All Entries Tagged With: "credit card"

Bank of America, Visa To Test Mobile Phone Payments Next Month

Beginning in September of this year — next month — both Bank of America and Visa will be test running the use of mobile phones to make purchases in select stores within New York City. The trial is expected to be small, and is also expected to run to the end of this calendar year.

The theory behind mobile payments is simple. Devices with NFC [near field communications] chips installed (which hold account information) can be scanned against a specialized NFC reader in order to process the transaction. Think of it as quite simply using your phone in place of a piece of plastic card. That’s all there is to it.

We’re certainly looking forward to more information on this trial; standby.

Google Introduces Google Chrome 6 Beta

Mountain View, California-based Google announced today on the Google Chrome Blog the introduction of the sixth iteration of its browser in beta. As with previous releases, Google Chrome 6 Beta promises to be faster than its predecessors. Additionally, the new release introduces new features.

One of the new Google Chrome 6 Beta features is “Autofill,” which allows users to easily and quickly fill out forms by remembering specific personal information such as name, address, phone number, and even credit card numbers. For security purposes, credit card numbers will not be saved by default. Instead, the browser will ask users whether they would like to save the number or not.

Some may argue that the new feature is a little bit risky. However, Google promises that saved information will be stored safely and kept private until a users chooses to fill out a form. This will benefit those who are constantly shopping online, and hate introducing their information every single time.

The new Google Chrome 6 Beta also introduces new syncing capabilities. Thus far, users are able to sync their bookmarks, preferences, and themes with existing stable versions of Chrome. Now, Chrome 6 Beta  allows users to also sync their extensions and the aforementioned Autofill data — with the exception of credit card numbers, of course — using a Google Account.

Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and AT&T Partner Up to Turn Smartphones Into Credit Cards

According to Bloomberg, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA — three of the four major carriers in the United States — have partnered up to try to replace credit and debit cards with smartphones. A move that could pose a threat to major credit card companies such as Visa and MasterCard.

The three wireless carriers are said to initially work with Illinois-based Discover Financial Services and London, U.K.-based Barclays Plc. The new smartphone payment system is expected to be tested at several stores in Atlanta, Georgia along with three other unnamed cities. Sources have stated that the system will allow users to pay contactless with their smartphones, similar to Visa payWave.

Apple Begins Processing Refunds for iPhone 4 Bumpers

Last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs indicated at a last minute conference to address the iPhone 4 antenna issues that the company would distribute free bumpers to each and every iPhone 4 owners. Additionally, Jobs stated that those who bought a bumper or case would be refunded the $29 they paid.

Well, it appears that Apple has begun refunding those iPhone 4 owners who purchased a case or bumper online. The company will even refund any shipping or tax charges. Customers who paid with a credit card should allow between 3 to 5 days for the payment to clear.

Jack Dorsey’s Square Now Available for iPhone and Android

Already available for iPad, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s highly-anticipated Square mobile payment service is now officially available for iPhone and iPod Touch, along with Android, after months of trials by beta testers.

There’s no doubt about it — Square will revolutionize payments on-the-go. You, an ordinary non-merchant, can now accept credit card payments just about anywhere on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android.

To sign up, you can download the application here for iPhone OS, and here for Android OS. The sign-up process is fairly straight forward and simple, though you will need your social security number to validate your identity and have a credit check run on you. From there, a free magnetic card reader (which plugs into your device’s jack) will be sent out.

I’ve already gone through the process this morning, and it was painless. Give it a try and tell us what you think!

Visa Working On iPhone Payment System

Global payment company Visa is reportedly working with DeviceFidelity to bring iPhone payments to life, allowing any user of Apple’s iPhone to simply wave their device at a specialized payment terminal, and walking out with their goods.

The technology is similar to that of Visa payWave, except that instead of using a dongle to make a payment, a user can simply wave their iPhone to do the very same job. Customers looking to take advantage of the technology would be required to obtain a specialized case (with a built-in chip) to “wave” payments. Furthermore, the payments would only be accepted at Visa contactless terminals, which are common, but not nearly as common as traditional swipe terminals.

Blippy Responds to Credit Card Exposure

Earlier today, Erictric reported that social media sharing service Blippy exposed the credit card numbers of some members on Google search results. The Palo Alto has now issued a public statement explaining the situation. Blippy believes that only four credit card numbers were compromised. The company goes on to reassure its users that the problem is “a lot less bad than it looks.”

The exposure apparently happened because of an “incident” that took place various months ago during their beta test. The company has a very detailed explanation of the events leading up to exposure. Blippy blames the incident on raw data from transactions made by the affected users.  

Check out the full response and explanation after the break.

Blippy Exposes Customer Credit Card Numbers On Google Search Results

Here’s a super-scary one to make you spit out your lunch if you’ve ever given your credit card number to Blippy. The company, which claims to create a “fun and easy way to see and discuss what everyone is buying,” has exposed customer credit card information on none other than Google’s highly-visible search index. Oops!

As seen in the image appended with this article, the numbers [blurred] are complemented with Blippy usernames, leaving actual customer names not exposed (along with expiration dates). That’s the fortunate part. The unfortunate part is that there’s scores of pages with numbers online, so if you’ve ever given this company your credit card information, it might be exposed.

We highly recommend you contact your card company immediately if you have ever given your number to Blippy. Don’t wait to come across it on Google.

[ image courtesy of: Gizmodo ]

Research In Motion Updates BlackBerry App World Developer Agreement

Last week, Waterloo-based Research In Motion updated its BlackBerry App World Developer Agreement to include a few new features, most notably is the addition of carrier and credit card billing. This change will definitely improve the overall experience on the App World, considering that up until now the only way to pay for paid applications was through PayPal. RIM has already begun sending notifications to all its registered developers regarding the change. This is good news for the popularity of the store itself, as now the chances of carriers pushing the App World onto BlackBerry devices will increase — given that carriers will also get a cut of the profits with carrier billing.