Though some believe blockchain technology can rescue businesses from chargebacks and ecommerce fraud, it may not completely solve the problem. True and friendly fraud hurt all businesses, especially mobile and online merchants. Unauthorized use of credit cards triggers cardholders to implement chargebacks, resulting expensive refunds and other penalties for businesses. As blockchain technology evolves, merchants can expect it to reduce...

When it comes to getting their money, businesses and consumers want it fast and convenient. No one has time to wait, and if they can’t get it when they want, they will go elsewhere. There is no loyalty in payments, and a new report proves it. In the U.S. economy, business-to-consumer disbursements have traditionally been made via mailed checks or...

To improve the customer experience, companies have been leveraging technology to stimulate consumers’ senses through sound, light, and biometrics. Digital voice assistants, like Siri, Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant answer questions, play songs, and place orders but some believe they have much greater potential. Juniper Research’s whitepaper, The Digital Assistants of Tomorrow, which was released in February, predicts that the...

Visa’s new platform, known as Visa Next, allow issuers and issuer processors to build and test new products. Visa’s clients and partners can gain access to the recently-launched platform through Visa Next. This is Visa’s website that is promoted as a “new destination” for learning about and using new solutions in the payment player’s ongoing pipeline. The platform has beta...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved final consent orders in two cases in which the companies allegedly falsely claimed their products were made in the United States. Background on the Companies A New York-based company, Patriot Puck, wrapped its hockey pucks in American flags. Though they were mostly manufactured in China, the company promoted them as the “The Only...

New guidelines require online pharmacies in Britain to verify patients’ identities before filling prescriptions. The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), which regulates pharmacy technicians and pharmacies in Britain, recently published guidelines for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, such as via the internet. The new guidelines are updates from 2015, which many pharmacy bodies argued did not go far...

An alleged Apple’s facial recognition software failure may cost the tech giant a pretty penny. An 18-year-old New York man is suing Apple for $1 billion, claim its facial recognition software wrongly accused him of stealing $1,200 worth of merchandise from its stores. Ousmane Bah, a student, claims someone used a stolen identification card to pass himself off as him....

CBD has shown up in everything from lollipops to smoothies in Philadelphia and New Jersey. The only hitch is that it’s legal to sell food and supplements with the compound that is derived from cannabis. Despite breaking the law, businesses don’t plan to stop selling this new cult ingredient, which is derived from cannabis, unless the U.S. Food and Drug...

China’s recent move to list all fentanyl-related substances as controlled drugs may be a game-changer in the United States’ battle against opioid addiction. The move came following President Trump’s criticism that China allows synthetic opioids to be shipped to the United States. The U.S. continues to battle an epidemic of opioid-related deaths. Closing the loophole will prevent Chinese drug traffics...

A Marquette, Michigan man pleaded guilty to smuggling goods into the United States using fraudulent shipping invoices, according to federal law enforcement officials. Curtis Wenzlaff, 55, pleaded guilty in April, capping an investigation by the Office of Criminal Investigations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. Background on the Case Wenzlaff...