NEWS

Aite Group studies bill payments, remote deposit

In a new report, "Walk-in Bill Payments: The Prepaid Storm," Aite Group LLC reviews the walk-in bill payment processing market, including prepaid mobile phone top-up. While the report predicts strong growth for cell phone top-up at the POS, it indicates that walk-in locations' share of total prepaid mobile top-up volumes will fall from 92% in 2005 to 79% by 2010. It also predicts virtual top-up (when the reload is made directly from a handset using bankcards or the automated clearing house) will grow its market share from 10% in 2006 to 21% by 2010.

In a separate report, Aite predicts that the number of U.S. banks offering remote deposit will increase more than 1000% by 2009. "Remote Deposit: All Talk, Little Action, With a Lot of Potential" highlights technology's ability to address bank challenges such as better customer service, more automated workflows and new revenue streams. The report forecasts a rise in remote deposit usage by business customers from less than 5% today to 18% by 2010.

A free report on unbanked consumers

Scarborough Research is offering a complimentary report, "Unbanked Consumers: A Unique Opportunity for Financial Marketers." It contains information about demographics, spending patterns and purchasing plans of unbanked consumers. The report can be downloaded at www.scarborough.com/freestudies.php.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CheckFree introduces managed data services

CheckFree Health & Fitness, a business unit of CheckFree Corp., recently introduced Managed Data Services from CheckFree and Aphelion. It combines online club management software, electronic payment processing and outsourced management of billing and member services.

EPI adds contactless reader to free equipment program

Electronic Payments Inc. (EPI) added a contactless card reader to its free equipment program, which also supplies ISOs with free terminals and free 3DES compliant Lipman PIN pads.

Credit reporting agencies introduce VantageScore

The nation's three consumer credit reporting companies, Equifax Inc., Experian and TransUnion LLC, have introduced VantageScore, a new credit score designed to simplify and enhance the credit reporting process. Under the new system, credit score variance between credit reporting companies is attributed to data differences within each of the three consumer credit files, not to the structure of the scoring model or data interpretation. VantageScore is marketed independently through each reporting company via licensing agreements with VantageScore Solutions LLC.

Wisconsin institutions embrace NYCE Network

NYCE Corp. added 35 Wisconsin-based Metavante Corp. clients to its electronic funds transfer network. The new participants add more than 165,000 cards and more than 140 ATMs to the NYCE Network.

Pay By Touch recognized

Pay By Touch received the 1.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/pw2005_beacon.html" target="_blank"> IBM PartnerWorld Beacon Award, which honors IBM business partners for innovation, customer satisfaction and achievements in providing on-demand business solutions. Pay By Touch was selected in the IBM Global Services Teaming Award category for independent software vendors.

TPI Software opens new office

TPI Software LLC opened a new office in Savannah, Ga. The office complements TPI's West Coast office in Redmond, Wash., and will be used to expand services including sales, support and product development.

PARTNERSHIPS

Global Payments signs with Advanced Payment Solutions

Global Payments Inc. announced an agreement with ISO Advanced Payment Solutions LLC whereby it will provide Advanced Payment with authorization, capture and settlement processing services, as well as BIN sponsorship.

Albertsons rolls out Pay By Touch

Albertsons Inc. is implementing Pay By Touch biometric payment systems in its Jewel-Osco stores throughout the Midwest. The rollout follows a year-long test of the technology at Albertsons stores in Portland, Ore.

AMCORE Bank selects First Data

AMCORE Bank and First Data Corp. announced a long-term merchant services alliance. First Data will provide all merchant payment processing and service for new AMCORE customers, including customer service, sales support and payment processing.

First Data expands across Latin America

First Data recently signed payment processing agreements with Bank of the Bahamas International, Fidelity Bank and New England Bankcard Association. Processing Center, S.A., a First Data company offering payment processing solutions for clients in Latin America and the Caribbean, will provide card issuing processing services to these financial institutions.

BofA and China Construction Bank form alliance

Bank of America (BofA) customers traveling to China now have free access when using debit or ATM cards to withdraw cash from more than 11,000 foreign-enabled China Construction Bank (CCB) ATMs. CCB's Happy Investor cardholders will enjoy the same benefit when using BofA ATMs. Last year, BofA became a 9% shareholder of CCB.

TransFirst delivers payment processing to Coronado

Coronado, Calif. awarded TransFirst an exclusive contract for payment processing services. TransFirst will also provide Coronado with its Web-based, centralized payment processing system, TransAction Central.

CrossCheck certifies MagTek scanner

CrossCheck Inc. certified two versions of MagTek Inc.'s MICRImage check scanner for deployment with the CrossCheck PC Conversion Plus service: MICRImage RS232 with modem and MICRImage with Ethernet connectivity.

CyberSource and Visa Canada offer Canadians fraud detection

CyberSource Corp. and Visa Canada announced that CyberSource Advanced Fraud Screen, enhanced by Visa, is available in Canada. A fraud detection service for online or phone-based businesses, the system examines online and telephone transactions and provides merchants with risk scores and factor codes, enabling easier identification of potentially fraudulent orders.

Puro Systems selects Direct Technology Innovations

Direct Technology Innovations LLC is now the exclusive provider of merchant services for Puro Systems Inc. Puro Systems is a national franchise organization dedicated to insurance restoration and environmental services.

First Data and Retail Decisions offer fraud solutions

First Data, in affiliation with Retail Decisions, launched an enhanced fraud detection solution for First Data's global online merchants. The combined offering became available to merchants at the end of March 2006.

JCB and MasterCard share contactless communications protocol

JCB and MasterCard International reached an agreement to share a common contactless communications protocol: the MasterCard PayPass ISO/IEC 14443 Implementation Specification, which facilitates global standardized technology for contactless payment services.

North Island Credit Union chooses PassMark

North Island Credit Union selected PassMark Security Inc. to provide fraud and identity theft protection for members accessing its services over the Web. The PassMark Two-Factor Two-Way solution, which will be integrated into the credit union's existing Corillian online banking system, will be available in the third quarter of 2006.

Swipe USA selects TNS' ATMLink

ATM management firm Swipe USA LLC will employ Transaction Network Services Inc.'s (TNS) ATMLink solution. TNS will enable Swipe USA to expand its ATM offerings with faster machines powered by high-speed wireless communication.

ACQUISITIONS

TeleCheck acquires ClearCheck

TeleCheck Services Inc. acquired virtually all the assets of ClearCheck Inc., a provider of return check management systems for retailers and supermarkets. ClearCheck will become part of First Data's commercial services segment and will be operated through TeleCheck, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Data. The ClearCheck management team and solutions will continue as part of the new organization.

ENCORE and CO-OP Network to merge

Credit union ENCORE Electronic Services Cooperative Inc. and CO-OP Network executed a letter of intent to merge. The agreement allows current ENCORE members to become CO-OP Network shareholders. Post merger, ENCORE will operate as a division of CO-OP Network. This new agreement with ENCORE marks the seventh merger for CO-OP Network in the last decade.

EPayments acquires eCashflow Systems

EPayments Corp. purchased the assets and customer base of eCashflow Systems Inc., a company specializing in non-sufficient funds electronic check collection services. The acquisition brings more than 2,500 clients to ePayments. EPayments retained eCashflow's Chief Executive Officer, Rod Hill, as well as 18 sales agents.

APPOINTMENTS

Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council announces officers

The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council's new Chair is Paul Korczak, from MTA New York City Transit. New officers are Vice Chair Transit Chris Cipperly, of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and Vice Chair Parking David deKozan, from Cubic Transportation Systems.

FastLane names National Sales Manager

FastLane appointed Harry Clark as its National Sales Manager. He is responsible for creating and managing relationships with ISO/merchant level salesperson groups.

Clark has over 20 years of financial industry experience and most recently served as the Director of ISO & Third Party Sales at Certegy Inc. He also worked for VeriFone and Ingenico.

Distler Jr. joins AmbironTrustWave

AmbironTrustWave recently hired Gene Distler Jr. as Vice President of Strategic Relationships. Distler comes to AmbironTrustWave from Global Payments, where he was Vice President of Relationship Management.

He will be responsible for managing key AmbironTrustWave relationships, including the card Associations and select ISOs.

TransAKT elects board member

Frank Z. Liu was elected to the board of directors of TransAKT Corp. Over the past two years Liu has been working with Sichuan Haoyuan High-Tech Corp. as Assistant to the Chairman.

Checkgateway expands sales team

Checkgateway hired Norman Neracker as an Account Executive. Most recently, Neracker was an Account Manager for The Trane Company. He has also worked for Visa USA as a Manager in the merchant training department.

Secure Payment Systems hires industry veteran

Michael Pruitt was hired as ISO Relationship Manager for Secure Payment Systems (SPS). Pruitt is responsible for maintaining and growing ISO relationships as well as heading SPS' agent sales support team. Previously Pruitt worked as Product Development Manager for First American Payment Systems and spent nine years with National Data Funding Corp.

Debitman names Ruebner Vice President

Debitman Card Inc. appointed Anthony Ruebner as Vice President of Sales and Relationship Management. Ruebner brings to Debitman almost two decades of experience in the financial services industry. Following 13 years in senior leadership positions with Dun & Bradstreet, he was Vice President of Sales and Corporate Development at LiveCapital.

BOTTOM LINES

• To fight credit card fraud, an increasing number of drugstores and gas stations are asking customers to provide their ZIP codes at the POS, the Indianapolis Star reported on April 2. Walgreen Co., for example, asks this of American Express cardholders, but MasterCard International prohibits it.

• Consumer confidence jumped in March to the highest level since May 2002, the Conference Board reported.

• More retailers are buying rather than renting their storefronts, the New York Times reported on March 29. And the cost of the retail spaces, which are usually sold as condos, but occasionally as co-ops, is increasing quickly.