Visa Dumps Processor After 1.5M Numbers Breached

Visa has made credit card processor Global Payments persona non grata after some 1.5 million numbers were breached in a massive hack announced Friday, and the New York Times notes that the figure could be as high as 3 million. Global Payments has been removed from Visa's list of "compliant service providers," and Visa is also calling for renewed certification of Global Payments' security compliance. MasterCard is waiting on an independent investigation before taking action against the card processor, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The perpetrators "exported" the data they collected, heightening the threat to customers—though the hackers didn't get access to names, addresses, or Social Security numbers, says Global Payments, which calls the breach "contained." Global Payments can still process payments, but the loss of Visa's stamp of approval could drive away customers. "We are making rapid progress toward bringing this issue to a close," says the processor's CEO, according to Forbes. (More Mastercard stories.)