November 19, 2014
ETA Releases Cybersecurity and Payments Trends For Holiday Shopping Season
2015 Legislative Agenda & Resources for Merchants
Washington, D.C. – The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association representing the payments technology world, today released an update on the payments industry’s cybersecurity initiatives ahead of the one year anniversary of the Target data breach. ETA also provided projections on holiday spending trends in light of the entry of new payments technology, and important resources for merchants to navigate the evolving payments landscape.
“The payments industry is working overtime to ensure our networks remain safe, reliable, and secure as shoppers flock to retailers this holiday season,” said Jason Oxman, CEO of ETA. “New technologies like tokenization and other forms of encryption, as well as mobile payment platforms such as Apple Pay, SoftCard and Google Wallet will provide enhanced security”.
However, consumer spending shows no signs of slowing down as the one-year Target data breach anniversary draws closer. The payments consultancy firm, The Strawhecker Group, estimates that 2014 fourth quarter electronic spending will increase 4.0% over 2013 to $887 billion. Additionally, ETA Member Merchant Warehouse projects that retail sales are expected to reach $616.9 billion in November and December. Merchant Warehouse also projects more than $700 million in mobile sales during the weekend following Thanksgiving.
ETA also released two valuable educational resources for small merchants to help them avoid data breach and take advantage of new and more secure payments technologies, including mobile technologies like Apple Pay and Softcard. ETA’s Data Breach Response Guide for Small Merchants provides tools for small merchants to communicate effectively in the event of a data breach. ETA’s addresses Mobile Point of Sale best practices, including security, in the new ETA White Paper, Making Mobile Payments Make Dollars and SENSE for Small-to-Medium Businesses.
Finally, ETA released its 2015 legislative agenda which includes a call for greater data security while pushing back against burdensome and harmful policies. As longtime supporter of a federal Data Breach Notification law, ETA will continue to work with policymakers and other trades to establish uniform national standards for breach notification.
“Currently, a patchwork of 46 separate state data breach notification laws makes uniform notifications virtually impossible,” added Oxman. “A single national standard would provide consumers and businesses with a common and consistent expectation of breach procedure, and company time and resources could be devoted to innovative security solutions to protect against new threats.”
A second key aspect of ETA’s 2015 legislative agenda includes removing barriers that prevent government and industry from sharing information about cyber threats. ETA believes that voluntary information sharing between the private and public sector around the threat of cyber-attacks will help protect consumer data.
Finally, ETA’s 2015 policy agenda pushes back on overreaching regulation aimed at the mobile payments space. There are close to 20 federal agencies monitoring or actively regulating the emerging mobile payments market. Add to that the laws and regulations of 50 states, the District of Columbia and several territories that may overlap federal jurisdiction along with additional legal issues. This regulatory overlap has the potential to stifle mobile payments innovation.
For media inquiries, contact Meghan Cieslak at 202-677-7406 or [email protected].
About ETA
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies. ETA members make commerce possible by processing more than $4.5 trillion in purchases in the U.S. and deploying payments innovations to merchants and consumers.