<p>Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc are currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is probing whether their security tokens limit debit-card routing for online payments.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Known as one of the two biggest card networks in the US, Visa and Mastercard allow people to route their payments.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The FTC has been keeping an eye on Visa and Mastercard for a few years, inquiring whether both prevent business owners from making payments through different debit card networks. The FTC has increased its focus on the matter.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/global-economy-live-updates-japanese-yen-hits-a-fresh-32-year-low-against-dollar-526286"><strong>Also read | Global Economy LIVE updates | Nationwide strikes in Paris Tuesday amidst soaring inflation</strong></a></p>

<p>Earlier, a Justice Department investigation was conducted to know whether Visa Inc has illegally maintained a monopoly on the debit card market share. This was done because as per federal laws, the customers must be provided with a choice of at least&nbsp;two debit card networks for making payments, The Wall Street Journal reported.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This month, the Federal issued an updated rule to the banks, referring that each customer must be&nbsp;given&nbsp;at least two networks on all debit cards including online shopping or payments.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/credit-suisse-to-pay-495-millio-to-settle-case-concerning-2008-financial-crisis-526149"><strong>Also read |&nbsp;Credit Suisse to pay $495 million to settle case concerning 2008 financial crisis</strong></a></p>

<p>Whenever a customer links a debit card with a digital wallet, a random 16-digit number is generated, referred to as a "security token" as it makes the payment easy. The token is only understood by the network. For example, if using Visa, then only Visa will be able to make the payments easy. However, the card network can also scramble the token if the debit is handled by another network.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Using this practice, Visa and Mastercard continue to remain on top.</p>

<p>However, customers complain regarding the process believing that the payments can be cancelled if it's handled by a different network.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This is the reason, the FTC is inquiring whether the top card networks are restricting payments after the shopper enters&nbsp;their debit card information.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WATCH WION LIVE HERE</strong></p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc are currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is probing whether their security tokens limit debit-card routing for online payments.

Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc are currently under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC is probing whether their security tokens limit debit-card routing for online payments. Known as one of the two biggest card networks in the US, Visa and Mastercard allow people to route their payments. The FTC has been keeping an eye on Visa and Mastercard for a few years, inquiring whether both prevent business owners from making payments through different debit card networks. The FTC has increased its focus on the matter. Also read | Global Economy LIVE updates | Nationwide strikes in Paris Tuesday amidst soaring inflation Earlier, a Justice Department investigation was conducted to know whether Visa Inc has illegally maintained a monopoly on the debit card market share. This was done because as per federal laws, the customers must be provided with a choice of at least two debit card networks for making payments, The Wall Street Journal reported. This month, the Federal issued an updated rule to the banks, referring that each customer must be given at least two networks on all debit cards including online shopping or payments. Also read | Credit Suisse to pay $495 million to settle case concerning 2008 financial crisis Whenever a customer links a debit card with a digital wallet, a random 16-digit number is generated, referred to as a "security token" as it makes the payment easy. The token is only understood by the network. For example, if using Visa, then only Visa will be able to make the payments easy. However, the card network can also scramble the token if the debit is handled by another network. Using this practice, Visa and Mastercard continue to remain on top. However, customers complain regarding the process believing that the payments can be cancelled if it's handled by a different network. This is the reason, the FTC is inquiring whether the top card networks are restricting payments after the shopper enters their debit card information. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Visa, Mastercard under FTC investigation over debit-card routing competition

<p>It is said that science fiction is about making the improbable seem possible. Writers of the genre postulate a world of the future. And while some of their ideas can end up remaining a fantasy, there are a number of times when their predictions have been right on the money.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&rsquo;s 9&nbsp;times sci-fi writers were spot-on about technological advancements:&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Debit/Credit Cards</h2>

<p>When Edward Bellamy wrote Looking Backward in 1888, people only relied on paper money. His book introduced the concept of universal credit where citizens of his future utopia carried a card that allowed them to spend on goods and services without paper money changing hands. The book was a huge success.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_1-20161212084822.jpg" />
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<p>Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy (WION)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Earphones</h2>

<p>When Ray Bradbury published his dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451 in 1953, portable audio already existed, but the headphones were ungainly and heavy. In his book, he talked about &ldquo;little seashells&hellip; thimble radios&rdquo; that brought an &ldquo;electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk&rdquo;. Who would have then imagined that one day devices like in-ear earphones would become an integral part of people&rsquo;s daily lives.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_6-20161212085416.jpg" />
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<p>Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (WION)</p>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Electric Cars, Violence And Hookup Culture</h2>

<p>John Brunner&rsquo;s Stand On Zanzibar was another piece of literature that was way ahead of its time. Published in 1969, his book painted a world that we are all too familiar with today: America plagued by random acts of violence like school shootings and terrorist attacks, cars powered by rechargeable electric fuel cells, men and women eschewing marriage for short-term and low commitment hookups. What was he thinking?&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_8-20161212085717.jpg" />
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<p>Stand On Zanzibar by John Brunner (WION)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Geostationary Satellite Communications</h2>

<p>In 1945, a pioneering science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke wrote a manuscript called The Space-Station: Its Radio Applications. He introduced for the first time, geosynchronous satellites being used for telecommunications relays and most importantly for television signals. Imagine a world without our televisions and scores of channels.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_9-20161212085813.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
<p>The Space-Station: Its Radio Applications by Arthur C. Clarke (WION)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Moon Landing</h2>

<p>Jules Verne wrote From The Earth To The Moon and predicted many aspects of the 1969 manned lunar landing of Apollo 11. Verne&rsquo;s astronauts were launched from a Florida site in an aluminium capsule. In the book, he even gave accurate calculations as to the amount of force that would be needed to propel the rocket out of Earth&rsquo;s atmosphere. We have gone much beyond the Moon now!</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_3-20161212084933.jpg" />
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<p>From The Earth To The Moon by Jules Verne (WION)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Nuclear Weapon</h2>

<p>Robert Heinlein&rsquo;s 1940 short story Solution Unsatisfactory predicted a future world where America develops an atomic weapon that ends World War II unilaterally. After they use it, it spurs the rest of the world into a nuclear arms race to keep up. The story was written even before the United States entered World War II and five years before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_10-20161212085934.jpg" />
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<p>Solution Unsatisfactory by Robert Heinlein (WION)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Security Cameras</h2>

<p>George Orwell wrote the book 1984 in 1949. In it, he spoke about the concept of a dystopian state monitored by an interconnected web of security cameras. It seemed absurd back then, but it is a reality now with round-the-clock security surveillance, cameras in both public and private spaces, GPS tracking and online tracking by government agencies. Orwell wrote about it all in his book.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_5-20161212085316.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
<p>1984 by George Orwell (WION)</p>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Tanks</h2>

<p>H.G. Wells wrote the story The Land Ironclads which was published in the Strand Magazine in 1903. His story took the then-current technology of metal-hulled warships and put them on land, creating war machines- tanks. Wells&rsquo;s conceptualised modern day tanks were approximately 100 feet long and rolled on eight pairs of wheels, each of which had its own independent turning axle. A tower in the top of the machine let the captain survey the scene. In reality, the first tanks were deployed on the battlefield in 1916 during the battle of the Somme.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_4-20161212085043.jpg" />
<div class="media-description">
<p>The Land Ironclads by H.G. Wells (WION)</p>
</div>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Video Chat</h2>

<p>The first demonstration of consumer video conferencing was in the form of &lsquo;picturephone&rsquo; at the 1964 New York World&rsquo;s Fair. The technology has now come a long way with FaceTime and Skype becoming the standard means of long-distance communication. But all of this traces back to Hugo Gernsback&rsquo;s novel Ralph 124c 41+. The story was first printed in Modern Electrics magazine in 1911. It spoke about a device called the &ldquo;telephot&rdquo; that let people have eye contact while speaking across long distances.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false"><img alt="" draggable="false" src="http://wion.azureedge.net/photos/books_7-20161212085540.jpg" />
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<p>Ralph 124c 41+ by Hugo Gernsback (WION)</p>
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<a class="close-mark close-div" href="javascript:void(0)" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>(Contributed by: Zeba Khan)</p>


Paperless money, security cameras, nuclear weapons and more just stepped out of a book into our reality

It is said that science fiction is about making the improbable seem possible. Writers of the genre postulate a world of the future. And while some of their ideas can end up remaining a fantasy, there are a number of times when their predictions have been right on the money. Here’s 9 times sci-fi writers were spot-on about technological advancements: Debit/Credit Cards When Edward Bellamy wrote Looking Backward in 1888, people only relied on paper money. His book introduced the concept of universal credit where citizens of his future utopia carried a card that allowed them to spend on goods and services without paper money changing hands. The book was a huge success. Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy (WION) × Earphones When Ray Bradbury published his dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451 in 1953, portable audio already existed, but the headphones were ungainly and heavy. In his book, he talked about “little seashells… thimble radios” that brought an “electronic ocean of sound, of music and talk and music and talk”. Who would have then imagined that one day devices like in-ear earphones would become an integral part of people’s daily lives. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (WION) × Electric Cars, Violence And Hookup Culture John Brunner’s Stand On Zanzibar was another piece of literature that was way ahead of its time. Published in 1969, his book painted a world that we are all too familiar with today: America plagued by random acts of violence like school shootings and terrorist attacks, cars powered by rechargeable electric fuel cells, men and women eschewing marriage for short-term and low commitment hookups. What was he thinking? Stand On Zanzibar by John Brunner (WION) × Geostationary Satellite Communications In 1945, a pioneering science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke wrote a manuscript called The Space-Station: Its Radio Applications. He introduced for the first time, geosynchronous satellites being used for telecommunications relays and most importantly for television signals. Imagine a world without our televisions and scores of channels. The Space-Station: Its Radio Applications by Arthur C. Clarke (WION) × Moon Landing Jules Verne wrote From The Earth To The Moon and predicted many aspects of the 1969 manned lunar landing of Apollo 11. Verne’s astronauts were launched from a Florida site in an aluminium capsule. In the book, he even gave accurate calculations as to the amount of force that would be needed to propel the rocket out of Earth’s atmosphere. We have gone much beyond the Moon now! From The Earth To The Moon by Jules Verne (WION) × Nuclear Weapon Robert Heinlein’s 1940 short story Solution Unsatisfactory predicted a future world where America develops an atomic weapon that ends World War II unilaterally. After they use it, it spurs the rest of the world into a nuclear arms race to keep up. The story was written even before the United States entered World War II and five years before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Solution Unsatisfactory by Robert Heinlein (WION) × Security Cameras George Orwell wrote the book 1984 in 1949. In it, he spoke about the concept of a dystopian state monitored by an interconnected web of security cameras. It seemed absurd back then, but it is a reality now with round-the-clock security surveillance, cameras in both public and private spaces, GPS tracking and online tracking by government agencies. Orwell wrote about it all in his book. 1984 by George Orwell (WION) × Tanks H.G. Wells wrote the story The Land Ironclads which was published in the Strand Magazine in 1903. His story took the then-current technology of metal-hulled warships and put them on land, creating war machines- tanks. Wells’s conceptualised modern day tanks were approximately 100 feet long and rolled on eight pairs of wheels, each of which had its own independent turning axle. A tower in the top of the machine let the captain survey the scene. In reality, the first tanks were deployed on the battlefield in 1916 during the battle of the Somme. The Land Ironclads by H.G. Wells (WION) × Video Chat The first demonstration of consumer video conferencing was in the form of ‘picturephone’ at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. The technology has now come a long way with FaceTime and Skype becoming the standard means of long-distance communication. But all of this traces back to Hugo Gernsback’s novel Ralph 124c 41+. The story was first printed in Modern Electrics magazine in 1911. It spoke about a device called the “telephot” that let people have eye contact while speaking across long distances. Ralph 124c 41+ by Hugo Gernsback (WION) × (Contributed by: Zeba Khan)

9 predictions by science-fiction writers that actually came true

<p>To encourage widespread usage of digital payments post demonetisation, the government today said no transaction charges will be levied on debit cards till December 31.<br />
<br />
All public sector banks and some private sector ones have agreed to waive the transaction cost for all payments made through debit cards, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters here.<br />
<br />
The move comes after the government reviewed the situation post demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and decided to encourage digital payments.<br />
<br />
&quot;Public sector banks and some of the private sector banks, and some of the service providers who provide switching services, have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to December 31, 2016,&quot; Das said.<br />
<br />
As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards which operate international card network companies like Mastercard and Visa, currently charge transaction charges.<br />
<br />
So far, customers bear the transaction cost commonly known as merchant discount rate (MDR) on payments made to the government.<br />
<br />
&quot;The MDR charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by the banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards.<br />
<br />
&quot;I take this opportunity to appreciate the gesture of public sector banks, and some of the private sector banks who have already agreed. And others are expected to agree and issue their own circulars,&quot; Das said.<br />
<br />
He said the intention behind this decision is to ensure greater penetration of digital transactions into our economy and to ensure that more and more people migrate towards digital transactions.<br />
<br />
The Reserve Bank in 2012 had capped the MDR for debit card transaction at 0.75 per cent for transaction values up to Rs 2,000 and at 1 per cent for transaction values above Rs 2,000. However, there is no RBI cap on MDR on credit card payments.<br />
<br />
In order to move towards &#39;less-cash&#39; society by developing a card acceptance infrastructure, the RBI had in March came out with a concept paper to encourage card transactions and sought public opinion.<br />
<br />
As of October 2015, there were 61.5 crore debit card users and 2.3 crore credit card holders in the country.<br />
<br />
The Task Force on promotion of payments through cards and digital means has flagged issues with respective government departments.</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


No transaction charges will be levied on debit cards till December 31, the government said, in a move to encourage use of digital payments

To encourage widespread usage of digital payments post demonetisation, the government today said no transaction charges will be levied on debit cards till December 31. All public sector banks and some private sector ones have agreed to waive the transaction cost for all payments made through debit cards, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das told reporters here. The move comes after the government reviewed the situation post demonetisation of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes and decided to encourage digital payments. "Public sector banks and some of the private sector banks, and some of the service providers who provide switching services, have agreed to waive the service charges on the use of debit cards up to December 31, 2016," Das said. As of now, Rupay debit cards have already waived the switching charges. Other debit cards which operate international card network companies like Mastercard and Visa, currently charge transaction charges. So far, customers bear the transaction cost commonly known as merchant discount rate (MDR) on payments made to the government. "The MDR charges on use of debit cards, the charges being levied by the banks and the switching charges will stand completely waived. So, there will be no charge on use of debit cards. "I take this opportunity to appreciate the gesture of public sector banks, and some of the private sector banks who have already agreed. And others are expected to agree and issue their own circulars," Das said. He said the intention behind this decision is to ensure greater penetration of digital transactions into our economy and to ensure that more and more people migrate towards digital transactions. The Reserve Bank in 2012 had capped the MDR for debit card transaction at 0.75 per cent for transaction values up to Rs 2,000 and at 1 per cent for transaction values above Rs 2,000. However, there is no RBI cap on MDR on credit card payments. In order to move towards 'less-cash' society by developing a card acceptance infrastructure, the RBI had in March came out with a concept paper to encourage card transactions and sought public opinion. As of October 2015, there were 61.5 crore debit card users and 2.3 crore credit card holders in the country. The Task Force on promotion of payments through cards and digital means has flagged issues with respective government departments. (PTI)

Demonetisation: Indian govt waives service charge on use of debit cards

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