POS system integrators – companies that install and maintain POS systems – may be creating vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cyber criminals, according to Trustwave's 2011 Global Security Report. The report is based on 200 case investigations, penetration testing and other security research conducted by Trustwave's advanced security team, SpiderLabs, during 2010. Seventy-five percent of data thefts researched by SpiderLabs occurred within POS systems, making it the most commonly breached type of system, by far.

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A report from New Delhi, India-based research firm RNCOS said the rise in the number of middle-class households in India, as well as a shift in consumer spending patterns, will continue to spur the rise of prepaid card usage in the South Asian country.

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To gauge the state of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS), Cisco Systems Inc. conducted a survey of 500 information technology (IT) professionals at U.S. businesses. The results show that most businesses view the PCI DSS in a positive light, but that the greatest challenge to achieving PCI compliance is the education of employees about proper data security procedures.

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According to First Data Corp.'s SpendTrend analysis of the closed-loop gift card segment for December 2010, overall dollar volume growth in card activations was 2 percent, down from 8.6 percent in the previous month. First Data attributed this slowdown to retailers offering customers deep discounts on goods during the 2010 holiday season, as well as severe winter weather in late December, which suppressed dollar volume growth.

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A recent flurry of mobile payment rollouts signals a potential sea change in how payments are processed, with both traditional merchants and business sectors not previously embraced by the payments industry clearly within the mobile scope. "One of the brighter opportunities to take this upstream into larger and midsize businesses is that there's a tremendous demand to move payments away from the counter," said Marc Gardner, Founder and President of North American Bancard.

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A U.S. district court judge in New Jersey denied the request by the American Express Prepaid Card Management Corp. and other entities to stop the state of New Jersey from imposing new data collection provisions for its updated unclaimed property laws.

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Top executives of Toronto-based UseMyServices Inc. walked away from a cool $1 million not once, but twice when they appeared on the Canadian reality show "Dragons' Den." The show features pitches by entrepreneurs to a panel of high-profile investors who may offer to invest in the ventures in return for a piece of the action. However, failure to reach a deal on the show hasn't impeded his company's growth, according to Brian Crozier, UseMyServices co-founder and Global Business Developer.

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Visa Inc. upgraded VisaNet, its global processing platform, to improve security and its ability to detect and prevent electronic payment fraud. Visa developed new fraud models that enhance the speed and accuracy with which the company detects attempted card fraud. An analysis suggested the enhancements could identify $1.5 billion in fraud a year, representing a 29 percent performance improvement from 2009. According to Visa, enhancements to the processing platform that powers Visa Advanced Authorization increased identification of fraud.

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Craig Shearman, Vice President for Government Affairs at the National Retail Federation, reported in the NRF publication Washington Retail Insight that retailers won a victory recently when the Internal Revenue Service said merchants can defer tax payments on gift card income for up to a year, even if the cards are sold through subsidiaries or franchises.

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Statistics from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer organization, reveal a total of 181 data breaches were made public in 2010 by financial services, insurance and retail businesses, with approximately 6.4 million records compromised as a result. The number of reported breaches within these sectors grew from 37 in 2009 to 181 in 2010, although the number of records affected was much higher in 2009 (135.1 million) than in 2010, largely due to the massive data breach reported by Heartland Payment Systems Inc. in 2009.

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The Electronic Transactions Association will conduct a free webinar today at 1 p.m. EST on the Federal Reserve's proposed implementation of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The webinar will summarize the amendment, explain the regulatory comment process and explore the content of the regulations.

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Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest processor, reported in mid December 2010 that the market for gift cards in Canada continues to grow as small businesses recognize that gift cards add profitability. In the first 11 months of 2010, Moneris calculated a 20 percent increase in the number of gift card programs the processor operates for small businesses in Canada.

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United Bank Card Inc., which is known as one of the ISO community's most innovative companies, has taken the lead once again with the rollout of its free POS system program. UBC said its integrated Harbortouch POS system is the first of its class to be offered at no cost to approved merchants that sign with the company. "I think it's an industry game changer," said Jared Isaacman, President of UBC. "At some point, it's inevitable that others will follow our lead."

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Recognizing the popularity of gift cards, the U.S. Postal Service reported it intends to conduct a gift card pilot at 2,000 initial branch locations. The pilot will first test the sale of open-loop, network-branded cards, which may be followed with a closed-loop gift card pilot, according to the USPS.

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While the new partnership between S1 Corp. and PayPal Inc. doesn't directly affect ISOs, sources contacted about the collaboration believe it is important to stay abreast of PayPal's growth as an alternative to traditional merchant acquiring options. The S1-PayPal partnership involves person-to-person (P2P) payments for online and mobile banking platforms. S1 integrated PayPal's P2P functionality into the software solutions S1 supplies to credit unions and other financial institutions.

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Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), a leading transaction processor, recently completed its quest to own 100 percent of First National Merchant Solutions LLC, the merchant acquiring subsidiary of First National Bank of Omaha. FNMS has been renamed TSYS Merchant Solutions following the deal. TSYS, based in Columbus, Ga., first entered into a joint venture with FNBO in April 2010, when it acquired a 51-percent controlling interest in FNMS for about $150.5 million.

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The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association is concerned the Prepaid Card Consumer Protection Act of 2010, that would place caps and bans on fees, would reduce consumer choice or increase pricing, and potentially lead to prepaid cards being withdrawn from the marketplace.

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The Canadian Competition Bureau is attempting to invalidate what it believes are restrictive rules imposed on merchants by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide. The bureau filed an application with the Competition Tribunal to strike down the rules, alleging they eliminate competition between the two brands for merchants' acceptance of their cards.

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Following the initial public offerings of Green Dot Corp. and NetSpend Holdings Inc. in 2010, new year Wall Street reports suggest Green Dot is the better bet for investors. Analysts have calculated that Green Dot shares could reach as high as $65 per share, while those for NetSpend will hover between the $13 to $15 range.

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The Western Payments Alliance and the Northwest Clearing House Association plan to merge operations under the WesPay name, the boards of directors for both organizations disclosed. WesPay comprises 900 member financial institutions and 100 associate members in California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and the Pacific territories. NWCHA represents 190 members in Alaska and Washington. By combining, the organizations will be better able to respond to the dynamic marketplace while maintaining continuity of service for members, the associations stated.

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