NEWSSignaPay Ltd. is hosting a "fun run" to open the Western States Acquirers Association conference in San Francisco Sept. 21 to 22, 2011. The run is a way for attendees to network while seeing one of the country's most beautiful cities, according to SignaPay President Kevin Jones. The run will "allow industry professionals to casually engage, share ideas, network, and see San Francisco from a different and beautiful perspective," he said.
The run is the first in a series of events SignaPay is sponsoring at industry tradeshows. Jones said SignaPay will have an inner tube race at the Northeast Acquirers Association conference, a bull riding event at the Southeast Acquirers' Association show and a co-ed softball game at the Electronic Transactions Association event.
To join the WSAA run, participants should meet in the lobby of convention headquarters, The Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, Calif., at noon, Sept. 21, 2011. A bus will deliver participants to the start of the 5-mile/3-mile run/walk along the San Francisco waterfront. The bus will return to the hotel by 4 p.m.
To reserve a seat on the bus, contact kevinj@signapay.com or andym@signapay.com. For more information, see the SignaPay Facebook page for photos, maps and other race details.
Applications to test for the new Certified Payments Professional (CPP) certification are due to the Electronic Transactions Association no later than Oct. 1, 2011. A review of industry history and best practices is available from Field Guide Enterprises LLC.
Mark Dunn, President of Field Guide Enterprises and a past president of the Midwest Acquirers Association, hosts the 10-lesson online course for merchant bankcard sales training. Dunn said more than 90 percent of the CPP material is covered in his sales course. For more information and pricing, contact Field Guide Enterprises at info@gofieldguides.com.
The first tests for CPP certification are being held in 325 testing centers around the country Nov. 1 to 30, 2011. The ETA requires at least one year in the business to be eligible for testing. A handbook with sample questions, exam topics and test center locations is available here: http://www.electran.org/docs/CPP/ETACPPHandbook.pdf.
Mobile wallet platform provider C-SAM Inc. is now the wallet management platform for ISIS, the mobile commerce company sponsored by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless. ISIS also licensed the C-SAM software development kit (SDK). The additions allow ISIS to build a mobile wallet that offers secure near field communication (NFC) for payments, rewards, coupons, tickets, transit and other services.
Service providers will be able to build unique applications for NFC-based proximity transactions and remote, over-the-air services. ISIS said it will use C-SAM's SDK to build its own open mobile commerce platform and will roll out its initial trial program in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City in 2012.
U.K.-based telecommunications company Vodafone Group PLC extended its billing deal with Google Inc.that allows Android operating system-based smart phone users in Europe to pay for applications without giving Google credit card information. The new payment service bills customers for downloads via monthly phone statements.
The new billing service will eventually be available across all Vodafone markets. The initial rollout will take place in the United Kingdom and Germany for customers who purchased their mobile devices from Vodafone's online and retail outlets.
Vodafone noted that, in some countries, up to 90 percent of people using Android applications are either "unwilling or unable" to use credit cards online.
Wells Fargo Bank N.A. confirmed to The Green Sheet it is testing checking account debit card fees charged to customers' business and personal checking accounts. The trial will be held in five states beginning Oct. 14, 2011. According to Wells Fargo Assistant Vice President Lisa Westermann, the fee will allow customers to continue to receive such services as zero liability fraud protection, fraud monitoring, My Spending Report and card personalization from the bank's Card Design Studio.
Wells Fargo is also terminating its debit cardholders' rewards program. "Existing customers enrolled in rewards programs associated with debit cards will no longer earn points for their eligible debit card purchases or payments as of Oct. 8 [2011]," Westermann told The Green Sheet. "This includes transactions made through the Earn More Mall site for bonus points. Debit Rewards customers will continue to retain their rewards points.
"We are making the changes due to recent regulatory changes resulting in a reduction in fees retailers pay banks for processing debit card transactions," she added.
ANNOUNCEMENTSNew York-based cash advance company AdvanceMe Inc. said it had loaned $2 billion to small businesses in need of working capital.
The company expects to hit $3 billion in loans in the next two years. The company attributed its growth to strategic initiatives, such as its Daily Remittance platform that collects daily revenue information from small business customers.
Apriva LLC, a provider of end-to-end wireless transactions and security solutions, reported it had processed over $1.76 billion in the second quarter of 2011, which surpassed the $1.53 billion processed the previous quarter. The company said it averaged $20 million a day in transactions in the second quarter - a 15 percent increase over the first quarter.
Mobile platform and e-commerce provider CardinalCommerce Corp. received its ninth patent. The patent was granted for technology called Dynamic PIN Pad for Credit/Debit/Other Electronic Transactions. The patent involves the use of dynamic PIN entry technology to authenticate transactions.
Florida's Commersense reported it is processing merchants categorized as high-risk. The company is offering to help said merchants find the best rates for transaction processing. Commersense is also offering credit and debit transactions, online transactions, check processing, payroll services and mobile-based transactions.
Dynamics Inc. purchased a new 115,000-square-foot headquarters in Pittsburgh to manufacture its line of next-generation credit cards. Dynamics makes credit cards with digital screens and rewritable magnetic stripes - technology that allows cardholders to access separate accounts on a single card. Additionally, the company said its cards are more secure because they write dynamic data to the mag stripe.
U.K. payment processor Retail Decisions PLC (ReD) attained compliance to version 2.0 of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS). ReD said it has fully adopted the new version of the PCI DSS.
In a move to support Europay/MasterCard/Visa cards in the United States, electronic funds transfer (EFT) company Shazam Networks Inc. introduced a dual-message PIN product for the EFT industry that separates authorization and settlement messages for PIN-based transactions. This service was previously available only on signature-based transactions.
Shazam said support for single- and dual-message PIN products will allow Shazam debit cardholders to use PIN-based debit cards at more online retailers while retaining the ability to use signature debit in brick-and-mortar businesses.
PARTNERSHIPSElectronic check processor and prepaid card company Global eTelecom Inc. (GETI) teamed with Alliance Payment Systems, a division of Sage Payment Solutions Inc., to provide POS check conversion and remote deposit capture services. Alliance integrated GETI's transaction processing technology to offer Alliance merchants the ability to process checks electronically at the POS.
ICAP Patent Brokerage, a division of intellectual property brokerage and patent auction firm ICAP PLC, is working with 3M Future LLC to market a patented credit card security tool that allows a mobile phone to act as a credit card that securely turns on during the transaction and turns off at transaction's end. ICAP said the patented technology makes credit cards "fraud proof."
Payfone, a mobile payment business backed by American Express Co. and Verizon Wireless, teamed with Mobile Accord Inc., a mobile technology provider for nonprofit organizations, to expand mobile donations for nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations worldwide.
The partnership will allow real-time donations from smart phones, tablets and personal computers via Mobile Accord's mGive platform.
Cross-border payments specialist Travelex Global Business Payments Inc. and third-party service provider LendingTools.com Inc. teamed on a customized platform for international electronic payments.
Financial institutions will use LendingTools.com's Private Correspondent Gateway to access the Travelex GEO global clearing network. The combination will offer international payments and other banking services to both companies' clients.
Mobile telecommunications company Verizon Wireless and payment software provider Intuit Inc. started a venture to allow small businesses to process credit card payments on smart phones and tablets. The Intuit GoPayment app and pocket-sized credit card reader are available in Verizon Wireless stores.
Data is encrypted, and no credit card information is stored on the phone. The card reader is free after the GoPayment account is activated and a rebate is returned. The GoPayment app is free.
Witham Laboratories, an Australia-based information security evaluation firm with expertise in the payments industry, became the first member of the Secure POS Vendor Alliance laboratories network. Witham Laboratories will focus on testing to see if systems meet SPVA end-to-end encryption security requirements.
The SPVA Lab Network is a nonprofit organization founded by POS terminal manufacturers Hypercom Corp., VeriFone Inc. and Ingenico S.A. to address industry security issues through independent verification and best practice guidelines.
ACQUISITIONSLeading retail ATM owner Cardtronics Inc. agreed to purchase ATM service provider and nonbank ATM operator Access to Money Inc. Cardtronics is paying $21.2 million for Access to Money and its 10,350 U.S. ATMs. After the acquisition, Cardtronics will have approximately 52,250 company and merchant-owned ATMs.
APPOINTMENTSGETI appointed Hal Hanna its Business Development Director. Hanna will be responsible for expanding GETI's ISO network and its independent software vendor initiatives as well as developing future strategic initiatives. Hanna worked previously at Ingenico and First Data Corp.
Timothy Hills is the new Director of Business Development at Meritus Payment Solutions in Santa Ana, Calif. Hills will be in charge of initiating strategic partnerships and working with top clients. Hills was formerly in charge of Commercial Services at TransFirst LLC's VAR/Partner Division where he led POS integrations and worked in sales.
David J. Hogan is the new Executive Director of Major Accounts for Heartland Payment Systems Inc. Hogan joins Heartland from the National Retail Federation where he was Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Retail Operations. Hogan is responsible for Heartland's effort to promote business growth among Level 1 and Level 2 retail and hospitality merchants.
Fiserv Inc. named Dave Keenan its new General Manager of ACCEL/Exchange payments network. Keenan comes to Fiserv from Bankserv where he was Vice President of Sales and Marketing. ACCEL/Exchange specializes in secure Internet PIN debit for online shopping purchases.
John Postle is the new General Manager of Jack Henry & Associates' Payment Processing Solution (PPS) division. Postle previously served as Manager of Jack Henry's jhaPassPort business line. Postle is responsible for development, quality assurance, support, installation, operations, communications and education support for PPS.
Missouri-based ISO Clearent LLC named former Heartland Chief Technology Officer Brooks Terrell to its board of directors. Terrell is President of the Tierra Advisory Group, a consulting service for investment firms, payment processors and ISOs.
Andrey Tikhonov is moving to POS terminal manufacturer Dejavoo Systems as CTO. Tikhonov will be responsible for maintaining company growth in the U.S. market and increasing customer satisfaction. He brings with him more than 15 years of payments industry technology development and management experience.
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