ANNOUNCEMENTSFinastra was named "best payment solutions provider" by Global Finance, as part of the magazine's Best Treasury & Cash Management Banks and Providers for 2018, published in March. The publication credited Finastra for its best-of-breed payments and financial messaging solutions which allow financial institutions and their business customers to manage cash, process payments, exchange information and transfer funds cost-effectively, securely and reliably.
Silicon Valley-based i2c Inc., a global provider of smarter payments and integrated commerce solutions, revealed plans to open a new operations center in Omaha, Neb., and create 300 new positions. The Omaha center will be used to expand the company's account management, operations and client services divisions. The Omaha center is i2c's second major operations center in North America, following the opening of a center in Montréal, Canada in 2016.
Kount Inc. recently added Boost Safety Rating, a supervised machine learning feature that passes data through hundreds of models to generate a single numerical transaction safety rating. Following a successful client beta test, Boost Safety Rating is now part of Kount's Boost Technology. "In three short months, customers' use of the Boost Safety Rating feature has dramatically reduced false positives and customer service calls, as well as lowered manual reviews by as much as 20 percent," Kount stated.
Payment gateway and data security solutions provider Merchant Link celebrated its 25th anniversary on March 11. Merchant Link noted that during that time, it has grown from a small technical support center in Bethesda, Md., to an international provider of payment security solutions serving more than 500,000 customers processing over 6 billion transactions annually.
The NFC Forum Executive Director Paula Hunter was named a finalist in The Women in IT Awards' Business Leader of the Year Award category. Hunter was nominated for leading the NFC Forum to success in a variety of key sectors within the IT industry including the growing use of NFC technology in public transportation, Internet of Things, retail and payment and automotive markets, the forum noted.
UnionPay International launched the UnionPay International Mobile Payment Service (UMPS) to enable commercial banks, retailers, mobile phone manufacturers and third-party institutions outside mainland China to access UnionPay mobile payment solutions, including UnionPay mobile QuickPass and UnionPay QR code payment, via UMPS' open application programming interface. UnionPay CEO Cai Jianbo said, "The launch of UMPS will contribute to the global rollout of the UnionPay mobile payment products, offering UnionPay cardholders smooth mobile payment experiences both in and outside mainland China."
At Money20/20 Asia, Verifone heralded a commerce solution designed to bring mobility, payment and commerce together in a single portable device. The palm-sized Carbon Mobile 5 enables checkout and Android apps for POS, loyalty, inventory management and other functions; offers an optional integrated printer; and supports in-aisle sales, clienteling, endless aisle solutions and more. The Carbon family also includes Verifone Connect, which enables payment acceptance, and allows businesses to increase consumer engagement and manage their business.
RESEARCHA Bromium Inc. independent, academic study revealed the macro economics of cybercrime and how cybercriminals launder and cash out profits of criminal endeavors. The findings are part of a larger nine-month study sponsored by Bromium titled Into the Web of Profit. According to the report, cybercriminal proceeds comprise an estimated 8 to 10 percent of total illegal profits laundered globally, amounting to $80 billion to $200 billion annually; virtual currencies have become the primary tool used by cybercriminals for money laundering.
Results of an Intrapay consumer ecommerce survey suggest lackluster consumer demand for cryptocurrency as a payment method, now and in the future. According to the survey, consumers are more than seven times as likely to make online purchases using prepaid cards than cryptocurrencies today, and more than twice as likely to use prepaid cards in the future. Less than 2 percent of consumers surveyed have used cryptocurrencies; only 6.5 percent plan to use it to make future purchases online.
Mercator Advisory Group's recent research report U.S. Small Business Credit Card Forecast, 2017–2022: Healthy Market, Room for Improvement projects small business cards will approach $700 billion by 2022 and suggests an additional 50 percent of transactions now posted on consumer cards could instead run on small business payment cards if small business owners realize the dedicated cards have features suitable for running a small business.
Members of the Secure Payments Task Force, established by the Federal Reserve in 2015, published Payment Lifecycles and Security Profiles, which provides perspectives related to lifecycles of the most common payment types. It covers enrollment, transaction flow and reconciliation; security methods, identity management controls and sensitive data occurring at each step in payment lifecycles; relevant laws and regulations, and other references; as well as challenges and improvement opportunities related to each payment type.
PARTNERSHIPSAtYourGate, a California startup and GOLO, a mobile ordering platform and part of the Paysafe Group, launched AtYourGate powered by GOLO, an app that allows airport visitors to use mobile phones to order airport products and have them delivered directly to them. Travelers, flight crews and airport personnel at San Diego International Airport can now use the app to make purchases from participating food, gift and other outlets and have items delivered to their gate or a designated location airport-wide, the partners stated.
Payment technology company First American Payment Systems L.P. partnered with software developer Apptizer Inc., whereby the Apptizer Order Ahead Mobile App now includes integrated payment processing from FAPS. As Apptizer's latest partner, FAPS brings its Payment Card Industry security standards-compliant suite of payment tools to the platform's customer base, delivering best-in-class payment integration and security, the companies noted.
GivePay, which offers digital gift cards and wireless payments via ATMs, inked a deal with global gift card provider InComm. "GivePay has developed a new channel for digital delivery of gift cards through existing retail ATMs, and we're excited they have chosen InComm Digital Solutions' platform to help launch this new Gift Card Marketplace for ATMs," said Dave Etling, Senior Vice President of Sales and Account Management at InComm. GivePay also added Tango Card and Prepay Nation as partners, with targeted roll out during the second quarter of 2018.
MyPINPad, a provider payment software authentication solutions, partnered with Ingenico Group to pilot PIN on Mobile (PoM) solutions for small and midsize merchants across Europe. With the new offering, the partners plan to expand mobile POS offerings to meet demand for increased card acceptance points globally. Under the agreement for live pilots, PoM has been integrated within Ingenicos' payments solution to deliver secure PIN authenticated transactions via consumer off-the-shelf devices such as smartphones and tablets.
ATM provider Payment Alliance International and Planet Payment Inc., an international and multicurrency payment processor, signed a multiyear contract extension for PAI's real-time dynamic currency conversion (DCC) solution for ATMs powered by Planet Payment. PAI and Planet Payment have been partners since 2012. DCC allows international travelers to withdraw U.S. dollars from ATMs, and instantly view how amounts debited from accounts will convert into their home currencies.
ACQUISITIONSPreston Todd Advisors advised PayMaxx Pro LLC, an automotive industry payment platform, on its sale to REPAY – Realtime Electronic Payments, a provider of advanced payment technology processing services provider to the consumer finance industry. "It was our pleasure to advise Chris Leedom, CEO of PayMaxx Pro on the transaction," said Lane Gordon, Managing Director of Preston Todd Advisors. "We believe there's an exceptional fit between PayMaxx Pro and REPAY and the combined entity will be a significant force in the automotive payments space."
Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire CloudCraze Software LLC, a business-to-business (B2B) commerce platform built natively on the Salesforce platform. CloudCraze powers B2B commerce experiences for such global companies as Coca-Cola, Cummins, Ecolab and Land O' Lakes. With the addition of CloudCraze, Salesforce said customers can create identical branded commerce experiences for business buyers and consumers from one platform.
APPOINTMENTSeCurrency Mint Ltd. added Athu Karume to its Markets team as President, Tanzania and East Africa Markets. eCurrency offers technology that enables central banks to issue a digital fiat currency. Karume joins eCurrency with more than 20 years' professional experience in business development in the financial services and technology industries in Tanzania, United States and Europe, the company stated.
APG Cash Drawer LLC appointed Nigel Ball as Vice President of Sales in North America. Ball brings to his new role over 35 years' experience in global sales, strategic development and customer relationship management, APG noted. "Nigel's expertise and experience in global sales will help APG's team continue to create and deliver innovative solutions for our customers who have both domestic and global footprints," said Mark J. Olson, President and CEO of APG.
NCR Corp. Chairman and CEO Bill Nuti plans to step down for health reasons upon the naming of a new CEO. Upon completion of the search for a new CEO, Nuti will become Chairman Emeritus and serve as a consultant to the company. In addition, Paul Langenbahn, Executive Vice President of NCR Software, has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer, succeeding Mark Benjamin who has resigned to pursue an opportunity outside NCR. Langenbahn has been an executive of NCR for seven years. 
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
Prev Next
