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ANNOUNCEMENTSAuriemma Consulting Group convened a special industry collaborative session to address the growing issue of synthetic identity fraud, a lesser-known form of identity theft that is threatening the credit card industry and is difficult to track. The session brought together fraud prevention managers and government relations personnel from credit card lenders, Visa Inc., Mastercard, national credit reporting agencies and industry trade associations. The group worked toward a series of shared goals, identifying interim steps and long-term solutions.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. customers can now download the Chase Pay app, a new digital payment solution devised to work in stores, in app and online. According to Chase, the app can be used at all U.S. Starbucks and Best Buy Inc. locations; additional locations are on the way. The Chase Pay app enables customers to pay with a mobile device using quick response codes, check Chase account balances and available credit, view transactions from the last 90 days, and reload Starbucks loyalty accounts from iPhone devices.
Electronic Payments, a leading payments and POS provider, stated it will be expanding its education and training initiatives with the 2017 POS Roadshow, a cross-country tour held in conjunction with some of the largest industry events. Creating an interactive learning environment, the roadshow will enable current and prospective agent and ISO partners to discuss the latest payments and POS technologies with Electronic Payments' leadership and like-minded professionals. Featuring hands-on product training and high-level discussions surrounding current market trends, attendees will accelerate their product knowledge of Electronic Payments' proprietary Exatouch POS and platform of omnichannel tools, the company noted. Registration is open at www.epiroadshow.com.
TMG Chief Executive Officer Shazia Manus was named the winner of a Gold Stevie Aware in the Female Executive of the Year – Business Services category. Additionally, FuturePay Inc., co-founded by CEO Bobbi Leach, was named the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the Fastest Growing Company of the Year category at the 13th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. These awards honor female entrepreneurs, executives and employees, as well as the organizations they run. All individuals and organizations worldwide are eligible to submit nominations and the 2016 awards received entries from 31 nations and territories.
Nonprofit entity GlobalPlatform, which defines and develops specifications to facilitate the secure deployment and management of multiple embedded applications on secure chip technology, published an updated document including Root of Trust Definitions and Requirements (RoTs). The objective is to enable original equipment manufacturers and service providers to create, implement and use RoT to protect their devices and services. Several extensions to the functionality are included, and the document provides a detailed technical framework, integral to securing the delivery of digital services, regardless of sector, GlobalPlatform said.
IdentityMind Global was granted a patent for Electronic DNA (eDNA), its core technology for creating trusted digital identities. The company stated that eDNA helps companies understand who is behind each transaction and helps them better assess the risk. The IdentityMind platform uses eDNA and trusted digital identities to help the financial industry prevent fraud, comply with regulatory requirements and detect suspicious activity related to anti-money laundering.
Customers of the Ingo Money Inc. mobile check cashing service can now use a new self-service system developed by Enacomm Inc. With Ingo Money's new interactive voice response system deployed by Enacomm, customers can immediately access enrollment assistance, account information and transaction status, without waiting to speak with a customer service representative. "The Ingo Money service is bringing personal and business payments into the 21st century by digitizing the paper check industry," said Enacomm CEO Michael Boukadakis.
NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association expanded its ISO 20022-to-ACH Mapping Guide to assist financial institutions in translating ISO 20022 payment instructions into automated clearing house (ACH) payments for business customers. The guide previously only provided information to map ISO 20022-formatted payment messages to corresponding ACH Network business credit and international transactions. The new version includes instructions for mapping debit and additional credit transactions, rejections and returns, and same-day ACH.
PaySchools launched its Strategic Alliance Partner program designed to bring together complementary organizations, associations and software providers to deliver multivendor software solutions to schools and school districts serving students in kindergarten through high school. PaySchools also added Health-e Pro, a leading software solutions provider in the school food services market, as a Strategic Alliance Partner.
Magistrate Judge Timothy Rice of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted final approval of a $37.5 million class action settlement brought on behalf of consumers who had money withdrawn from their bank accounts between October 2006 and March 2010 by certain telemarketers and/or Internet marketers alleged to be fraudulent. The case – Reyes v. Zions First National Bank – alleged that Zions Bank and a former payment processing subsidiary knowingly processed payments for fraudulent telemarketers. Magistrate Judge Rice also awarded class counsel, Langer Grogan & Diver, $12.5 million in attorneys' fees.
ShopKeep ranked 116 on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, a list of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. ShopKeep grew 776 percent during the review period, following a year of rapid growth for the company, in which its merchant customer base increased across the retail, quick-service and full-service restaurant segments. This marks ShopKeep's first time being ranked on the Technology Fast 500, being the highest ranked POS solution provider named on the list, ShopKeep reported.
Visa modified and clarified existing debit network routing rules to help merchants and acquirers better understand U.S. EMV implementation options. The updates follow new guidance issued by the Federal Reserve and address a Federal Trade Commission inquiry. Visa confirmed merchants can use the Common Debit Application Identifier (AID) exclusively to route U.S. debit transactions, and they can do so without being required to ask the cardholder to choose the AID or network for processing debit transactions. (For a discussion of this, see "The travails of chip and debit cards" by Patti Murphy in the Views section of this issue of The Green Sheet.)
RESEARCHAccording to 2016 online shopping data released by Adobe Systems Inc., more than $5 billion was spent online by the end of Black Friday. Black Friday also set a record by surpassing the $3 billion mark for the first time. It also became the first day in retail history to drive over $1 billion in mobile revenue. Adobe's Black Friday report was based on aggregated and anonymous data from 22.6 billion visits to retail websites.
The 2016 Merchandise Planning Survey from Boston Retail Partners indicates savvy retailers know their planning tools are not equipped to support the unified commerce environment necessary to satisfy today's customers. Common issues raised by merchants include inadequate organizational structures for supporting an omnichannel environment, ineffective planning applications, and a lack of analysis capabilities for handling the high volume of data required to optimize planning decisions and meet customer demand.
HRC Retail Advisory canvassed 3,100 consumers in the United States and Canada on their shopping habits and attitudes, as well as what influenced their purchasing decisions. According to the survey, the post-millennial generation is an increasingly important influencer of consumer spending. The survey results revealed the post-millennial demographic exhibits new shopping behaviors that focus on both malls and online shopping, with purchases heavily influenced by friends, bloggers and social media.
A Mercator Advisory Group report titled Credit Scoring as a Competitive Differentiator discusses how traditional credit score functionality adapts to the current market and the potential of disruptive models. Highlights of the research report include analysis of the impact of alternative lenders on the traditional banking system, reaching the financially underserved, new methods of determining creditworthiness, and the relationship between credit scoring and the customer.
PARTNERSHIPSConformance Technologies LLC reported that Base Commerce LLC selected its PCI ToolKit solution for Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) merchant portfolio compliance validation. Base Commerce merchants also have access to CT's Cyber Attack Readiness ToolKit, providing penetration testing and primary account number scanning services that meet the latest PCI DSS requirements. "These solutions make achieving and maintaining compliance quick, easy and affordable for our merchant customers," said Brian Bonfiglio, President and CEO at Base Commerce.
Elavon Inc. and System Innovators Inc. teamed up with government agencies to deploy a new payment system that helps protect U.S. citizen information, prevent fraud and provide industry-compliant EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) technology. The joint system combines SII's centralized cashiering and revenue management software, iNovah, with Elavon's Simplify, a secure software application that resides on a payment device. The objective is to eliminate the need for government employees to enter credit card payments manually into revenue management systems. Payments can be made from a variety of sources, including chip cards to mobile wallets, the partners stated.
FinTech Studios formed a strategic distribution partnership with Private Data Solutions. The joint solution integrates PDAuth's multifactor secure authentication technology into the FinTech Studios cloud platform, allowing FinTech Studios to provide clients and partners with technology designed to securely connecting authenticated data to authenticated users. "Partnering with Fintech Studios provides us a strong partner to leverage our unique technology in the financial services industry," said Mike Marenick, co-founder of PDS.
Hyperwallet Systems Inc. partnered with USA Media Rights Inc., a music and media rights company. Through the alliance, USA Media Rights connects Hyperwallet with music industry organizations to improve the processing and delivery of royalty payments for recording artists, music producers, and songwriters worldwide. Hyperwallet will enable international artists to quickly receive their royalties in their local currency, in addition to providing a range of diverse payout options, and a self-service online earnings portal, the company noted.
Retail Lockbox Merchant Services partnered with ShoreTel Summit to help merchants accept payment over the phone and meet customer demands for convenient payment options. Summit's platform-as-a-service communications architecture allows RLMS to create complex interactive voice response (IVR) systems with ease for merchants, enabling their customers to make payments or access account information by phone without having to speak with a customer service representative, according to the companies.
Sage Software Inc. reported a significant partnership with accounting workflow automation and payment provider Beanworks. Sage selected Beanworks for its ability to deliver a service that helps businesses streamline their accounts payable (AP) workflow and bring more efficiency and cost savings to Sage customers' financial processes. Beanworks' AP automation delivers an end-to-end integrated solution to automate processing, approval and payment of invoices, thereby providing an immediate effect on efficiency and bottom line, Sage said.
Payment gateway provider Shift4 Corp. said it is now writing to the Oracle Payment Interface in order to provide fast, secure and reliable payment processing to thousands of merchants who use Oracle's POS and property management solutions. The integration delivers payment gateway support, EMV with layered security, multiple implementation options, support for unified and omni-commerce payments, and bank and processor neutrality, Shift4 said.
Singular Payments LLC formed a strategic alliance with CardConnect. Singular Payments' customers can now access CardConnect's point-to-point encryption terminals free for the life of their merchant processing relationships. Singular will also leverage CardConnect's support team to provide customer service and technical support to its customers. "It's important to us that we bring secure payments to a variety of merchant types, and we can do that with Singular's already impressive client-base," said Angelo Grecco, Executive Vice President at CardConnect.
Springboard Retail and BigCommerce Pty. Ltd. partnered to provide an end-to-end omnichannel system for high-volume brands and retailers. The partnership provides an integration that enables seamless operation of physical and digital storefronts. The joint solution is designed to drive sales and margins across the omnichannel retail enterprise in real time to increase productivity and unlock profits for customers, the partners said.
USAePay said it partnered with IVR Technology Group to give merchants access to a variety of business solutions, including voice, text and email outbound notifications, and IVR payment processing via phone, text, and web. Additional options include cloud services, visual IVR, call tracking capabilities, and other voice and text applications aimed at bettering the user experience and promoting overall business growth, the company stated.
ACQUISITIONSFollowing the recent corporate merger between Bluepoint Solutions and Alogent Corp., the combined companies agreed to operate under the name Alogent going forward. The company's global headquarters is in Norcross, Ga. "This is not an acquisition of Bluepoint by the former Alogent, but a merger between two equally strong, complementary financial technology businesses, for the benefit of all our customers," said Alogent Vice-Chairman and former Bluepoint CEO Hal Tilbury.
Linxens acquired Smartrac N.V.'s SIT division, which develops and manufactures radio-frequency identification inlays and antennas. Linxens stated that by acquiring the SIT division's technical expertise and vision, it expects to solidify its position as a provider of contact and contactless smart card connectivity solutions across its key business segments of payments, government, telecom, transportation, loyalty and more.
Visa and CardinalCommerce recently reached an agreement whereby Visa will acquire CardinalCommerce, a leader in ecommerce payment authentication. The acquisition will enable more secure, seamless payments, whether made through a browser, mobile app, or connected device, and will help Visa's clients and merchant partners accelerate digital commerce, Visa said.
"This strategic acquisition combines Visa's industry expertise and Cardinal's critical role in payment authentication to bring added security to online transactions, reduce fraud, and support digital commerce which is the fastest growing commerce segment today," said Mark Nelsen, Senior Vice President of Risk and Authentication Products at Visa.
Directly before the acquisition agreement, CardinalCommerce opened new headquarters in Mentor, Ohio. The facility employs design features intended to spark creativity and foster teamwork. "We are very pleased to be embarking on the next chapter in the company's history in a new and expanded corporate headquarters," said CardinalCommerce founder and CEO Mike Keresman.
APPOINTMENTSParagon Application Systems tapped Steve Gilde for the role of Director of Global Product Marketing. In this role, Gilde will develop and implement sales and growth strategies for Paragon's next-generation payments and testing solutions. Gilde has more than 30 years of experience in the payments technology industry. "Steve's industry knowledge and expertise is a great asset to Paragon as we continue to introduce, implement and support automatic, continuous testing methods around the globe," said Jim Perry, CEO of Paragon.
Magnetic Mobile, Marxent Labs LLC's former retail division, hired Geoff Pattison as its new President, selected to lead the company's strategic expansion. Before joining Magnetic, Pattison was Director of North American Commercial Capabilities for Dunnhumby. Pattison brings an extensive background in consumer marketing, shopping behavior, retail category management, and is a leader at leveraging technology to drive both retailer and brand performance, Magnetic stated.
iPayment Holdings Inc. named O.B. Rawls IV as its President and CEO. He will also serve on iPayment's Board of Directors. Rawls joined iPayment in April 2016, after more than 30 years of executive leadership in various payments and financial services sectors. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Partner Solutions, with First Data Corp. His extensive experience also includes senior leadership roles with Hypercom, Caredata, Unified Merchant Services, and Bank of America, iPayment said.
EVO Payments International LLC reported that Jeff Rosenblatt was promoted to Vice Chairman of EVO from his former role as the company's President. In connection with Rosenblatt's promotion, EVO has also organized into two reporting regions: North America and Europe. Brendan Tansill was also promoted to the position of President of North America. Darren Wilson will continue to lead EVO's European region as President – Europe & International.
As a result of continued growth and increased demand for asset-based lending, Bibby Financial Services added Jim Vargo as its Senior Vice President of Business Development. Vargo will lead the Asset Based Lending division of the company's Midwest office, working to build long-term relationships with stakeholders, referral sources and banks. Vargo brings to BFS more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, where he has held a number of senior-level management positions.
Mobivity Holdings Corp selected Alek Zdziarski to be its Chief Technology Officer. Mobivity stated that Zdziarski has more than 15 years of experience in software-as-a-service product and platform innovation in the areas of mobile marketing, data science and mobile payments. In this new role, he will lead product, engineering, support and data science operations at Mobivity. Prior to joining Mobivity, Zdziarski held similar leadership roles at mGage and Outspoken, where he was responsible for global product development focused on mobile engagement. 
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