Donna Embry, Senior Vice President for Payment Alliance International, was honored with the Midwest Acquirers Association's Lifetime Achievement Award at its seventh annual conference held in Chicago in July 2009. A 43-year veteran of the payments industry, Embry said she was overwhelmed by the accolade. "The fact that your peers recognize you for something over and above what you deal with on a daily basis was very humbling," Embry said. "I've always considered myself a student of the payments industry, and I guess I've earned my degree now. And it's such an interesting business because you get to touch on everything from consumer behavior to economics and technology. Once payments is in your blood, it's hard to get it out."

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Visa Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph W. Saunders reported on July 27, 2009, that the company is reorganizing its executive management team to heighten the effectiveness of its global operations. As part of the restructuring, Visa's global sales, client services, marketing, product development and information technology functions will be consolidated under the leadership of John Partridge, the company's Chief Operating Officer. During this changeover, John C. Morris will step down as President. He will remain with Visa until the end of 2009 and work with Saunders to assure the transition is seamless. Morris joined Visa in 2007 and played a central role in the company's successful initial public offering (IPO) in 2008.

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A main focus of the newly formed Secure POS Vendor Alliance is to develop its membership base. It has accomplished just that with five payment organizations joining its ranks since May 2009. Heartland Payment Systems Inc., Moneris Solutions Inc., Radiant Systems Inc., Atos Worldline and Witham Laboratories have signed on to the SPVA, a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing data security worldwide.

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In July 2009, the PCI Security Standards Council's Wireless Special Interest Group (SIG) published an information supplement on how the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) applies to wireless retail environments and what practical methods and concepts should be implemented to secure wireless devices in those environments. "Wi-Fi has made a large penetration into the wireless POS market and we felt there was a need to define a common set of concepts and vocabulary," said Doug Manchester, Director of Product Security for VeriFone and the Wireless SIG Chairman. "So the very first thing we needed to do in the SIG was help merchants and auditing people understand what is inside and outside the scope of the wireless environment."

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On July 13, 2009, United Bank Card Inc. rolled out what the company said is the "first truly integrated" electronic cash register (ECR) solution. And the company is giving the ECRs away. Jared Isaacman, Chief Executive Officer for UBC, said the program is unique because of the "built-in capability that this system possesses." It is more than just a standard, all-in-one unit with a credit card terminal plugged into a cash register, he added.

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The Identity Theft Resource Center reported that in 2008, data breaches and incidences of consumer identity theft increased 22 percent over 2007. And the U.S. Department of Justice recently revealed that identity theft replaced the drug trade in 2008 as the number one crime in the nation. However, according to the 2009 ITRC Americans' Identity Confidence Index, consumers are more confident in the safety of their personal data than in previous years. Does this indicate the intensive work done within the payments industry to implement the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) might be starting to pay off?

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In June 2009, the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce rejected its own merchant lobbyists' call for price regulation on fees charged to merchants for credit card transactions. MasterCard Canada officials welcomed the decision and said they appreciated the opportunity provided by the committee to participate in a comprehensive examination of Canada's payment systems. "The Senate Committee clearly recognized that price controls are inappropriate and would harm consumers," said Kevin Stanton, President, MasterCard Canada, in a press release. "Australia continues to provide an excellent example of how such price controls reduce credit card program benefits and result in no appreciable decrease in the price of goods and services."

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A July 2, 2009, fire that deadened the power supply at payment processor Authorize.Net's building in Seattle, Wash., shut down the payment platforms of about 240,000 e-commerce merchants. Power was fully restored after 12 hours, and none of the building's technology was damaged in the fire, according to CyberSource Corp., parent company to Authorize.Net. Power went out at 11:10 p.m. Thursday night and was restored at 11:00 a.m. the next morning, noted Bruce Frymire, Corporate Communications Director for CyberSource. He said he didn't know how long the fire itself lasted, nor did he know the extent of the damage done to the building.

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The results are in for the 21st Annual Awards for Publication Excellence (APEX), and this year The Green Sheet Inc. brought home three awards for feature writing, news writing and Web site design. APEX awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications distinction.

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Though the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has historically resisted major reforms to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS), a new partnership to explore possible changes in the use of security technology may signal a shift toward a more flexible approach. In June 2009, the council revealed it had commissioned the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to research new approaches to the adoption of security technology by merchants, processors and acquirers.

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