NEWSThe Vermont State Senate unanimously passed a bill that would regulate interchange. The bill reportedly contains protections for small businesses from card swipe fees, including a provision that allows merchants to set a minimum or maximum dollar amount for the acceptance of electronic payments. The bill also would reportedly prohibit requirements, conditions, penalties or fines in regard to displays of pricing for goods or services for sale, including displays for discounts. Apparently, it would give merchants the ability to decide not to accept the products of an electronic payment system at one of its locations.
The Merchants Payments Coalition is in favor of the bill's passage. The bill, S 138, now goes to the Vermont House of Representatives for consideration.
A new report from Aite Group LLC that examines the relationship between ISOs and vendors reveals that ISOs do not exhibit a high level of satisfaction with their third-party service providers. The report is based on a 2009 survey of 27 ISOs in which ISOs rate their vendors (bank acquirers and front- and back-end processors).
Aite concluded that ISOs value their vendors but are not generally satisfied with vendors' service and support. And ISOs that rate vendors negatively are likely to switch to vendors' competitors. "Overall, ISOs are barely happy with their providers," said Adil Moussa, Analyst at Aite and the report's author. "Vendors must make a greater effort to understand the causes of their clients' frustration and mitigate them."
The Royal Bank of Scotland has reportedly received more than a dozen bids for its Global Merchant Services business, which includes its RBS WorldPay division. Among the possible suitors are French vendor Atos Origin S.A.; Total Systems Services Inc.; Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC; and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., owner of First Data Corp. One other contender was Nick Ogden, founder of RBS WorldPay. But an April 14, 2010, Reuters report said Ogden's bid, made through his Voice Commerce Group, was rejected.
ANNOUNCEMENTSAcculynk, a software-only provider of Internet PIN debit payments, said it extended its product line to include PaySecure Plus - online card processing and Internet PIN debit for resale through the ISO third-party reseller channel. "Online merchants are looking at nontraditional payment providers for alternative payment types," said Tom Wilkerson, Vice President of Business Development at Acculynk. "PaySecure allows the ISO community to leverage Acculynk's leading alternative card-based, bank-sponsored payment type to generate new business."
Payment processor ACH Payments launched a $25,000 contest for the development of an innovative approach to payment processing.
"Mobile payment related apps, payment invoicing, QuickBooks apps and many more areas are ripe for potential new applications," said Wayne Akey, President of ACH Payments. "If someone is a credit card ISO, MSP or even processor, they in all likelihood have thoughts on how payment related applications can be improved or even changed by great ideas." The contest will be run in phases. The first phase involves registration and preliminary idea submission. No development work is required until the judging committee invites participants to submit materials for the second phase. For more information about the development contest, go to www.openpayments.com.
Global Internet payment and e-commerce solution company Adyen Inc. said it expanded operations and solutions into the U.S. marketplace "based on overwhelming merchant demand." Adyen, which operates in Europe, wanted to achieve profitability before formally launching the company in the United States, the company said.
BlueStar Inc. reported it had completed training for its entire U.S. sales and marketing staff in Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) compliance. In a two-day educational event, BlueStar employees were trained and tested on security standards.
"Meeting PCI compliance standards continues to be an important topic among our partners," said Jason Firment, Director of Point-of-Sale at BlueStar.
"It is essential that BlueStar continues to provide valuable input that will help our resellers make the right decisions for their business."
Payment gateway and software development company eProcessing Network LLC reported the successful completion of its annual compliance audit, which recertified the company for PCI DSS version 1.2.
The audit, conducted by Trustwave, deemed that eProcessing Network exceeded the latest compliance rules and regulations as defined by the PCI Security Standards Council and enforced by the card brands, the gateway provider said, adding that it is the eighth consecutive year that the company has achieved compliance.
Hypercom Corp. said German drugstore chain Dirk Rossmann GmbH will deploy 5,000 Artema Hybrid payment terminals in over 1,000 retail outlets throughout Germany. The rollout, which began in March 2010, is expected to be completed in the middle of 2011, according to the terminal manufacturer.
Hypercom called the Artema Hybrid terminal a high security product with a single slot "hybrid" card reader and integrated PIN pad for magnetic stripe and chip card transactions.
Identity and age verification solution provider IDology Inc. was selected as one of the Top 10 Innovative Technology companies in Georgia by the Technology Association of Georgia. Criteria on which the selection of the TAG Top 10 is based includes degree of innovation, scope and financial impact of innovation, likelihood of success, and promotion of Georgia's innovative efforts nationally and internationally.
Open Solutions Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Open Solutions Inc., signed an agreement with Acxsys Corp. to provide ATM transaction processing services to Diners Club Intl., Discover Financial Services and Pulse cardholders in Canada. Through this agreement, ATM operator Open Solutions Canada will process the transactions on its POSHnet network through the Interac network.
Spendvision, a provider of total transaction management solutions, said it made major enhancements to its transaction management platform. The multiprogram reporting platform is designed to give corporations comprehensive insight into spending across multiple business units, currencies, languages and territories.
Spendvision added high-level views of overall spend to its platform, as well as more detailed breakdowns across enterprise sectors, so chief financial officers can analyze spend by transaction type, merchant category, account or supplier.
Spendvision said chief financial officers can now see a "single currency view of all spend - vital for making cross-territory comparisons."
Travelex is handing over the management of its U.S. ATM network to Cardtronics Inc., operator of nonbank ATMs. Under terms of the multiyear agreement, Cardtronics will provide comprehensive ATM services, including transaction processing, cash management, cash replenishment, monitoring and maintenance, Travelex said.
Travelex's ATM network includes 760 retail branches in more than 26 countries, with locations in airports, seaports, railways and tourist destinations.
Information security and compliance solutions firm Trustwave was named as a finalist for the 2010 SC Magazine Awards Europe. Trustwave is a finalist in the category of Best Enterprise Security Solution for its Security Information and Event Management (SEIM) technology.
SIEM technology transforms data security events that are aggregated and correlated to improve understanding of security control effectiveness, attacks by cyber criminals or malicious insiders, and unintentional actions that could compromise security, Trustwave said. SC Magazine Awards Europe honors professionals information security industry.
PARTNERSHIPSChase Paymentech joined with software-as-a-service (SaaS) billing specialist Aria Systems Inc. to offer merchants a solution that combines Aria's SaaS-based billing platform with the processing capabilities of Chase Paymentech.
Chase Paymentech said it authorizes transactions in over 130 currencies, which has helped the company capture a "significant share" of global card-not-present payments. Now, with the addition of the Aria Billing and Subscription Management Platform, merchants can automate recurring billing and payments, the ISO said.
CoCard Marketing Group LLC selected Dejavoo Systems as the primary supplier of POS terminal systems. Dejavoo terminals give CoCard to communicate with customers via messages to and from the terminal, thereby affording CoCard with a direct link to its merchants.
"In the environment our industry is in, eliminating attrition is a key objective," said Rick Pylant, chairman and President of CoCard. "Dejavoo allows us to differentiate with added value and service, thus selling more products, improving profitability and raising the value of our relationship to the customer."
Cynergy Data LLC and Star Capital Holdings Corp. became strategic partners to form a service company that will operate as a centralized, shared-resource company for merchant processing services. The new company will utilize Cynergy's account servicing platform VIMAS to centralize business functions and processing platforms.
Additionally, Cynergy signed an ISO agreement with Stevens Associates. Under the agreement, Cynergy will provide the Central Texas sales and consulting company, as well as its merchant clients, with processing, funding, gift and loyalty marketing programs, and access to its robust back office processing platform.
Online multicurrency processor First Atlantic Commerce reported a pact with PriceSmart Inc. to enable Price Smart-affiliated warehouse clubs in Central America and the Caribbean to accept online payments. FAC said it now provides online payment processing services for PriceSmart in Trinidad and Tobago, and will soon roll out services in Barbados, Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Planet Payment Inc. reported the multiyear extension of its processing agreement with Fifth Third Processing Solutions. The partnership, which has been in existence since 2004, allows Fifth Third to offer to the U.S. market Planet Payment's multicurrency solutions, including dynamic currency conversion service called Pay in Your Currency.
Sage Payment Solutions teamed with Trustwave to help small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) achieve PCI DSS compliance affordably.
"As a focused leader in payments security, Sage is taking a proactive position on PCI compliance," said Greg Hammermaster, President of Sage Payment Solutions. "Trustwave's industry-leading compliance portal helps businesses further secure their payment environment with little investment in time or money. "We're happy to use our buying power to bring down the cost and complexity for any SMB to be validated PCI DSS compliant."
United Bank Card Inc. and cash advance provider AmeriMerchant LLC signed a multiyear agreement to offer working capital to both potential and existing UBC merchants.
"Banks have made it very difficult today for small businesses to obtain much needed working capital to grow their business," said David Goldin, President and Chief Executive Officer of AmeriMerchant. "Small businesses need an alternative to get the money they need."
VeriFone selected Chase Paymentech as the preferred provider of new merchant accounts for buyers of VeriFone's PAYware Mobile iPhone card payment solution. The solution is sold through Apple Inc. retail stores and the online App Store. "Chase Paymentech will be instrumental in achieving our goal of making it as easy as possible for merchants to acquire PAYware Mobile for iPhone so they can meet their customers' demands for a card payment option," said Douglas G. Bergeron, CEO at VeriFone. "No longer will these small businesses lose sales because of an inability to accept payment by credit card or 'check' card."
ACQUISITIONSE-commerce payment processor Trustcash Holdings Inc. revealed that it is set to purchase 25 percent of telecommunications platform provider Alligato Inc. Concurrently, Trustcash agreed to help develop and provide technical support for a mobile wireless access protocol-based payment platform. Trustcash advanced Alligato $25,000 to begin work on the new mobile platform.
VeriFone acquired the remaining minority interest in VeriFone Transportation Systems and aligned VTS' operations within VeriFone's Integrated Systems organization. VTS, formed as a joint venture between VeriFone and TaxiTronic Inc. in 2005, equipped taxis with integrated fleet management and customer payment systems.
Acquiring the remaining minority interest in VTS allows VeriFone to further drive the adoption of the payment systems within the transportation segment, particularly in international markets, VeriFone said.
APPOINTMENTSBoston-based payments Celent LLC made Zilvinas Bareisis Senior Analyst for the Banking Group. Bareisis's analysis will focus on payment (particularly cards), processing and innovative retail and corporate payment initiatives.
Bareisis has 14 years of management consulting experience, serving international banks, insurance companies and other financial services organizations around the world.
FrontStream Payments Inc. hired Jeffry A. Beene as Executive Vice President of Operations. He will be in charge of FrontStream's day-to-day operations. Formerly, Beene served as Senior Vice President at Pipeline Data Inc.
Catherine Palmieri joined CashEdge Inc. as Global Head of Product and Marketing. Palmieri is responsible for setting and overseeing the execution of the online person-to-person payment specialist's strategic product and marketing agenda. She comes from CitiBank where she served as Executive Vice President, General Manager.
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