ANNOUNCEMENTSCayan is the new name Merchant Warehouse recently unveiled and adopted across all of its channels. The Cayan corporate identity change follows the release of the company's proprietary customer engagement platform, Cayan Genius. Company leaders expressed belief the new name reflects the organization's bold vision and commitment to continued innovation in the future.
Smartphone users on the Android OS platform – reported by CNet to host the majority of smartphone devices – will now be able to access and use CSI's globalVCard mobile payment app to issue secure virtual credit card payments and control both virtual and plastic corporate cards. The mobile app is free for globalVCard customers and may be accessed at the iTunes or Google Play app stores.
Dynamics Inc. introduced a security-enhanced interactive payment card to global MasterCard Worldwide customers. The card includes a thin computer circuit board embedded in the plastic, and a customizable card-face featuring buttons, displays and LEDs. The cards are equipped with on and off capabilities, secret code re-activation, security codes for every in-store purchase, and a transaction digital display code. They are compatible with existing POS terminals, as well as Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) technology, contactless cards and mobile applications.
GovLoop, an online knowledge network for government users, recently named Access Idaho's mobile application, OntheGo, one of 30 Innovations That Mattered in 2014. OntheGo is a free app available at the Google Play Store, offered exclusively to government entities in Idaho for capturing credit and debit card payments with Android smart phones or tablets. OntheGo was listed on the Citizen Engagement Mavericks list in GovLoop's year-end issue.
Heartland Payment Systems Inc. now offers a comprehensive warranty protecting Heartland Secure merchants from payment card breach losses. The warranty is available at no charge in the first year and can be extended for $8.33 per month for every Heartland Secure-certified, card-entry device. Should encryption on a covered Heartland Secure machine fail, Heartland promises to reimburse merchants for compliance fines, fees and/or assessments.
Moneris Solutions Corp. was recognized as a 2015 Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces in North America organization, marking the company's second receipt of this annual award. The recognition acknowledges employers who demonstrate outstanding leadership and innovation in workplace engagement. It is judged by a panel of 14 prominent thought-leaders in workforce engagement and formally distributed at the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Awards gala in Las Vegas every March.
In collaboration with Intel Corp., NCR Corp. introduced NCR DataGuard, a solution for protecting sensitive consumer data such as driver's license and Social Security numbers in addition to payment data. The product, when coupled with Intel's new Data Protection Technology separates sensitive data from the operating system and the CPU both logically and physically to protect it from the moment a transaction is initiated through the transfer of encrypted data to a retailer or bank server network.
NICE Systems launched its Real-Time Fraud Prevention solution, which is designed to enable contact centers to detect and prevent fraud in real time using voice biometrics combined with speech and desktop analytics. NICE said the solution "instantly identifies 90 percent of fraudulent callers in the first few seconds of a call, enabling organizations to quickly investigate unauthorized transactions before they are completed."
President Obama's Jan. 20, 2015, State of the Union address covered the next steps of his administration's approach to enhancing consumer security, tackling identity theft, and improving privacy online and in classroom settings. Building on previous steps taken to protect the nation from cyber threats, Obama's proposals include the Personal Data Notification & Protection Act, the Student Digital Privacy Act, and new measures and tools designed to prevent and identify private security attacks.
The transportation agency responsible for municipal transportation services within the city of San Francisco agreed to pilot a new smartphone application for purchasing and using transit fares across the Municipal Railway (Muni) system. The new app, developed by GlobalSherpa, provides Muni riders with a remote purchase alternative to fare vending machines or exact change at boarding. The pilot is expected to begin in the summer of 2015.
Security provider, Unified Patents, has developed a new electronic payments "no-fly" zone technology to restrain non-practicing entities (NPE) with dubious patents from extracting fees from banks, credit card companies, financial institutions and other payment providers. According to Kevin Jakel, CEO and founder of Unified Patents, "The establishment of the electronic payments zone makes NPEs take a careful look before purchasing or asserting invalid patents."
RESEARCHThe Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency will consider proposals outlined in the consultative paper prepared by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). This paper, entitled Revisions to the Standardized Approach for credit risk, concentrates on the development of a stronger and more transparent risk-based capital framework for large institutions.
According to a survey released by Boston Retail Partners, in 2015, retailers should focus on improving payment security and protecting the confidentiality of sensitive information. For the first time in 16 years, more than 63 percent of retail respondents in the BRP 2015 POS/Customer Engagement Benchmarking Survey indicated payment security is a top three priority.
According to Deloitte's 2015 Canadian Technology, Media & Telecommunications Predictions, 2015 should mark the tipping point for in-store, near field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphone payments. Deloitte predicts five percent of the 600 million transactions made by NFC-equipped smartphones worldwide will be in-store payments, and buyers will make payments with a smartphone at least once per month.
Mercator Advisory Group's latest research note, Merchant Acquiring in 2014: Integration, Integration, Integration, discusses the response acquirers and ISOs should have to the integrated payments revolution in the United States. The research note profiles the emergence of independent software vendors as a delivery channel for merchant services and what it means for the industry's vertical strategies. It also provides recommendations for ISOs, acquiring banks and processors in response to the new integrated payments environment.
Proficio, a Managed Security Service Provider, released key results from its survey on Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) 3.0 readiness reporting less than half of the companies surveyed felt they met today's PCI 3.0 requirements. Survey respondents comprised security and compliance professionals from retail, financial services, healthcare, education, government and other sectors.
A white paper released by Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) titled T&E Card Programs: A Revealing, 360-Degree Look at Business Travelers' and Travel Managers' Needs explores the current state of business travel spending, along with potential improvements and added value to travel and entertainment (T&E) programs. Findings point to three key improvement areas and also indicate it is now time for commercial card issuers to focus on T&E programs to capture revenue growth.
PARTNERSHIPSApriva forged a partnership with POS on Cloud, enabling ISOs to provide restaurateurs and retailers with combined hardware, software and gateway solutions. In addition, the combined packages are easy to install and support any type of payment that may be tied to back-end items such as inventory management, reporting, accounting and email marketing, the companies stated.
Behalf, Comdata and MasterCard introduced a collaborative initiative to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with a more flexible and convenient way to pay. The initiative was created to improve cash flow for SMBs by providing alternative payment terms for payments to Behalf approved merchants that accept MasterCard. Behalf pays the SMB's vendor invoice up to $10,000 per purchase, offering favorable rates and terms, thereby lowering vendor fraud risk, reducing credit loss and enhancing cash flow.
eBay Enterprise, an eBay Inc. company, launched a global program providing retail solution and business consulting firms, system integrators, and digital agencies that offer omnichannel marketing and commerce innovations, with an opportunity to use eBay Enterprise to serve upmarket and enterprise accounts. Partners can now advise on, design and integrate eBay Enterprise powered omnichannel commerce solutions including Magento, Retail Order Management, Store and Warehouse Fulfillment, and Customer Care.
Elavon, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, joined the Verizon Partner Program, which tailors regional and national opportunities for systems integrators, value added resellers, agents and solutions providers to accelerate delivery and adoption of Verizon solutions for meeting SMB requirements. The alliance fosters Elavon's ability to introduce a turnkey mobile POS system for SMBs in the United States that delivers security and ease of use, Elavon reported.
First Data Corp. and UL are collaborating to help U.S. merchants expedite acceptance of EMV-enabled credit and debit cards. In response to the October 2015 EMV deadline, the pairing is tasked with providing a secure POS solution to ward against large-scale theft of consumer payment data from integrated POS systems used by large to midsize merchants. Merchants are also enabled with one-stop EMV migration and certification for all major payment networks.
Shift4 is working with device manufacturers Ingenico and Verifone Systems Inc. to provide EMV-capable devices enhanced with added security measures to prevent data breaches. The trio has combined solutions to bolster security, simplify PCI compliance, and help ensure retailers are ready for EMV well in advance of the October deadline. Shift4 CEO, Dave Oder, said, "It is vital for merchants to adopt real card data security measures in addition to the highly publicized stopgap that is EMV."
Stripe selected identity intelligence specialist, GBGroup PLC, to assist in providing Global Risk Management solutions and identity verification in the UK, enabling end-to-end compliance and risk protection. Glenn Porter, General Manager EIDV Global at GBGroup, stated, "We're helping Stripe to handle diverse personal information formats and manage risk more effectively. For Stripe's users, this means enhanced protection against fraud so they can focus on growing their businesses online."
Verifone and Samsung established a global partnership to deliver advanced, Android-based mobile POS (mPOS) solutions to multilane and enterprise retailers. The product offering, expected to launch later this year, bundles a Samsung Galaxy Tab Active tablet and an mPOS system featuring enhanced security, ease of use, and acceptance of all payment forms including EMV, NFC, beacon, and traditional magnetic stripe, using Verifone's Commerce Enablement platform, Verifone said.
In other company news, Verifone's Secure Commerce Architecture (SCA) solution will be used by Vantiv to securely connect its Verifone line of commerce-enabled MX 900 payment terminals with the Vantiv Inc. processing platform. Vantiv's support of SCA helps ensure merchants using the combined solution operate with enhanced payment data security to avoid large-scale theft of consumer payment data, under a reduced EMV certification scope.
ACQUISITIONSDemandware Inc. acquired Tomax, an enterprise cloud software company that provides an integrated solution for retail POS and store operations. The combination of Tomax's enterprise-class POS with Demandware's robust, scalable cloud platform is expected to create a unified commerce platform to empower retailers to deliver seamless experiences across all consumer touch points.
First Merchants Corp. and C Financial Corp. executed a definitive merger agreement whereby C Financial will merge into First Merchants, and C Financial's wholly owned bank subsidiary, Cooper State Bank, will merge into First Merchants Bank N.A. Completion is expected in the second quarter of 2015, and the merger agreement will provide shareholders of C Financial with $14.5 million in cash, or approximately 1.8 times the tangible book value.
Social Voucher, a mobile commerce platform company, acquired Wisconsin-based technology company, ARrival Labs. According to the companies, ARrival Labs software products enhance the Social Voucher product portfolio with a proprietary tool set. "ARrival Labs brings an array of proprietary tools for cross platform development, which include iOS, Android, Google Glass, augmented reality, and computer vision technologies which will be essential for realizing our long range goals," said ARrival Labs co-founder, Eric Weiss.
UniRush LLC acquired the rapid! PayCard subsidiary from WEX Inc. Chris Ruppel, an original founder of rapid! PayCard, will run the UniRush vertical as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Corporate Payments. "Our plan is to aggressively scale the paycard business, leveraging the infrastructure and expertise at UniRush with one of the best paycard companies in the industry," Ruppel said.
APPOINTMENTSThomas Boyer, an executive with more than 15 years of acquiring industry business development experience, was named President of TSYS Merchant Solutions, TSYS' direct acquiring business unit. Boyer will report to Mark Pyke, President of TSYS' Merchant Services segment, and will manage all aspects of direct-to-merchant sales, operations and customer support for the company's small business and national accounts portfolio.
Daniel P. Grotto joined the 1to1 Card executive team as a member of its advisory board and as its Chief Financial Officer. In addition to his knowledge of the prepaid industry, Grotto brings more than 25 years of investment and retail banking experience that includes bank acquisitions, bank divestitures, venture capital investments, and senior management positions at several Midwest financial institutions.
Harry Hargens was named by Cayan as its new Vice President of Business Development. Hargens is known within the payments industry for his contributions to the evolution of payment gateways, mobile payments and payment security, Cayan said. He comes to Cayan with more than 30 years of sales, marketing and product development leadership experience. He most recently served as Verifone's Director of Channel Programs and Business Development.
Mac Madkins was appointed to the position of Vice President of Information Technology at ABC Financial, a software and payment processing provider in the health and fitness industry. Prior to joining ABC, Madkins held a variety of positions in information assurance at Entergy, PNM Resources, Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield and Arkansas Children's Hospital. He also spent three years as a qualified Cyber Security Consultant at Arkansas Nuclear One.
Women's Network in Electronic Transactions (W.net), the organization dedicated to women in payments, named its new board of directors and President for 2015. The new president is Linda Rossetti, founder and President of Bluestone Payments LLC. "I will work tirelessly to connect and empower women in the payments industry," Rosesetti said. "I look forward to celebrating W.net's ten years of accomplishments this year."
W.net's 2015 directors include Jane Elliott, Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff at Global Payments; Diane Vogt-Faro, President of National Benefits Program; Carol Grunberg, Senior Manager Payments and Head of Strategic Partner Management for Google Inc.; Joan Herbig, Chief Executive Officer at ControlScan; Peggy Bekavac Olson, Strategic Marketing founder and Principal; Christine Larsen, Chief Operations Officer for First Data; Linda Perry, Consultant at Linda S. Perry Consulting; Holli Targan, Attorney and Partner at Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss P.C; Kelly Tufts, Vice President, Portfolio Marketing for Discover; and Mary Uslander, First Data Senior Vice President, Product Segment Leader.
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