Author: Rebecca

This new opt-in feature is designed to boost security while decreasing the number of card declines.

U.S. Bank announced the adoption of geolocation technology to help improve the security of payment transactions for travelers. The idea is that a shopper can use his or her mobile phone to confirm his or her identity when using a credit card.

If a credit card purchase is made at a different location from that of the mobile device, it will be declined.

The concept of this use of geolocation technology is to stop transaction declines from happening unnecessarily. Instead, a traveler’s identity will be further confirmed by the presence of his or her mobile phone in the same location as the transaction. In this way, it stops a person who has stolen the card from being able to successfully complete a transaction. After all, if they grab the card – or card info – and run, they will be too far away from the actual cardholder to use it.

This avoids the dreaded auto-decline message some travelers get when they try to make a purchase that is out of sync with their typical buying patterns. That said, it’s important to note that this geolocation service is opt-in. It is not being automatically implemented for all U.S. Bank issued Visa cards.

Furthermore, this geolocation technology service is activated only by cardholders who are traveling.

Purchases made closer to home will not qualify for this additional mobile security component for credit card transactions. The fraud prevention program is being released in waves.

According to U.S. Bank’s Retail Payment Solutions division senior vice president and head of product and marketing, Clifford Cook, “We’ve all experienced that embarrassing moment when your credit card is declined at dinner while on vacation because the bank thinks you should be at home in Minneapolis, but you’re eating dinner in Seattle.” Cook explained that “When your phone is on and you’ve opted-in for geolocation, U.S. Bank can validate that the expense is legitimate and avoid customer frustration.”

To start, U.S. Bank FlexPerks Visa cardholders will be able to opt into the geolocation technology program when they travel. All they need to do is activate the feature using the FlexPerks mobile app.

The retail chain has now rolled out their own version of the smartphone based transaction method.

The Kohl’s Pay mobile payments platform has launched, representing the latest in a growing retail trend. Large retailers are, to an increasing degree, stepping into the mobile wallet market. This is creating a market with even greater competition for Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Those tech giants have all been battling for dominance.

The Kohl’s Pay rollout has added another independent alternative to those wallet options.

The Kohl’s Pay mobile payments platform is available for customers to use within the department stores. This not only allows consumers to pay for their purchases, but it has also been integrated with their rewards and loyalty programs. In this way, the mobile app allows for collection and redemption of the reward and loyalty program benefits. At the same time, it works as a digital wallet for the payment method being used for the purchase itself.

The retailer announced that the Kohl’s Pay Mobile payments service is now available across the country.

Kohl’s Pay’s existence is not a surprise to many as the company had previously announced its intentions to expand its previous mobile wallet. The previous version had allowed consumers to collect rewards and promotions and save their payment data. This latest nationwide move has expanded the features and functions of the mobile payments app.

The new app comes at a time when many other large retailers are taking similar steps with mobile wallets and payments. For example, CVS and Walmart have both recently enhanced their smartphone applications to include comparable changes. These solutions are generating greater appeal among retailers seeking to draw customers who are increasingly comfortable in using smartphones for payments.

Moreover, by implementing their own proprietary mobile wallets, retailers may make themselves into the convenient choice for consumers who prefer this payment method.

What makes the Kohl’s Pay mobile payments platform different is that customers can’t add their credit cards and debit cards to their digital wallet. Instead, the Kohl’s Charge private label card is the only one that can be used in conjunction with the app.