Atlanta-based Bluefin, a global provider of payment security technologies, disclosed Aug. 14, 2019, that it received a U.S. patent for its virtual fingerprinting decryption method. The solution authenticates encrypted devices based on unique attributes, or "fingerprints." This added intelligence is more secure than relying on serial numbers alone, Bluefin representatives stated. U.S. Patent No. 10,382,405 for Managing Payload Decryption Via Fingerprints, expands on a 2018 patent issued for Bluefin's proprietary fingerprinting and point-to-point encryption (P2PE). To date, the company has received 17 U.S., Japanese and European patents and has 18 pending patents in its pipeline, according to Ruston Miles, chief strategy officer at Bluefin.

read more

The Electronic Transactions Association's executive search came to an end today with the appointment of Jodie L. Kelley as the organizations new CEO. Since the January 2019 departure of Jason Oxman, the ETA's former CEO, the association has been guided by interim CEO Amy Zircle, who will remain with the ETA, ensuring a smooth transition. The ETA, a global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies, has high expectations of Kelley, who will take the helm the week of Sept. 3.

read more

Village Capital, a global venture capital firm focused on helping fledgling businesses, has joined with PayPal Holdings Inc. and the MetLife Foundation to cultivate early-stage entrepreneurs. The joint program, called Finance Forward, is rolling out in select regions in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and India. Its mission is to democratize the system by improving access to funding and education to startups everywhere.

read more

The ETA/TSG U.S. Spending Snapshot, published Aug. 6, 2019, by the Electronic Transactions Association and The Strawhecker Group, cited strong consumer spending in the first quarter of 2019, particularly in retail and restaurant sectors. The bellwether report found year-over-year electronic transaction growth continues unabated, despite “political uncertainty, lower consumer confidence and a higher overall personal savings rate,” according to Jared Drieling, senior director of business intelligence at TSG.

read more

The Women's Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet), a professional organization for women in payments and the men who advocate for them, has big plans for its 2019 Wnet Leadership Summit. The two-day event will take place at the InterContinental Buckhead in Atlanta on Nov. 6 and 7. The focus is timely: leading in a changing world. “We are excited about this year’s Wnet Leadership Summit, which will be our largest event of the year,” said Carol Grunberg, Wnet president, and vice president and executive officer at Northwestern Mutual. “Hundreds of leaders across the industry will meet to discuss domestic and global leadership trends. By attending, you will also hear from executives paving the way to create more creative and profitable organizations by improving gender diversity within their companies and our industry.”

read more

The Federal Reserve Board revealed Aug. 5, 2019, that it plans to develop FedNow, a real-time payments and settlement scheme. Addressing a town hall meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo., Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard called making and receiving payments a basic right for banks and individuals. “FedNow will permit banks of every size in every community across the country to provide real-time payments to their customers,” she said.

read more

Mobile technology continues to challenge brick-and-mortar stores on multiple fronts, forcing retailers to adapt to digital-first consumers. A March 2019 survey of 3,200 Asian shoppers by Transcosmos Inc. found 62 percent of respondents examine products in physical stores before ordering them online. Retail analysts have noted the practice, known as showrooming or webrooming, initially threatened to turn physical stores into warehouses, but retailers fought back with price-matching; buy online, pickup in store (BOPUS); and various omnichannel strategies.

read more

The $22 billion acquisition of leading payment processor First Data Corp. by financial technology giant Fiserv is now complete. And the first casualty of the deal came within hours of news of that completion: Bank of America Merchant Services. BofA’s BAMS, which has operated as a joint venture with First Data for decades, will strike out on its own beginning next year. This would make BAMS the sixth largest merchant acquirer in the United States, absent any new mergers and acquisitions in the acquiring space, said Raymond Pucci, director of the merchant services group at Mercator Advisory Group.

read more