The Merchant Risk Council (MRC), a merchant-led trade association focused on electronic commerce risk and payment strategies, has announced the results of its Annual Merchant Fraud Survey, sponsored by CyberSource Corporation. According to the MRC, "this year’s survey again confirms that MRC Platinum Members are best in class at reducing revenue losses due to cyber theft, while also leading the way in reviewer productivity for both domestic and international orders." READ MORE »

The UK Payments Council has released new data on fraud losses for the full year 2009 that show that "total fraud losses on UK cards fell by 28 per cent between 2008 and 2009 to £440.3 million – a decrease of £170 million on the previous year’s total."

According to the Council, "the combined force of industry initiatives such as: chip and PIN; the increasing use of sophisticated fraud detection tools by banks and retailers; and the work of the DCPCU , the banking-sponsored special police unit, have all helped contribute to this fall. It is the first time that card fraud has decreased since 2006." READ MORE »

The NFC Forum has announced 19 new members from 14 countries. "The new NFC Forum members are from several sectors of the NFC ecosystem, the numerous industries that are stakeholders and contributors to NFC technology. Industries represented include semiconductor and terminal manufacturers, higher education, service providers, compliance and testing organizations and systems integrators." READ MORE »

Vindicia has announced the addition of two game publishers, HitGrab and Arbopals, to its customer portfolio providing on-demand billing solutions in the online gaming industry. According to the company, "with these additions, Vindicia's CashBox continues to expand its reach into a wide variety of game genres, such as MMOs, casual games, social games and virtual worlds. With the online game market expected to reach $24.8 billion in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics, publishers who seek to stand out from the pack must establish a business model that is fine-tuned to monetize their games, regardless of genre or style." READ MORE »

First Data Corporation has released its First Data SpendTrend™ analysis for February 2010 - finding that "same-store dollar volume was up 8.4% (7.4% excluding gasoline stations) with employment showing signs of stabilization. Average tickets were up 1.4%, the first year-over-year increase since July 2008." SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending via credit, signature debit, PIN debit and EBT cards at U.S. merchant locations. READ MORE »

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