NEWS
A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate in May 2012 would end nuisance lawsuits filed over some ATM operators' failure to comply with a federal requirement to display a fee notice on the cash dispensary machines.
Sen. Michael Johanns, R-Neb., ranking member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Security, International Trade and Finance, introduced S3204. The bill resembles legislation introduced in the House, HR4367, calling for an end to the requirement that a fee notice be physically attached to ATMs.
Johanns' Press Secretary, Paul Donahue, said the problem is current law requires a fee disclosure notice on ATMs and an electronic disclosure on ATM screens. "ATM operators have been faced with expensive, frivolous lawsuits by users who remove the physical placard and then sue for noncompliance," he said. "Sen. Johanns' bill would eliminate the duplicative requirement of the physical placard."
Donahue said the bill is supported by the American Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, the Credit Union National Association and the National Association of Convenience Stores.
MasterCard Europe promised it will appeal the European Union General Court's May 24, 2012, decision upholding the European Commission's ban on MasterCard's cross-border interchange fees. The prohibition was imposed by the EC in December 2007 and then suspended in March 2008 when the card company appealed the EC's decision.
MasterCard Europe President Javier Perez said his company believes everyone involved in a transaction should pay a fair share of the benefits received. "[This] ruling, if it stands, would upset that sharing and tip the balance decidedly against consumers," he said. "It would also threaten the continued delivery of the most advanced electronic payment technologies in Europe which, in turn, are essential to facilitating business and driving economic growth."
The EC said the decision confirms its judgment that MasterCard banks restricted competition by "agreeing on certain charges to the detriment of consumers." The EC noted MasterCard agreed in 2009 to reduce cross-border merchant interchange fees for debit and credit cards and adopt transparency measures. The EC said that agreement has expired.
Richard Postrel, Chief Executive Officer and founder of loyalty program provider Swift Exchange, called for an internationally coordinated response to cyber attacks. His call to action followed recent discussions held by the United States and China on the growing threat of such attacks. Global police network Interpol estimated cyber crime will cost Europe alone more than $977 billion annually by 2014.
In a May 21, 2012, statement, Postrel referred to remarks he made at his company's Cyber Security Forum in Washington in April 2012. He noted at the forum that countries such as Iran, China, Russia, North Korea and others are "hard at work recruiting legions of cyber terrorists capable of launching all-out war." It is for this reason he is now calling for "heightened" international cooperation to deter cyber crime.
Postrel said participants in the Cyber Security Forum included representatives from the U.S. Department of State, the FBI's Cyber Division, the National Security Administration and other government agencies. The forum was co-sponsored by the global law firm DLA Piper.
Mobile payment and analytics company Bango PLC reported it has reached agreements with Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide to incorporate its payment services. Bango's software enables consumers to pay for apps, content and services from smart phones and tablets; it is designed to integrate with mobile network operators (MNOs) and other payment providers.
Bango's agreement with Google allows MNOs to use Bango's payment platform to connect their billing systems with the Google Play App Store for Android. The MasterCard agreement makes Bango a technology partner for MasterCard's PayPass mobile wallet. Bango said it is not yet clear how Microsoft will incorporate Bango payment services.
Bango provides payment services for Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry App World on 40 MNOs in 34 countries for more than 360 million subscribers. New integrations covering 900 million more subscribers are underway.
Bango CEO Ray Anderson said the company is encouraged by the adoption of Bango technology by payments industry leaders. He stated the company's focus is on delivering "services on a scale demanded by our app store payment provider and content provider customers."
Several payment companies were among the winners in the inaugural Card-Not-Present (CNP) Awards held at the 2012 CNP Expo hosted by CardNotPresent.com. The Expo occurred May 20 to 22 at the Buena Vista Resort in Orlando, Fla. The awards honor outstanding CNP companies, programs and solutions. Among the winners were:
ANNOUNCEMENTSACI Worldwide Inc., an international provider of payment solutions, released the latest version of ACI Acquirer, its comprehensive multicurrency system for managing merchant accounts, histories and settlements. ACI also launched the newest version of ACI Interchange, the company's central monetary transaction manager for clearing card transactions.
Apriva LLC reported its wireless POS gateway processed more than $1.86 billion in payment transactions in the first quarter of 2012, a 22 percent increase over the same period in 2011. The company recorded more than $7 billion in wireless payment transactions in 2011.
Central Payment (CPAY), a national payment processor, released CentralView, its new anti-fraud software. CentralView identifies emerging risks in merchant processing activity and increases CPAY's fraud prevention capability. CentralView reportedly allows real-time data analysis and the ability to quickly identify risk or fraud through monitoring and reporting tools.
U.S. Bancorp subsidiary Elavon Inc., a global payment solutions provider, recently initiated the full production release of MobileMerchant after deeming the product's pilot project a success. According to Elavon, MobileMerchant is a complete payment solution that transforms mobile devices into payment terminals, allowing businesses to accept card payments quickly and securely anywhere, anytime, and without a major investment of money or effort.
Payment platform provider PayLeap is setting aside $1 million to help fund development of apps that connect to its payment gateway. The PayLeap Preferred Partner Program will help with the application development costs and with co-marketing and promotional costs for the app.
The Smart Card Alliance is soliciting ideas for new topics for its 11th Annual Government Conference. This year's theme is Smart Strategies for Secure Identity. The topics should be directed toward policy and infrastructure changes needed to enhance security in information technology. For guidelines on how to submit topic proposals, go to www.govsmartid.com. The deadline is July 13, 2012.
Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) disclosed that its board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents per share on TSYS common stock, payable July 2, 2012, to TSYS shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 21.
Gateway provider USA ePay released PaySaber Jack, a mag-stripe reader for Apple Inc. and Google Android mobile devices. The card reader reportedly includes end-to-end encryption and scans up to three tracks of information with a single swipe. The device will read credit cards, signature debit cards, gift cards, loyalty cards, driver's licenses and identification badges.
Payment processor WorldPay US Inc. released its Dispute Management System (DMS), a program that automatically monitors and processes requests for information and chargebacks. WorldPay said DMS will facilitate chargeback management, reduce issuer penalty fees and help prevent merchant online account suspension.
PARTNERSHIPSPayment processor Electronic Payments Inc. is now offering the American Express Co. credit card acceptance solution OnePoint. AmEx will handle participating merchants' acceptance contracts and establish merchant pricing. Electronic Payments will process OnePoint merchant front-end authorization platforms and back-end clearing and settlement platforms.
Michael Nardy, founder and CEO of Electronic Payments, said OnePoint "eliminates the inconvenience and complications that frequently arise when businesses accept multiple card brands and partner with multiple providers."
Terminal manufacturer Ingenico SA and payment processing and technology provider Vantiv Inc. reached an agreement to allow Vantiv to market its point-to-point encryption solution with Ingenico's Telium POS products in the United States. The companies stated the agreement supports the migration to Europay/MasterCard/Visa and near field communication mobile payments in the United States.
Vantiv payment processing provider National Processing Co. signed a new long-term ISO contract with ISO Strategic Payment Systems Inc. for delivery of debit and credit card services to merchants. NPC will also provide long-term financing for SPS.
Mobile location-related coupon provider Scoutmob is integrating its services with payment processor First Data's First DataSM OfferWiseSM solution. The two solutions connect through an application programming interface developed by payment infrastructure company CardSpring Inc.
In other news, Scoutmob said it received $3.25 million in financing from a group that includes AOL Inc.'s AOL Ventures, Capitol Broadcasting Co., Cox Enterprises Inc. and New Atlantic Ventures, among others.
TSYS signed a licensing agreement with Qatar National Bank to allow the bank access to TSYS' card and merchant management solution Prime4. QNB has been a TSYS client since 1999. QNB will offer Prime4 in multiple countries, in multiple languages and in multiple currencies on a multi-institutional platform to promote cross-border expansion.
ACQUISITIONSGoogle Inc. closed its purchase of Motorola Mobility Inc. and replaced Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha with Dennis Woodside, who had been serving as Google's President of the Americas Region. Google paid $12.9 billion for Motorola Mobility.
Payment software manufacturer Intuit Inc. wrapped up its acquisition of Demandforce, a manufacturer of online marketing and communications tools for small to midsize retailers. Intuit said the acquisition accelerates expansion of its software-as-a-service business in the small to midsize merchant market. Intuit paid approximately $423.5 million for Demandforce.
APPOINTMENTSAlbert Baranera was promoted from Vice President of Distribution for Latin America and Southern Europe to President and Managing Director of BlueStar EMEA. Baranera is responsible for growing BlueStar's European, Middle East and African business and overseeing all operations and development across BlueStar's EMEA network.
Terry Laudick, President and CEO of New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, was elected to a one-year term as Chairman of the Board of CO-OP Financial Services.
Another three of the 11-member board were elected to officer positions:
Doug Ferraro, President and CEO of Bellco CU, is the new Vice Chairman/Chairman Elect; Jeff Napper, President and Chief Financial Officer at LBS Financial CU, is the new Treasurer; and Allan McMorris, President and CEO at Oakland County CU, is the new Secretary.
Mobile technology solutions provider CorFire promoted Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Jon Squire to Chief Marketing Officer. He will be responsible for guiding the company's marketing program. CorFire also hired former Aikon Consulting LLC President Tom Zalewski to be Vice President of Sales.
Geoffrey Krieg is the new Vice President of Product Management at payment gateway and security solutions provider Merchant Link. Krieg worked the last four years as a European e-commerce consultant before rejoining Merchant Link, where he was hired as Director of Service Delivery in 2003. He is now charged with product development strategy.
Sheena Turner is the new Recruiting Assistant Manager at Certified Payment Processing LP. Turner formerly worked for Stream Energy and The Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. Turner will oversee CPP's recruiting department operations, including coaching and developing recruiters, enhancing the activity and productivity of the recruiting floor, and recruiting and hiring recruiters.
BOTTOM LINES
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
Prev Next
