ANNOUNCEMENTSTo assist industry marketing professionals, the ATM Industry Association established an international ATM Marketing Committee. Rebecca Hellmann, who leads marketing strategy for mid-level and community financial institutions for Cardtronics is the new committee's chairman. She said the ATMIA marketing group "will work to provide information via conference calls, webinars and on-site meetings to help inform industry marketing professionals about the latest marketing tips, tricks and trends as well as ATM news, new technology and other developments."
Avalara Inc. issued more than $42 million in series D-1 stock to new investor Technology Crossover Ventures. After the repurchase of certain existing shares, the company will retain over $6 million in net growth capital as a result of the funding round. Avalara has raised over $200 million in capital since 2004 to help the company deliver on its mission to help businesses comply with sales tax and other transaction tax requirements.
Bluebird Inc. entered the U.S. retail market with the introduction of its enterprise hand-held devices, mobile payment terminals and tablets. Deeming the United States the largest market for industrial devices, the legacy provider of POS terminals to the Korean department store sector is now focusing sales efforts on the United States, offering barcode and radio frequency identification reader devices, printer-equipped payment terminals and industrial tablets.
ControlScan enhanced and expanded its web security services for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The company's latest set of solutions is designed to address SMB website and application security while simplifying compliance efforts. The new security services are delivered in partnership with Incapsula Inc., and include an enterprise-grade, Payment Card Industry (PCI)-certified web application firewall, robust distributed denial-of-service protection and global content distribution network.
InComm was honored at the 2015 Paybefore Awards in five categories, earning awards of excellence for six programs deemed to have had significant impact in the worldwide prepaid, mobile and emerging payments spheres. InComm's programs were selected by a panel of industry experts who served as judges for entries from around the world.
In addition, Ingo Money Inc. was named Breakout Company of the Year in the 2015 Paybefore Awards. The award recognized Ingo Money's advancement in the global prepaid, mobile and emerging payments arenas. Drew Edwards, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ingo Money, stated, "Like so many in this industry, we are motivated every day by the prospect of improving the financial lives of millions of consumers. The entire Ingo Money organization is very excited to bring further innovation to market in 2015."
WingCash was honored in the 2015 Paybefore Awards Top Digital Dollars category for its contributions to the advancement of electronic payments. At the time of this publication, the developer of the cloud-based wallet system for digitized national currencies, brand cash and payment cards was also under consideration for the Paybefore Best-in-Category distinction, set to be revealed during the Feb. 24, 2015, Paybefore Awards ceremony.
Mercury Payment Systems, received customer service awards from two national customer service associations. The Customer Service Institute of America recognized Mercury as a 2014 International Service Excellence Award winner, and the National Customer Service Association chose Mercury to receive its 2014 Service Team of the Year award.
NCR Corp. entered into an agreement to build a new world headquarters campus in midtown Atlanta, providing a state-of-the-art presence near Atlanta's innovation centers and leading academic institutions. NCR will also maintain a significant presence at a second campus in the city's northern suburbs; both locations are expected to assist in the company's efforts to consolidate a number of facilities and provide improved access to customers.
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is proposing legislation to overhaul the state's data security laws and promote new and unprecedented safeguards for the personal data of consumers. "With some of the largest-ever data breaches occurring in just the last year, it's long past time we updated our data security laws and expanded protections for consumers," Schneiderman stated.
peerTransfer recently received $22 million in new funding as it closed its latest funding round. The additional capital will be used to accelerate international growth, expand coverage and penetration at U.S. colleges and universities, and advance the company's cross-border payment platform.
The Third Party Payment Processors Association commissioned KirkpatrickPrice to jointly create a new compliance management system (CMS) certification program. The TPPPA CMS will help third-party payment processors and financial institutions comply with regulatory guidance and establish best practices for the industry by addressing oversight of relevant regulatory agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Reserve Board, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Website Magazine named TouchCommerce a Digital Power Player in its Live Chat Software award category. The publication's list acknowledges top technology solution providers that have impacted the web in significant and notable ways over the past year. Peter Prestipino, the magazine's editor in chief, stated, "TouchCommerce, with its innovative online engagement solutions, and specifically its TouchChat product, moved its clients forward in 2014 in useful and innovative ways."
Wirecard AG introduced a wearable payment armband that uses host card emulation technology. The intelligent armband will allow users to make contactless payments on near field communication (NFC)-enabled payment terminals and uses a corresponding smartphone app to display transaction data. The device is designed to facilitate a multitude of payment scenarios, including loyalty and admission-controlled transactions.
RESEARCHACI Worldwide surveyed more than 200 retail professionals at the National Retail Federation's Annual Convention and Expo and found that over 50 percent of respondents indicated they are not ready for the October 2015 EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) deadline. More than half of this group also indicated recent data breaches have impacted their investment decisions about payment security initiatives, with the majority of respondents anticipating future investments in omnichannel, mobile payments and online/ecommerce.
Accenture Strategy's Trends 2015 report and its Global Consumer Pulse Research: Switching Economy findings encourage companies to make interactions with consumers more personal. Both reports provide highlights on digital and digitally enabled customer experiences and suggest consumers are ready for something new. Kevin Quiring, Managing Director of Accenture stated that some companies are "opening the door to 'non-traditional' competitors who are often more willing to 'do things differently.'"
Research and Markets added the Global Mobile Payments Regulations: Hoping for Technology Standardization and Global M-Commerce Market 2015-2019 reports to its offerings. The former report reviews current and proposed global mobile payment regulations, describes two general approaches to regulation and presents examples from different countries. The latter report forecasts the global mobile commerce market to grow at a combined annual growth rate of 32.23 percent due to increased awareness and increased mobile advertising.
ReportsnReports.com issued the Mobile Payments: Emerging Trends and Future Outlook report examining the extent of mobile phone use for payment transactions. The research also analyzed the anticipated percentage of changes in mobile phone payments through mid-2015, as well as security features, market drivers, concerns, product categories, consumer satisfaction and more.
PARTNERSHIPSACI Worldwide established a strategic partnership with LD Systems, an international provider of ATMs, financial equipment and technology services. The partnership is expected to enable the clients of LD Systems to offer quick, easy and safe bill pay options at kiosks across the United States. The kiosks may be used for a number of functions, including banking, fine or fee payments, taxes, tolls, renewals and more.
Allpoint Network and Star Network agreed to jointly continue the Starsf surcharge-free program to member financial institutions and their cardholders through unlimited access to the Allpoint ATM network in the United States. The alliance was established in 2007 and expanded nationwide surcharge-free ATM access to 32,000 US locations for Starsf cardholders. Since then, the joint footprint has grown to more than 50,000 ATMs, the companies reported.
CardFlight Inc. partnered with Integrity Payment Systems to offer CardFlight's mobile POS (mPOS) solutions to Integrity's merchants and partners. As part of the partnership, Integrity will leverage CardFlight's SwipeSimple product as its preferred mPOS solution for merchants seeking to accept mobile payments from smartphones and tablets.
Digital River Inc. will be increasing its offerings in India through a strategic partnership with local e-commerce provider Net Distribution Services Pvt. Ltd. The partnership, which combines Digital River's Global Commerce platform with NDS reseller services and local e-commerce expertise, is expected to enable global merchants to offer preferred payment methods and local customer support services for branded, online stores that sell products in India.
Korea Exchange Bank of Canada and Everlink Payment Services Inc. combined innovations to develop Canada's first reloadable EMV mobile prepaid Interac debit card program. The 1Q INSTA mobile app allows eligible Canadian consumers to apply for free 1Q INSTA accounts using their smartphones and receive 1Q INSTA Prepaid Interac Debit cards delivered to them in the mail. The cards are tailored for secure chip and PIN transactions on authorized terminals.
MasterCard Worldwide struck a global partnership with Masabi Ltd. to give transit consumers a fast, convenient mobile ticketing experience. The alliance combines MasterPass, MasterCard's secure digital payment service, with Masabi's JustRide mobile ticketing platform to offer transit riders a simple, touch-friendly mobile solution to pay their fares. The program is scheduled to debut in Athens, Greece.
Semafone signed a contract with BT Communications LLC, a provider of communications services and solutions. The initial seven-year agreement will integrate the BT and Semafone technologies into joint contact centers and voice platforms for providing a secure means of accepting card payments by telephone. The solution will be hosted by BT and is designed to significantly reduce the PCI requirements at each customer's location.
Synchrony Financial made a strategic investment in mobile app developer GPShopper. The investment enables Synchrony to complement its proprietary mobile offerings (which include account acquisition, management and reward redemption) with an expanded suite of solutions for retailers. According to the companies, the joint solution integrates credit more easily into the shopping experience with personalized offers, mobile payment capabilities, loyalty programs and other features.
TouchSuite established an exclusive partnership with The Construction Underground in an effort to provide association members access to a cost-effective payment processing option, capital for business growth and ongoing educational support on payment-related technologies and policies. TCU and TouchSuite will introduce the new partnership to TCU members through association networking channels.
Total System Services Inc. and Ingenico Group signed an agreement to offer merchants a seamless, secure solution for accepting all payment types, including mag stripe, EMV, NFC and Apple Pay. TSYS is the first processor to offer Class A certification of Ingenico Group's new PCI 3.0-certified smart products to provide merchants with front-line support for a complete end-to-end payment solution, TSYS noted.
Tuxedo Money Solutions and i2c Inc. agreed to bundle Tuxedo's eccount payment platform with i2c's global processing platform. Together, they will target emerging areas of the financial services sector. It is the intention of the joint initiative to leverage the in-house expertise of financial services experts and the combined solution to provide this niche market with improved, viable alternatives.
Vend established a new partnership with iZettle to offer retailers a simpler, faster way to process credit card payments. The integrated, cloud-based solution adds a portable card reader to the Vend Register iPad App, turning Apple iPads into mobile cash registers. The service simplifies and speeds up the transaction process for customers and also limits errors from the dual entry of prices, the companies noted.
Yooz forged a seamless integration with Nvoicepay Inc. to provide a fully automated accounts payable (AP) solution. The partnership is designed to give businesses a cost-effective, efficient way to capture all AP documents and relevant information, including purchase orders and paper invoices. This creates an end-to-end workflow from purchase to payment in a portal that carries the company's own branding and identity, the companies said.
ACQUISITIONSGivex agreed to acquire Chase Paymentech's gift card business. Toronto-based Givex has been providing gift card processing services since 1999. It maintains data centers in seven countries and clients located in 50 countries. The new partners will open a Dallas office in 2015 to support the seamless and secure transition of Paymentech's gift card clients onto the Givex platform.
SinglePoint Inc. completed acquisition of GreenStar Payment Solutions Inc. Now a wholly owned subsidiary of SinglePoint, GreenStar will be leveraged to service the legalized cannabis industry with a number of service-based options for business owners in the space. SinglePoint will handle payments through the GreenStar brand and will also be restructuring the entity as a distribution and product placement company.
Ingenico Group is now sole owner of Roam. Roam and its mobile commerce platform – consisting of secure mobile card readers, mPOS applications, a mobile payments engine and professional services – are now part of Ingenico Mobile Solutions, the Ingenico Group's mobile-focused brand, which will continue to be headquartered in Boston.
APPOINTMENTSAnywhereCommerce welcomed Ken Elderts to the company as its Vice President of Sales, ISO channel. In this position, Elderts will be responsible for expanding the company's efforts in positioning its full range of end-to-end mPOS solutions and field-proven EMV solutions to ISOs.
Jan Marc Külper signed on with paysafecard in the role of Vice President of Business Development. Külper will assume responsibility for the company's development and expansion strategy, including analysis of existing and new markets, evaluation of market potential and trends, and opportunities in new countries to maintain dynamic growth. Külper will also be responsible for building his own business development team.
Kim Martin is the new Chief Human Resources Officer at Vantiv Inc. Martin will report to Vantiv CEO Charles Drucker and will be responsible for all human resources functions, including recruiting, talent development and performance management. "Kim is a results-oriented professional with strong experience leading people, and attracting and developing talent, which is critical to our growth plans," Drucker said.
Buzz Points appointed Dwayne Spradlin as its CEO. Spradlin brings senior management expertise to the company, as well as experience in scaling fast-growth companies and capitalizing on data-empowered business models. According to John Pugliese, Buzz Point Board Chairman, the company's leadership was impressed with Spradlin's 25 years of diverse financial services history and his experience managing rapidly expanding companies.
Cortex MCP added Michael A. Walsh to its Board of Directors. MPC stated that Walsh brings an extensive background in the payments and technology industries and vital knowledge, which will strengthen the company's board of directors and strategic direction. Walsh is a technology, media and telecommunications adviser at Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm focused on growth investing.
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