NEWSThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau delayed implementation of a final rule pertaining to remittance transfers it had issued in 2012 in accordance with the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which required that portions of Regulation E under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act be amended. The rule had been slated to take effect Feb. 7, 2013.
The postponement is due to limited amendments to the new international remittance transfer rule, according to David Silberman, CFPB Associate Director of Research, Markets and Regulation.
The rule changes were proposed in a Dec. 31, 2012, CFPB release and are designed to preserve new consumer protections while helping remittance transfer providers comply with the rule.
The Council for Electronic Billing and Payment, operated by NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association, issued final guidelines for the use of quick response (QR) codes in consumer bill payment environments.
The Encoding for Consumer Bill Pay Guidelines document identifies standards for using QR codes in both biller direct and consolidator/aggregator billing and payment models.
Recommendations include the size of QR codes, what data the codes should contain, as well as how that data should be laid out in the code. The document describes a variety of ways QR codes can be employed, such as to view bills, make bill payments, and enroll consumers in e-bill and online banking services. To obtain a copy of the guidelines, go to https://cebp.nacha.org/Qrcodes.
MasterCard Worldwide reaffirmed its commitment to Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) migration efforts in the United States by making its EMV-based Maestro AID (application identifier) technology available to other U.S. debit networks.
MasterCard said the decision provides network operators with a way to quickly support debit EMV transactions. "We felt it was important to take this step for the greater good of the future of U.S. payments," said MasterCard executive Chris McWilton.
ANNOUNCEMENTSPayment software developer ACI Worldwide Inc. said its Money Transfer System helps financial institutions (FIs) achieve compliance with new money transfer rules set to go into effect sometime in 2013.
The automated service determines fees associated with money transfers, delivers disclosures to consumers at the time of transactions, and manages the 30-minute transaction hold requirement.
London-based fraud prevention specialist Alaric International opened a data analytics research center in Rome to further the development of high-performance numerical algorithms for its real-time, self-learning Fractals fraud detection system. Alaric said the investment reflects its long standing relationship with the data-mining group at the Sapienza Universit di Roma.
Payment gateway firm Bluefin Payment Systems introduced the Small Merchant Approval Program (SMAP) for U.S.-based micro-merchants that process $1,000 or less in monthly transactions.
Bluefin said features of the program include instant account approval, a $9 monthly minimum transaction processing fee and Bluefin's highest level of security.
Frisco, Texas-based Century Payments Inc. allied with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America for the ISO's charitable donation program, Every Swipe Counts.
Through the program, Century will donate $25 to the foundation on behalf of merchants that begin processing with the ISO and designate Make-A-Wish as their charity of choice. The foundation grants wishes to children suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based CO-OP Financial Services set new annual, monthly and daily transaction volume records in 2012. The processor for credit unions said it processed 2.5 billion transactions in 2012, representing a 13.6 percent increase over the 2.2 billion transactions processed in 2011.
The Electronic Transactions Association received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to launch two new venues at the 2013 ETA Annual Meeting & Expo to be held April 30 to May 2, 2013, in New Orleans.
The Payments Next Zone will showcase innovative payments startups. The E-Pay Innovation Award is a $10,000 prize given to the company that best exhibits a new electronic payment technology or product that targets financially underserved people in global markets.
Website hosting company Go Daddy Operating Co. LLC chose First Data Corp. to facilitate payment processing for Go Daddy Payment Solutions. The new solution is designed to serve the shopping cart and online payment acceptance needs of small businesses that use Go Daddy to host e-commerce sites.
Reston, Va.-based ISO FrontStream Payments Inc. enhanced its full-service payment and donation management platform, fasttransact, with four new features: a custom file mapping tool, tribute ("In Honor" or "In Memory") donations, integration for Intuit Inc.'s QuickBooks, and a payment/donation button generator.
POS system and merchant services provider Harbortouch donated its Harbortouch POS Elite system for the training of bartender hopefuls at the Bartender Boot Camp program operated by the bartender trade association, New York Bartenders Inc. "The ability to efficiently operate an advanced POS system is a critical skill for any successful bartender," said association representative Jordan Goldman.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based online verification and mobile payment platform provider Jumio Inc. issued Netswipe Mobile for mobile devices that use Google Inc's Android operating system.
Jumio said Netswipe turns smart phone cameras into real-time, secure card readers and allows businesses to accept mobile payments without consumers having to type in card numbers.
Newtek Business Services Inc., The Small Business Authority, is planning on opening a West Coast office in the first quarter of 2013. The company said the Orange County, Calif., office will promote Newtek products, including Newtek Advantage, a platform that allows merchants to access real-time payment information, as well as payroll data, web traffic statistics and insurance products.
Dublin, Ireland-based processor OmniPay Ltd. said it will create 30 new jobs at its headquarters in Clonskeagh, Dublin, over the next six months, raising its total workforce to almost 200 people.
The First Data-owned company reported it processes over 1 billion transactions for 31 merchant acquiring banks and payment processors worldwide.
E-commerce payment platform operator Paymetric Inc. said it experienced record revenue growth in 2012. Paymetric noted its 2012 software-as-a-service subscription fee revenue was up 66 percent over 2011. The company credited its year-over-year performance success to the increasing need among enterprise-level merchants to manage the complexities of payments.
PayPal Inc., the payment company owned by online auction site eBay Inc., grew 15 percent and acquired 123 million registered accounts in 2012, said eBay in its fourth quarter 2012 earnings report.
John Donahoe, eBay President and Chief Executive Officer, said PayPal handled nearly $14 billion in mobile payment volume in 2012 - more than three times the 2011 amount. He expected Paypal will process more than $20 billion in mobile transactions in 2013.
Specialized printing technology firm Source Technologies LLC launched the STw.1110, a new compact thermal barcode printer for desktop computer applications. The launch represents Source Technologies' first foray into the bar code receipt market.
At the National Retail Federation's 2013 Retail BIG Show held in New York, real-time business-to-customer media communications company Synqera launched Simplate, a POS terminal that tracks customer preferences, behavior, demographics and purchasing information in real time.
The St. Petersburg, Russia-based firm was founded in 2010 by Russian technology entrepreneur Kirill Gorynya.
Data security firm ThreatMetrix said it achieved exponential revenue growth in 2012. ThreatMetrix pointed to its 2012 acquisition of secure browsing technology firm TrustDefender as the reason for the record revenue, billing and transaction volume.
PARTNERSHIPSAmerican Healthcare Lending partnered with NTC Texas to offer NTC's revenue-cycle payment solutions as part of the health-care lender's financial suite.
"It is important to us to offer a multi-option patient finance product that not only benefits health care providers by increasing collections and decreasing administrative costs, but that also offers fair interest rates and policies to patients," said Linda Borek, NTC Texas President and CEO.
Ingenico partnered with Shift4 Corp. to deliver Shift4's merchant-centric payment gateway solution as part of the Ingenico portfolio of point-to-point encryption offerings.
"What Shift4 has done is develop a uniform platform that allows merchants to switch banks and/or processors without changing their infrastructure - a truly processor-neutral solution," stated Scott Tubbs, Vice President of Retail and Channel Sales, Ingenico North America.
Santa Monica, Calif.-based Kuapay Inc. integrated its mobile wallet with POS system partners Dinerware Inc., Micros and POSitouch. According to Kuapay, merchants that use Kuapay-integrated POS systems can accept smart-phone payments securely at the table, counter or checkout, as well as access customer analytics and unify inventory management and accounting functions.
Texas-based payment processor Merchants' Choice Payment Solutions welcomed Elite Merchant Solutions as an ISO partner. According to Elite, which operates four full-service offices in three states and several satellite offices across the United States, the partnership will allow the company to leverage MCPS' advanced systems and technology to facilitate its long-term growth objectives.
Mobile payment provider Spindle Inc. entered an agreement with Check 21 services firm CheckAlt Payment Solutions Inc. that will enable Spindle mobile commerce customers to accept and deposit check payments via mobile phones through CheckAlt's check acceptance platform. Spindle said it plans to offer a web-based check acceptance solution for online merchants as well.
Rome-based TAS Group, an EMV transaction acquiring, authorization and data preparation applications developer, signed an agreement with Toronto-based EMV and contactless consultancy and solutions provider B2 Payment Solutions to market TAS' product suite to U.S. businesses undertaking the migration to EMV.
ACQUISITIONSBilltrust, a provider of outsourced billing services, merged with end-to-end billing solutions firm Best Practice Systems Inc. to expand coverage to over two dozen industries across North America. "Our customer bases are diverse, spanning different market segments and billing needs," said Flint Lane, Billtrust CEO and President.
Minneapolis-based global cloud commerce firm Digital River Inc. completed the all-cash acquisition of Vancouver, British Columbia-based electronic payment processing, risk management and authentication firm LML Payment Systems Inc.
Digital River reported the acquisition will join its card-not-present payment businesses and position the company to further capitalize on its global initiatives.
APPOINTMENTSPayment processor Sterling Payment Technologies appointed Jeffrey Akeson Executive Director of Third Party/ISO Sales. Akeson was Vice President of Third Party Sales with PowerPay LLC before joining Sterling, where he is responsible for building the company's ISO business and promoting its loyalty solutions.
Payment processing services provider Signature Card Services made Mohammed Alvi its Assistant Vice President and General Counsel. Alvi is a member of the California State Bar Association. The ISO also named Alan Gibbon Operations Manager and Senior Underwriter. Gibbon previously worked as an underwriting team leader for PowerPay.
Bryan Daughtry is the new Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at payment solutions provider ClearGate. Daughtry was formerly Vice President of Indirect Sales at Global Payments Inc. In his new job he is responsible for corporate sales and marketing strategies at ClearGate.
Payment processing technology provider SecureNet Payment Systems hired Christian Fadel as Chief Financial Officer. He worked as a CFO for several electronic payments company, including ClearGage Inc. and Century Payments. Fadel is responsible for overseeing accounting, human resources, PCI compliance and corporate finance.
Joan Herbig, CEO of PCI security and compliance provider ControlScan, was elected to the ETA's 2013 board of directors. Additionally, Michigan attorney Holli Targan, a partner at Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, was elected to the ETA's Executive Committee. Targan is an ETA past President and a 10-year member of the board of directors.
Kevin Hodges was hired as the new CFO at EVO Payments International LLC. Hodges previously served in senior leadership positions at Global Payments. He is responsible for expanding EVO Payments' financial operations globally.
First Data reported its CEO, Jon Judge, was retiring for unspecified health reasons and named its President of North American operations, Ed Labry, to the position of interim CEO. Labry will hold the position while First Data's board of directors selects the new company leader. Labry has spent most of his nearly 30 years in the payments industry with First Data.
Newtek hired Randy Sagar as Executive Vice President of Business Development. Sagar's previous experience includes a stint as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kentucky-based National Processing Co.
Newtek also hired Mike Valerio to develop its independent sales agent channel and William Berry to manage its ISO channel.
Sundeep (Sunny) Dronawat was hired as Newtek's Executive Vice President and Advisor to the Chairman. He was formerly the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of E-commerce at Western & Southern Financial Group's Integrity Life.
Joe Purzycki was hired as President of Boston-based payment card partnership development and advisory firm Alliance Companies. Prior to joining the firm, Purzycki was the Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer at Barclaycard US.
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