And in this corner…
he partnership between POS terminal manufacturer VeriFone and processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has seemingly come to an end. Because of pending litigation and a desire to change its business model, VeriFone reported that, as of midnight on Dec. 31, 2009, the company will no longer provide support to Heartland.
According to VeriFone spokesman Pete Bartolik, on the eve of 2009 the company will cease to supply Heartland with software updates, troubleshooting and all other support services. However, VeriFone is taking action to prevent any disruption to merchants after it determined that the pending patent infringement litigation against Heartland was likely to impact Heartland's ability to maintain service levels with its customers.
November 09, 2009 • Issue 09:11:01
GS Issue 09:11:01 – Lead Story
Business is booming in the prepaid card sphere. Mercator Advisory Group reported that the total amount of funds loaded onto prepaid cards reached $247.7 billion in 2008, surpassing the totals for 2007 by $27.4 billion. Given this accelerating bounty, it is a no-brainer that every ISO either sells or resells a prepaid card solution to its merchants – right?
GS Issue 09:11:01 – News
Cynergy Data Corp. confirmed that it had been acquired by private investment firm The ComVest Group for $81 million, officially ending the company's widely publicized and high-profile reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
GS Issue 09:11:01 – News
The ETA recently committed significant funding to begin developing a certification program for payments industry professionals, something the organization believes is a critical milestone for the industry. It is also something that many payment professionals have sought for years.
GS Issue 09:11:01 – News
Dueling Strategies: VeriFone-Chase, Heartland-Hypercom
The race to secure POS transaction data is heating up as terminal manufacturers, acquirers and Visa Inc. scramble to get the upper hand with new techniques like data encryption. How are some of the industry's biggest players pushing for an edge in this high-stakes enterprise?
GS Issue 09:11:01 – Features
Special report on the ETA's 2009 Strategic Leadership Forum
Discussions at the Electronic Transactions Association's Strategic Leadership Forum in New York included emerging payment types, developing technologies that will drive adoption, regulatory developments and data security. The challenge is to determine which of the many new ideas swirling around the payment system will be mainstream products five years from now.
GS Issue 09:11:01 – Street Smarts
Why do we think we're different?
Bad stuff happens sometimes no matter what industry you work in. The key for everyone is to remain diversified. Too often, MLSs and smaller ISOs put all of their eggs in one basket. They have this unwavering belief that disaster won't happen to them. They point fingers, but who is really responsible if their businesses tank?
GS Issue 09:11:01 – Education
Legal aspects of high-risk processing
Once in a while, an ISO will run into a merchant account that is not acceptable to the underwriting departments of their primary processing relationships. This article looks at the world of "high risk" merchants, offering some guidance to ISOs about things to consider when they're looking to place these accounts.
GS Issue 09:11:01 – Inspiration
Twenty tips for lifelong learning
Staying on top of your game as an ISO or MLS in the ever changing payments industry requires continual learning, not least of which involves being aware of current events, popular culture and the general inclinations of diverse demographic groups. All of this takes a commitment to lifelong learning. Here are 20 tips to boost your progress in this most important area.