NEWSConsumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, is calling on the Federal Reserve Board to regulate the emerging mobile payments sphere.
"As mobile payments systems come to the U.S., product providers and regulators need to make sure that they are at least as safe for consumers to use as traditional credit card and debit card payments," Michelle Jun, Staff Attorney for the CU, said in an Aug. 24, 2010, statement. "It is critical that mobile payment systems are covered by strong rules to protect consumers from losing money because of fraud, processor error or a dispute with a retailer."
The CU noted that if the Fed doesn't take action to protect consumers who pay with mobile devices, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, established under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, has authority to address unfair payment practices.
In conjunction with the upcoming October 2010 revisions to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) and the Payment Application DSS, the PCI Security Standards Council is hosting two community meetings to review and discuss the new versions of the standards.
The North American Community Meeting will be held in Orlando, Fla., from Sept. 21 to 23, 2010 www.pcisecuritystandards.org/community_meeting_2010/orlando/index.shtml); the European Community Meeting will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from Oct. 18 to 20, 2010 (www.pcisecuritystandards.org/community_meeting_2010/barcelona/index.shtml). The revisions are intended to improve the flexibility of organizations to implement controls, manage threats, and address scoping and reporting elements. A summary of the changes is posted at www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/summary_of_changes_highlights.pdf.
Are you ready for the automated clearing house (ACH) self-audit, due Dec. 1, 2010? If not, Western Payments Alliance's 2010 ACH Audit Requirements in-person training sessions can help.
Participants learn how to protect against noncompliance with NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association's Appendix Eight Rule Compliance Audit Requirements. WesPay reviews areas to be audited and describes the most pressing compliance issues its auditors discover in auditing WesPay members.
The sessions cover ACH rules and regulations, government payments, Federal Reserve Bank Operating Circular 4, and the E-Sign Act. Also up for discussion are new requirements related to Reg GG: Prohibition on Funding of Unlawful Internet Gambling.
For dates and locations, visit www.wespay.org/imis15_live/wespay/education___training/course_descriptions/core/events/coursedescriptions.aspx?hkey=48416353-7f47-49ff-aeef-9ff8b6931410
A fraudulent debt-collection trend getting press attention is "debt tagging." The term was coined by Identity Theft 911, which warned of the practice in its May 2010 newsletter after the company noticed a spike in reports from clients.
Debt tagging occurs when collectors target the wrong person for an outstanding debt - usually someone with a similar name, according to the Arizona-based firm.
"We notice new patterns in identity theft very early because of the large number of victims we help through our Fraud Resolution Center," the company stated.
ANNOUNCEMENTSCentral Payment Corp. (CPAY) reported that it has signed more than 11,000 new merchants since offering the First National Merchant Solutions processing platform service in December 2009. The platform opened up the gas station market for CPAY, which now processes for some 35,000 businesses.
The Epcor Mid-America Payments Conference 2010 in Kansas City, Mo., seeks exhibitors. Organizers for the Oct. 26 to 28 conference expect 300 attendees. The vendor information packet can be found at www.prodevmedia.com/wacha-umacha-epcor/wuevendorpacket.pdf.
Search firm Impact Payments Recruiting celebrated 10 years in the business of placing payment professionals. Originally founded as an on-site resource for Vital Processing Systems - now TSYS Acquiring Systems - Impact's 13-person team has placed 1,700 professionals.
Paymetric Inc. attributed its strong second-quarter performance to the rise in demand for tokenization at the POS. The company reported that the number of signed customer agreements grew 150 percent over the same quarter last year, while recurring revenue grew 110 percent year over year. The launch of Paymetric's Data Intercept product, which operates with tokenization software, was key to new business signings.
Florida-based SafetyPay Inc. entered the U.S. market as a payment facilitator and clearing house for online merchants through a retail pilot program. The company is already established in some countries in Europe and Latin America.
The pilot lets U.S. merchants tap into the online banking customer base of a U.S. bank partner for a three-month period. Customers complete their purchases in real time through their banks' online platforms, paying merchants in U.S. dollars regardless of the customer's country of residence.
Visa Inc. expanded the social media capabilities of the Visa Business Network to allow its 100,000 active members to help each other collaboratively. The changes include a Question & Answer Forum, content ranking, a small-business mentor program, and business goal toolkits. The forum and mentor programs enable small-business owners to get personalized guidance from other successful business owners who have faced similar challenges. The network is found at www.visabusinessnetwork.com.
PARTNERSHIPSAldelo Systems Inc. added RBS WorldPay as a preferred electronic payments processor for its restaurant POS software and equipment. RBS, the U.S.-based processing division of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, recently completed certification of Aldelo's POS application.
American Dairy Queen Corp. made Vendor Safe Technologies LLC a preferred provider of PCI DSS compliance services for the chain's more than 5,000 franchise locations. Vendor Safe's Self Configuring Firewall Architecture reportedly enables franchise owners to achieve PCI compliance within 30 days.
American National Bank and Guaranty Bond Bank adopted mobile payment capability provided by Bling Nation Ltd. Bank customers with checking accounts can attach BlingTag microchip stickers to their mobile phones to enable debit transactions.
CRE Secure Payments LLC obtained $3.18 million in funding from Total Technology Ventures LLC, Miller Capital Partners I and several angel investors. Total Technology principal Sean Banks cited as a reason for the investment CRE's position as a bank-independent and gateway-agnostic hosted payment acceptance platform that is compliant with the PCI DSS. He valued the market for hosted payment services at more than $1 billion.
In other company news, CRE is now integrated with payment processor PayLeap. Online customers of PayLeap merchants are redirected to CRE's hosted payment platform through a window mirrored from within merchants' websites, enabling merchants to maintain branding continuity.
Online electronics retailer Etronics.com adopted an online debit payment system from Mazooma Inc. The bank-authenticated system provides immediate authorization.
FEDChex became a member of the nonprofit Electronic Check Clearing House Organization. ECCHO maintains rules for check image exchange and serves as an industry advocate.
Fidelity National Information Services Inc. signed a deal with Banco Bradesco for Fidelity Processadora e Servicos S.A., a third-party card processor in Brazil and a subsidiary of FIS. Under the 10-year services agreement, FPS will provide card processing, call center and back office services for Bradesco's bankcard portfolio. The agreement increases Banco Bradesco's ownership in the joint venture to 49 percent, while FIS's stake remains at 51 percent.
Horus Fraud Prevention was signed by 41st Parameter Inc. as the exclusive reseller of 41st's FraudNet software in Brazil. Horus also has the right to market 41st products throughout South America. 41st Parameter provides person-not-present cross-channel fraud prevention systems.
Infoscore Inc.'s Remote Capture Plus and PayData.NET applications now support scanners from Burroughs Payment Systems Inc. The remote deposit capture (RDC) software supports the SmartSource Professional, Expert and Adaptive scanner models. Both software programs are built on Microsoft Corp.'s Silverlight, which facilitates web-based hosting.
NetWorks, a nonprofit processor serving 10 Midwestern states and operated by Nebraska Electronic Transfer Systems Inc., signed up for Acculynk's PaySecure, a software-only Internet PIN debit service. PaySecure is available to NetWorks' 300 member banks and credit unions.
Players Vacation Club, a vacation financing company, began using software from SignatureLink Inc. to verify online credit card transactions and reduce chargebacks. The club embedded the electronic signature pad on its site for transaction verification. Club members must sign using a mouse - or a finger on touchscreen devices.
RBS WorldPay signed up for security services from Semtek Innovative Solutions Corp. RBS is installing Semtek's Cipher Decryption Service on its host systems to capture encrypted transactions.
Colombia-based Redeban Multicolor ordered POS devices from Ingenico. The MasterCard Worldwide processor is buying 9,000 iCT220 terminals.
Toronto-based Scotiabank will place its brand on 200 ATMs owned and operated by Cardtronics Inc. in a long-term deal, the first between the two companies.
The agreement covers ATMs in stores in Puerto Rico, where the bank has operated for a century. It also establishes a framework to brand Cardtronics ATMs in other Scotiabank markets.
StoresOnline Inc. will make its shopping cart technology fully compatible with Pivotal Payments. Merchants of StoresOnline reportedly get a simplified payment system, special partner pricing and 24-hour customer support.
Transaction Network Services Inc. will process online payments for Continental Airlines Inc. The airline's reservation system will put transactions through the TNSPay gateway, which replaces Continental's internal payment system.
U.S. Bank, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, now offers the I:Deal check scanner from Panini for Deposit Express, an RDC system for small business. The two companies have several joint marketing promotions under way.
ViVOtech Inc. implemented an end-to-end (E2E) encryption POS system from Voltage Security Inc. in its ViVOpay contactless near field communication payment terminals. ViVOtech also joined the Voltage SecureData Open License Program to simplify the implementation of E2E encryption on electronic cash registers, mobile payment devices and e-commerce payment platforms.
WAY Systems Inc.'s way5000 was certified as a Class A mobile POS device by RBS WorldPay. The classification represents the broadest, most comprehensive Class A release in WAY's history, according to the firm.
ACQUISITIONSIn a $520 million deal, MasterCard agreed to buy European payments processor DataCash Group PLC. The deal is expected to close in October 2010. In 2009, DataCash processed transactions for 1,400 merchants. The acquisition is expected to expand MasterCard's e-commerce merchant gateway in Europe, Asia, Australia and other emerging markets.
The Royal Bank of Scotland Group agreed to sell an 80 percent stake in Global Merchant Services to a consortium formed by Advent International and Bain Capital. The consortium agreed to pay up to £2.03 billion. The sale leaves RBS with a minority stake of about 20 percent of GMS.
Advent and Bain committed to making investments in the technology platform and products. The sale will close in the fourth quarter 2010, subject to approval by European and U.S. regulators.
APPOINTMENTSLayaway payment processor eLayaway Inc. named National Football League great Marcus Allen as the company spokesperson to promote the brand.
A Super Bowl champion, MVP honoree and winner of the Heisman Trophy, Allen played for the Los Angeles Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs.
TradeCard Inc. hired Bob Copeland as Senior Vice President of Product Strategy and Business Development. Copeland previously worked at Kurt Salmon Associates. He is a past Chairman of the Supply Chain Leadership Committee of the American Apparel and Footwear Association.
ATM service provider Financial Technology Solutions International Inc. hired Terry Downey as Northwest regional Sales Manager. He previously worked at Pendum LLC and Fiserv Summit.
Internet security organization Comodo Group Inc. appointed Dr. Phillip Hallam-Baker Vice President and Principal Scientist to spearhead web security and software development in the Americas. Hallam-Baker was previously Principal Scientist at VeriSign Inc.
Payment software vendor Yodlee Inc. promoted Jason O'Shaughnessy to Managing Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He was previously Director of EMEA at Yodlee.
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