ANNOUNCEMENTSApple Inc.'s June 2, 2014, release of the software development kit (SDK) for its latest mobile operating system, iOS 8, includes application protocol interfaces (APIs) for its Touch ID user authentication technology. Touch ID allows authentication to take place via fingerprint matching, while keeping fingerprint data stored in the secure element embedded in mobile devices.
On the same day Apple released its iOS 8 SDK, mobile POS provider CardFlight Inc. said it will upgrade its SwipeSimple application to support the Touch ID APIs. With the Touch ID upgrade to SwipeSimple, merchants will be able to log in to mobile payment applications via scanning fingerprints using Touch ID, rather than entering the traditional email address and password, CardFlight stated.
Mobile ticketing provider Bytemark Inc. released a new app that enables South Shore Line riders to purchase and store train tickets on their mobile devices. The Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District operates the South Shore Line, an interurban commuter rail that connects South Bend, Indiana, to Chicago.
Processor Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) said it will use MasterCard Worldwide's Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) debit solution on the FIS-operated NYCE Payments Network. "This agreement not only adds to FIS' market-leading EMV card production and EFT [electronic funds transfer] processing capabilities, it also advances the adoption of EMV solutions in the U.S.," said Bob Woodbury, Senior Vice President and General Manager, FIS Payments Networks.
Vancouver, British Columbia-based processor hyperWallet won the Partnership Award at the Direct Selling Association Ethos Awards Gala held on June 2, 2014, in Orlando, Fla. HyperWallet, a member of the DSA, was recognized for its innovative technology. "As the leader in cross-border corporate payment solutions, it's our job to enable the success of our clients and their distributors," said Peter Burridge, Chief Commercial Officer at hyperWallet.
To reflect its evolution from a POS terminal supplier to a holistic payment services provider, Ingenico SA changed its corporate brand name to Ingenico Group and added a new tagline: "global leader in seamless payment." Ingenico Chief Executive Officer Philippe Lazare said, "With this new positioning, Ingenico Group intends to streamline and simplify its brand, reinforce its consistency across all geographies, as well as to guide its stakeholders in a fast evolving ecosystem."
In other company news, Ingenico's mPOS division, ROAM, provided a mobile solution for the fundraising efforts of the nonprofit Direct Selling Education Foundation at the DSA 2014 Annual Meeting, which took place June 1 to 3, 2014, in Orlando. ROAM said its participation in the event is the latest example of the company's growth within the nonprofit fundraising segment.
Prepaid mobile remote deposit capture (mRDC) firm Ingo Money Inc. reported that over 100,000 consumers have enrolled in its consumer-direct, mobile account funding network. Ingo Money launched its mRDC platform in January 2012 to its Enterprise Solutions clients and made it commercially available in October 2013.
Isis, the mobile wallet venture of telecommunication firms AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, said May 14, 2014, that over the previous 30 days, it had averaged 20,000 Isis Wallet activations per day. The wallet is available on 68 smartphone models and comes preloaded on 14 smart devices, Isis noted.
The Mobile Payments Conference, which will host its fall 2014 event in Chicago from Oct. 6 to 8, put the call out for payments industry experts who wish to share their knowledge at the upcoming event. The MPC is looking for speakers to discuss the future of mobile in retail, SoLoMo (Social, Local, and Mobile Marketing), and mobile payments, as well as relate how these developments will affect the retail and mobile landscapes. If interested, contact Anne Miller at 303-530-4562 (anne@mpassociates.com).
U.K.-based digital wallet provider Payza upgraded its online user interface to allow for a one-step signup process. Ali Nizameddine, Executive Vice President of Product and Technology at Payza, said the new signup procedure replaces a three-page process and reduces the time it takes for new users to create accounts.
Square Inc. launched Square Invoices for its tablet-based register POS system. Square said the invoicing service, which operates in the cloud, eliminates the need for merchants to track down customers and take payments over the phone.
The Women's Network in Electronic Transactions congratulated W.net founders Diane (Vogt) Faro, Linda Perry and Holli Targan for recent industry recognition. Faro was appointed to JetPay Corp.'s board of directors, while Perry and Targan were named among the most influential women in payments by PaymentsSource.com and ISO and Agent magazine. "I congratulate each of them for continuing to be role models for women in the payments industry," said Lisa Shipley, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, PSD, Transaction Network Services, and 2014 W.net President.
Brandee Wolfe celebrated her 20th anniversary at The Green Sheet Inc. on June 8, 2014. As Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wolfe is a valued long-term employee. "It is so gratifying to be able to celebrate this milestone," stated Kate Gillespie, the company's General Manager and Chief Operating Officer. The Green Sheet is very proud that many of our employees remain with us for many years, allowing us to better serve the payments industry."
The Green Sheet has been serving the payments industry since 1983. "Our team has over 100 years of combined experience in this industry," Gillespie said. "The longevity of our employees demonstrates our commitment to the education and success of ISOs and merchant level salespeople."
Dublin, Ireland-based mobile engagement specialist Xtremepush Ltd. teamed with the Leinster Rugby club, also based in Dublin, to deploy Apple's iBeacon technology in RDS Stadium Dublin. During rugby matches at the stadium, smartphone users received push notifications via the Leinster Rugby App, triggered by specially placed iBeacons in the stadium. The push notifications directed rugby fans to collect special prizes from Leinster's Blue Crew members at the stadium. Apple's iBeacon utilizes Bluetooth Low Energy wireless communication technology.
RESEARCHAn Electronic Transactions Association's Processor Council paper, Better Security Through Mobile – 'The One-Two Punch' – Industry Best Practices, outlines mobile authentication best practices and its potential security advantages over traditional card payments. "Companies will each use their own preferred technology, and this research will help the industry understand the options available to help drive consumer and merchant adoption," said ETA CEO Jason Oxman.
The Strawhecker Group published a report, TSG's Gateway Analysis, which offers a side-by-side comparative analysis of leading U.S. gateway providers. Evaluations were based on a number of criteria related to attributes, functionality and other key facets that are critical to decision makers reviewing the market from a gateway provider, partner or user perspective.
E-commerce and marketing firm EPiServer commissioned Forrester Research Inc. to research business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce productivity. In the final report, B2B Ecommerce Produces Results – Get on Board now, researchers found that for 89 percent of those surveyed, the average increase in company revenue as a result of integrating B2B e-commerce was 55 percent; of that percentage 31 percent was identified as incremental revenue.
Brickstream Corp. surveyed global retail executives about primary motivators for implementing in-store analytics for its latest report, Retail Analytics: What's In-Store. The top three priorities for in-store analytics cited by executives were people counting, marketing and multichannel insights. "The results of this survey tell us that while the market for in-store analytics is still in its early days, it is primed for significant growth," said Steve Jeffrey, CEO of Brickstream.
PARTNERSHIPS AME Commerce Inc. entered a distribution partnership agreement with Sysnet Global Solutions. The focus will be on marketing AME's Merchant Instasite as a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard-compliant web and mobile white-label program with the integration of Sysnet's merchant compliance management solution, Sysnet.air, the companies stated.
Panini aligned with four Latin American companies to support its growing check capture business in the region. The new partners include TDS Informática, a Brazlian payment technology provider; Urmet Daruma, which will become a Master Distributor and Authorized Service Provider for Panini; Wausau Financial Systems, which chose Panini as an exclusive reseller for its 24/7 Suite; and telecom Telefónica, which has launched a program using Panini technology.
Merchant services provider Ziroca teamed with Payza to integrate its gateway for U.S.-based, e-commerce clients of Ziroca. "When Payza Gateway launched in February, we started by offering services to a select group of industries in the U.S. market," said Ali Nizameddine, Payza Executive Vice President, Product and Technology. Nizameddine noted that through partnerships the company is quickly expanding into new regions and vertical markets.
PrestaShop Inc., an open source e-commerce software provider, expanded its relationship with payment provider Authorize.Net to enable PrestaSop merchants with an Authorize.Net account to process payments in multiple currencies, the companies said. "With multiple currency payment processing, we are breaking down the barriers of internationalization," said Christopher Machin, Partner Manager at PrestaShop.
Spindle Inc. signed a strategic agreement with Moolah LLC whereby the ISO will integrate Spindle's merchant aggregation and payment processing infrastructure with its e-commerce and mobile offerings. Moolah noted that, as a result of this agreement, it now offers instant merchant onboarding to enhance approval rates, and newly signed merchants can begin processing payments in as little as 10 minutes.
VeriFone Inc. collaborated with iPayment Inc. in launching the iPayment POS tablet system for iPayment's more than 150,000 small business customers. According to the companies, the newly bundled iOS app-based package includes software, iPad, cash drawer, bar code scanner, stand, printer, and either a VeriFone PAYware Mobile e100 secure audio reader or VX 805 PIN Pad.
Web development platform provider Wix.com aligned with global payment processor WorldPay Inc. to deliver a global payment portfolio that will cater to Wix's international base of 48 million registered users, as well as support its acquiring, payment gateway and treasury needs, Wix said.
ACQUISITIONS
Charge Payment LLC completed the acquisition of three companies: Advanced Payment Solutions based in Nashville, Tenn.; Data Business Systems, headquartered in Denver; and Payment Systems, based in Los Angeles. "The companies enhance our presence in the education vertical and establish a foothold in utilities," said Charge Payment founder and CEO Greg Daily.
Cubed Inc., developer of the Get Cubed three-dimensional mobile display app platform, entered into a share exchange agreement with WikiTechnologies Inc., creator of the WikiPay and WikiLoan payment products. Under the agreement WikiPay's payment and money transfer platform will become Cubed's native merchant service for the company's mobile commerce clients.
London-based Kalixa Group stated it acquired Hertfordshire-U.K.-based PXP Solutions Ltd., a privately held, 27-year-old payment processor, extending its global reach as a payment services provider to more than 100 countries. "With the acquisition of PXP, we've created a world-class payments company with an unrivalled portfolio across the entire payments value chain," said Ed Chandler, CEO of Kalixa.
Priority Payment Systems and Cynergy Data LLC entered an agreement to merge their respective merchant acquiring platforms. Once merged, the two companies will operate under the newly formed Priority Holdings LLC and share a merchant portfolio of approximately 125,000 merchants with over $20 billion in annual processing volume. John V. Priore will continue as President and CEO of Priority. Former Cynergy CEO, Afshin Yazdian, will act as Executive Director.
APPOINTMENTSAce Merchant Processing hired Todd Fuller as its Executive Vice President of Business Development. In a career that has encompassed banking and payments, Fuller most recently served as Executive Vice President of Business Development at JetPay. He is responsible for development of new sales opportunities and support for existing distribution channels. "Todd's experience in building and operating a direct-indirect distribution channel aligns perfectly with our vision to broaden our target market at Ace," said Ace CEO Manan Mehta.
Walter Taylor, who has more than 30 years' technology and operations experience in payments and financial services, was named TSYS Group Executive, Chief Procurement Officer. Before joining TSYS, Taylor was Executive Vice President, Strategy, of Genesis10. He previously served as COO of ACH payment processor Pariter Solutions LLC.
"Walter brings a tremendous depth of procurement, vendor and supplier management knowledge in the financial services industry to his new position at TSYS," said M. Troy Woods, President and Chief Operating Officer at TSYS.
Dickson Chu is now Ingo Money's Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Chief Product Officer. He will lead Ingo's strategic corporate development efforts and oversee the evolution and development of the company's product road map and user experience. Most recently, Chu served as Senior Vice President, Merchant Solutions at LivingSocial.
Chu will work from a new Ingo Money office opening in the San Francisco Bay Area within the next few months.
Former Visa Inc. payments executive Elizabeth Buse was appointed co-Chief Executive of Monitise Group. Buse also joined the company's board of directors. She will work alongside Monitise founder Alastair Lukies in his capacity as CEO.
"Elizabeth, who has been familiar with Monitise over a number of years, is a universally respected and talented executive with incredible expertise in international payments," Lukies said. Buse will head the company's day-to-day operations, overseeing technology, product, sales and marketing. 
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