazon introduces SMS shopping service in US

US e-retailer Amazon has launched TextBuyIt, a new service that enables customers to use text messaging to find products and make purchases using their mobile phones.

02 April 2008

News/E-commerce

Card fraud abroad pushes UK losses up 25%

New figures released by UK payments association Apacs shows that industry losses from plastic card fraud jumped by 25% to £535.2 million last year, driven by a hefty 77% rise in fraud committed on UK cards abroad.

12 March 2008

News/E-commerce

Brits worth £361bn to online fraudsters

Internet users in the UK could lose as much as £10,077 per year as a result of online identity fraud, according to a YouGov survey for digital security firm VeriSign.

07 March 2008

News/E-commerce

New fears raised over contactless chip cards

Fresh concerns have been raised over the security of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology used for contactless payments after a hacking demonstration by security expert Adam Laurie at the Black Hat 2008 conference.

26 February 2008

News/E-commerce

PayPal still the UK's favourite

PayPal continues to be the most popular online payment service in Britain, with over 20 million user accounts now registered in the country, which represents more than a third of the UK's adult population.

21 February 2008

News/E-commerce

Lords to follow up cyber crime inquiry

The UK's House of Lords is to conduct a follow-up inquiry into personal Internet security after the Government ignored recommendations on fighting cyber crime given in its original August 2007 report.

21 February 2008

News/E-commerce

One in eight EU adults too scared to shop online

One in eight adults within the European Union's 27 countries do not use online shopping services due to fear of identity theft, according to figures from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Communities.

12 February 2008

News/E-commerce

US ID theft continues to decline

Direct losses from identity fraud declined for the second year in a row in 2007, according to a fourth annual US study by Javelin Strategy & Research which found that fraudsters are now increasingly switching to offline channels - such as the telephone - to steal confidential personal data.

12 February 2008

News/E-commerce

UK Web shoppers wise up to online fraud

Media coverage of cybercrime has changed the way Brits shop online, according to research released by e-payment outfit Cybersource which found that customers are now taking more security precautions when purchasing items via the Web.

30 January 2008

News/E-commerce

PayPal to acquire online risk outfit Fraud Sciences

Person-to-person payments outfit PayPal is acquiring Fraud Sciences, an Israel-based developer of online risk tools, for $169 million.

28 January 2008

News/E-commerce

IBM bolsters CEP offering with AptSoft acquisition

In a move to strengthen its standing in the service-orientated architecture (SOA) market, IBM is acquiring privately-held AptSoft, a Massachusetts-based provider of complex event processing (CEP) software, for an undisclosed sum.

24 January 2008

News/E-commerce

UK online sales rocket

UK Internet sales hit a record high in 2007, with £46.6 billion spent online during the year, a 54% increase on the £30.2 billion recorded in 2006, according to figures released by Capgemini and the Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG).

18 January 2008

News/E-commerce

Jump in adoption of alternative payment methods

Around 30% of US online retailers now offer customers the option to use alternative payment methods (APM) - such as Google Checkout, PayPal and Bill me Later - which is a 25% increase since February 2007, according to a poll conducted by interactive marketing firm Brulant.

16 January 2008

News/E-commerce

Amazon invests in Bill Me Later

US e-retailer Amazon has made an undisclosed equity investment in alternative payment scheme Bill Me Later and is adding the instant credit service to its online shopping sites.

13 December 2007

News/E-commerce

FTC prosecutes payment processor

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed charges against payment processing company Your Money Access (YMA) which has been accused of attempting to debit customers' bank accounts on behalf of fraudulent telemarketers and online merchants.

12 December 2007

News/E-commerce

Ukash goes mobile

Digital cash outfit Ukash is partnering with Vodafone to offer its debit and credit card alternative via mobile phones.

06 December 2007

News/E-commerce

MobiClear signs TheCard to mobile phone verification system

Card security outfit MobiClear has signed business travel account firm TheCard Scandinavia to technology that enables customers to use mobile handsets to authorise transactions and "switch off" credit and debit cards.

04 December 2007

News/E-commerce

Zopa teams with credit unions for US launch

UK peer-to-peer lending platform Zopa is working with US credit unions as it looks to take on rival firms such as Prosper in the North American market.

30 November 2007

News/E-commerce

UK Christmas shoppers to spend over £5bn online - Apacs

Christmas shoppers are expected to spend a record £5.6 billion online during December, a 55.6% rise on the same month last year, says UK payments association Apacs.

30 November 2007

News/E-commerce

Visa releases virtual pre-paid card in Australia

Visa has partnered Australia's SCX Global to launch Vcard, a virtual pre-paid voucher that can be used to pay for purchases online and over the phone without the need for a plastic card or bank account.

23 November 2007