NEWSThe U.S. House Committee on Financial Services is seeking support for new legislation that would prevent the government from implementing regulations that force U.S. financial institutions to identify and police Internet gambling.
The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative (HR 5767), introduced by Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Ron Paul, R-Texas, would prohibit the Department of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System from proposing, prescribing or implementing any regulations required by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.
The House chairman and other committee members reportedly testified that the proposed rules are ambiguous. Some regulatory agency members admit enforcing the act could have adverse affects on the nation's payment system's efficiency.
The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (SSC) published two informational supplements to further clarify PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) requirements 6.6 and 11.3.
The additional materials provide information on penetration testing (including network and applications layer testing), application code reviews and firewalls. They are also equipped with guides to help merchants and service providers meet these two requirements in support of PCI DSS compliance efforts.
Both supplements are now available on the PCI SSC's Web site at www.pcisecuritystandards.org/tech/supporting_documents.htm.
ANNOUNCEMENTS4Access Communications Co., a POS terminal maker, received the Electronic Transactions Association's 2008 Technology Innovation Award in recognition of its technology leadership and product innovation with the Orion payment terminal.
The Orion permits merchants to accept and electronically process credit and debit cards, as well as business, government and personal checks with a single device.
Comodo Group, a provider of extended validation (EV) secure socket layer (SSL) certificates for Web site security, introduced the eCommerce Accelerator Kit to help businesses improve online performance.
The kit includes EV SSL certificates, HackerProof and UserTrust, which together are designed to deliver trust indicators to site visitors that help accelerate visitor conversion, improve user interaction and create trusted transactions.
The South Dakota Automobile Dealers Association (SDADA) selected CrossCheck Inc., a check approval and guarantee company, as a preferred service partner. With CrossCheck, SDADA members can receive special program pricing for standard guarantee and check conversion services.
With assistance from Arbor Day Foundation, Fiserv Inc. and SunTrust Banks Inc. will donate one tree for every SunTrust customer who signs up for electronic bill activation, or pays at least three bills online or via mobile phone between April 14 and June 30, 2008.
Fiserv and SunTrust have set a goal of planting more than 10,000 trees during the campaign. According to a 2007 study by Javelin Strategy & Research, if every U.S. household paid bills online, it would spare 16.5 millions trees yearly.
Fiserv and SunTrust are members of the PayItGreen Alliance, an environmental initiative led by NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association. For more information, visit www.payitgreen.org.
GlobalCollect International Payment Services, an international customer-not-present e-payment solutions provider, opened an office in Singapore to serve as its regional headquarters for the Asia-Pacific market.The office will also serve as a local presence to support GlobalCollect's portfolio of existing clients across the Asia-Pacific region which already includes Air China, PC Tools, StrawberryNET and Nespresso Asia.
HBNet Inc., a subsidiary of Hypercom Corp., will provide high speed transaction transport services for SecureNet Payment Systems LLC, a U.S. payment processor specializing in commercial parking and transportation sectors.
HBNet will strive to enhance SecureNet's ability to speed up the checkout process at Pittsburgh International Airport's customer parking facility.
Payment Innovations LLC, an online payment solutions provider, launched a new site that allows users to pay any bill online, including rent, mortgage, tuition and medical bills, with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide credit cards - even if the merchant does not accept credit cards.
BillCharger.com securely manages the entire payment process. Users enter only their payment and credit card information on the site; the company pays the bills with a check and deducts the payment directly from the users' accounts.
Pioneer Petroleums LP, an independent Canadian gasoline retailer, is now accepting MasterCard PayPass from Global Payments Inc. at more than 140 Pioneer locations across Ontario, Canada.
Pioneer customers with a PayPass card can pay for in-store purchases under $50 without entering a PIN number, swiping a card or signing a receipt.
PARTNERSHIPSAffiliated Computer Services Inc., an information technology services provider, signed a seven-year, $69 million contract with the California Health and Human Services Agency to provide electronic benefits transfer (EBT).
ACS will provide comprehensive EBT services, including transaction processing, data training, staff training and reporting.
ACS will work closely with the agency to design, develop and test the system so it is ready for implementation in 2009.
AirPlus International, a business travel payment solutions provider, teamed up with Wright Express Financial Services Corp. to unveil a new corporate MasterCard product.
The AirPlus Company Account card provides corporations payment solutions that offer improved insurance, access to new technology, extended customer service, a user-friendly online portal, and flexible billing and liability options.
Endpoint Exchange LLC, a division of Metavante Corp., stated BB&T Corp. has joined its national electronic check image exchange network.
BB&T will connect to Endpoint through the SVPCO Image Payments Network. With this network operability, BB&T can now exchange images with thousands of Endpoint participants in every Federal Reserve district.
Global Payments Inc., a payments solutions provider, extended its marketing alliance agreement with National Bank of Canada through 2017.
NBC will continue to refer merchants exclusively to Global Payments and its card acceptance services, including POS products, credit card processing and account settlement.
Moneris Solutions Corp., a North American payment processor, signed an agreement with Discover Financial Services to offer Discover Network card acceptance as part of an integrated service to small and mid- sized merchants.
Moneris and its bank identification number-sponsored ISOs will provide processing services for Discover Network, enabling merchants to offer broader payment options at the POS.
Moneris will also manage the processing, settlement, risk management, pricing and customer service for the merchant accounts.
Total System Services Inc., a leading payment solutions provider, renewed a long-term agreement with Target Corp. to service its REDcard portfolio.
The multiyear agreement includes systems processing for Target's Visa-branded credit card, Target Credit Card, Target Check Card and Target Business Card.
In an effort to expand opportunities for women in the payments industry, several corporations have partnered with Women Networking in Electronic Transactions (W.net) to establish programs in which these corporations can lend support to W.net's mission to empower women and help maximize their potential.
These programs include the POWER (Partners of W.net Empowering Results) Corporate Sponsorship, Legacy Sponsorship and Corporate Champions.
ACQUISITIONSHigher One Inc., a financial services and payment company serving higher education, agreed to acquire the assets of EduCard LLC, an affiliate of software developer E-visions Financial Systems.
EduCard utilizes the E-visions Intellecheck technology to provide colleges and universities with paperless payment solutions through Intellecard, a stored value card.
TRM Corp., an automated teller machine (ATM) manufacturer, acquired Whippany, N.J.-based LJR Consulting Group (doing business as Access to Money) for $15 million and increased its portfolio to 12,200 ATMs. TRM borrowed $11 million from LC Capital Master Fund Ltd. to fund the purchase.
APPOINTMENTSOutside Ventures LLC, a New York-based investment and management company, promoted Sharon Kron-enberg to Vice President, Corporate Quality and Systems, and Victor Cisario to Chief Financial Officer.
Mobile phone payments provider Obopay Inc. named K. B. Rajendran, Senior Vice President for Essar Global Ltd., and Robert G. Hottenson Jr., Senior Vice President for Public Equity for Olayan American Corp., to its board of directors.
First American Payment Systems LP welcomed Jason Putnam as its Director of Client Relations.
Putnam's role will be to strengthen First American's partnerships with potential and current organizations, and assist with personal support and training needed to ensure the success of these partnerships.
Hypercom Corp. appointed Robert Vreeland, an 11-year veteran of the company who has 25 years' experience in corporate financial matters, to Interim CFO.
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