NEWSWORTHY
Effort to nudge Japan to go cashless with offsets to sales tax hike faces many hurdles
On Oct. 15, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting that the government would raise the consumption tax from 8 to 10 percent next Oct. 1. The tax hike has already been postponed twice owing to jitters over how it might ...
Japan Post to accept cashless payments by time of Tokyo Olympics
Japan Post Co. plans to accept cashless payments for postcards and parcel deliveries at its post offices by early 2020. Currently, customers can purchase postcards and pay parcel delivery fees at post offices with only cash or stamps, while post offices in many other countries ...
Ukrainian trio nabbed for hacking over 100 U.S. firms, stealing millions of credit card numbers
Three Ukrainians have been arrested for hacking more than 100 U.S. companies and stealing millions of credit and debit card numbers, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Dmytro Fedorov, 44, Fedir Hladyr, 33, and Andrii Kolpakov, 30, are high-ranking members of an "international cybercrime group" ...
Japan pushes use of cashless payments as Olympics approach and banks strain
Earnest efforts are underway in both the public and private sectors to promote cashless payments ahead of the 2020 Olympics. Credit cards, electronic money and other cashless systems account for 20 percent of all consumer payments in Japan, compared with 40 percent to 60 percent ...
Amazon looks to secure office-supply dominance with new credit card
Amazon.com Inc. is planning to offer a credit card to U.S. small-business customers, according to people with knowledge of the matter, furthering its push to supply companies with everything from reams of paper to factory parts. The e-commerce giant has been in talks with banks ...
Japan's tourism trade embraces portable credit card terminals
Restaurants, souvenir shops and even temples and shrines are hoping to cater to foreign guests with an international custom yet to be fully adopted in Japan: letting customers pay their bills with credit cards at portable terminals instead of paying at cash registers. As the ...
The IRS suspended a $7.25 million contract with the credit reporting company Equifax Friday after members of Congress complained the tax agency had awarded a no-bid contract to a company that recently had a massive data beach. The IRS had contracted with Equifax to validate ...
In wake of Equifax data leak, U.S. senator launches industry probe
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Friday she has begun an investigation into Equifax's massive data breach, and along with 11 other Democratic senators, introduced a bill to allow consumers to freeze their credit for free. Equifax came under increased pressure from lawmakers and U.S. states ...
Fintech firm uses credit card data to fix holes in Japan's consumption figures
Private consumption is 56 percent of Japan's GDP, so understanding where people are spending and what they're buying is essential to have a clear picture of what's going on in the world's third-biggest economy. That's true not just for the government, but also for ...
Former convenience store clerk arrested over alleged credit card fraud
The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a former convenience store employee on suspicion of computer fraud involving the alleged use of customer credit card information. Daijiro Kamino, 29, of Taito Ward, Tokyo, stole information printed on the credit cards during his part-time job at a ...
AMEX looks to double Japan profit
The Japanese unit of American Express Co. wants to double its profit and market share by attracting owners of small companies as customers and increasing partnerships with other card issuers, its president said Wednesday. "We don't have a time frame, but we want to double ...
