NEWSInternational payment processor Global Payments Inc. said the data breach it discovered in March 2012 cost the company $84.4 million in remediation expenses and card company penalties this fiscal year. The company publicly shared the price of the breach damage for the first time in its fourth quarter year-end earnings report released July 26, 2012. Global Payment's fiscal year ended May 31, 2012.
The company also reported its investigation of the breach is complete and is working with the card brands to restore its Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) compliance certification - a process the company believes will be completed by the end of 2012.
In a conference call discussing the earnings report, company Chief Executive Officer Paul Garcia said he anticipates Global Payments will spend between $55 million and $65 million more in remediation in 2013. These costs may be partially offset by up to $28 million in additional insurance payments.
"The data intrusion incident will soon be behind us, and we will emerge with a world class technology infrastructure offering future operating leverage," Garcia said.
The Smart Card Alliance formed a cross-industry forum to support the introduction of Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) security standards and technology in the United States. The EMV Migration Forum is designed to help the payments industry transition from mag stripe cards to the more secure EMV contact and contactless cards.
SCA Executive Director Randy Vanderhoof said the lesson learned from introducing EMV in other markets is that cooperation among all participants is needed if EMV is to be implemented in the United States in an efficient, timely and effective manner. He said payments industry stakeholders are asking for the creation of a neutral organization to help facilitate the transition to EMV.
The EMV Migration Forum, while a part of the SCA's corporate organization, will have a separate membership and include representatives from card issuers, payment processors, merchants, acquirers, payment networks, industry suppliers, payment industry associations and other stakeholders.
The first meeting of the EMV Migration Forum will be held Sept. 12 to 13, 2012, at MasterCard Worldwide headquarters in Purchase, N.Y. Membership information is available at www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-emv-migration-forum.
Apple Inc. is acquiring Melbourne, Fla., security technology company AuthenTec Inc., according to a report AuthenTec filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Apple is paying approximately $356 million for the company which, among other things, manufactures a fingerprint sensor technology that can be used on both personal computers and mobile devices. Industry observers have speculated that Apple may use AuthenTec technology on its iPhones to secure mobile payments.
The SEC filing revealed the acquisition called for Apple to pay AuthenTec $7.5 million to independently develop a 2D fingerprint sensor for Apple products. Apple additionally agreed to pay $20 million for a number of AuthenTec patents, with the option to purchase up to $115 million in other AuthenTec patents.
A ruling by the Reykjavík District Court in Iceland said Icelandic acquirer Valitor must resume processing payments for the controversial document disclosure organization WikiLeaks. If Valitor fails to comply with the order, the court will impose a fine of 800,000 krona (about $6,000) for every day Valitor violates the judgment. However, Valitor's payment processing gateway will reportedly remain closed to Data Cell Ltd., the website hosting company for WikiLeaks, while the processor appeals the verdict.
The case stems from Wikileak's November 2010 document dump when it made public 250,000 U.S. State Department cables, which prompted Visa Inc. and MasterCard, along with other financial service firms, to stop online donations to WikiLeaks from being processed over their networks. WikiLeaks said this financial "blockade" reduced donations to the international online organization by over 95 percent and cost it more than $20 million.
Valitor, a partner of both Visa and MasterCard, stopped processing donations to WikiLeaks via WikiLeaks' Data Cell-hosted website. Data Cell then sued Valitor for allegedly violating contractual agreements.
ANNOUNCEMENTSApriva LLC said its gateway processed more than $2.06 billion in wireless payment transactions in the second quarter of 2012. This was a 16.8 percent gain over the same period in 2011. The company said it processed $3.92 billion in transactions in the first six months of 2012.
The second round of the Electronic Transactions Association's Certified Payments Professional (CPP) testing yielded 162 new CPPs from a list of 180 applicants who took the exam. There are now 343 CPPs nationwide, the ETA reported. The names of the payment professionals who passed the exam are posted at www.electran.org/cpp.
Leading acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. added 15 colleges and universities to its Campus OneCard System. The multifunctional card can be used for contactless and mag stripe payments. It serves as a campus identification card and a prepaid card for use at dining halls, bookstores and vending services. The system also works with Google Inc. Android and Apple mobile devices.
The Internal Revenue Service released its proposed new Form 1099-K. New federal law requires all processors to report merchants' yearly credit and debit card transactions to the IRS on new 1099-K forms. The proposed form can be found at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1099k.pdf. Comments or change suggestions may be submitted at www.irs.gov/formspubs/page/0,,id=10179,00.html.
Near field communication (NFC) mobile payment venture Isis said fuel equipment companies Wayne, which is a GE Energy Business, and Gilbarco Veeder-Root Inc. agreed to support Isis' SmartTap mobile commerce application. The SmartTap app is designed to allow smart phone users to pay for gas by tapping phones on fuel dispensers. Isis is set to enter the pilot phase for its NFC-based in-store mobile payment solution this summer in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City.
Mobile wallet platform provider Lemon Inc. said the Lemon Wallet is now available for Android mobile devices via the Google Play mobile app store. With the app, Android users can snap photos of bankcards and save them in the cloud. The photos can be accessed by users if physical wallets or cards are lost or stolen. That information can also be used to make payments online.
Boston-based Merchant Warehouse expanded its merchant offerings. The company now has customer service and technical assistance available around the clock. The ISO added chat and direct email contact for customers via its website, as well as a self-service interactive voice response system that allows merchants to re-order products at any time.
Mobile commerce platform provider ROAM Data Inc. is introducing a software developer's kit (SDK). The company said the SDK will simplify secure integration of card-present mobile payments into Apple and Android mobile devices. The SDK, which supports invoicing, accounting and retail POS apps, ensures developers comply with the PCI DSS, according to ROAM Data.
SecurityMetrics Inc., a PCI DSS compliance and security vendor, launched its Vision Reseller Program at the annual RetailNOW 2012 conference in Las Vegas.
Value-added resellers will now have the opportunity to earn recurring revenue through the sale of SecurityMetrics Vision, a device that monitors business networks' PCI DSS compliance.
PARTNERSHIPSPayment systems company ACI Worldwide Inc. implemented payment processing and fraud services for the Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. The People's Republic of China's third largest bank will use the ACI Money Transfer System and ACI Proactive Risk Manager to aid its expansion into the U.S. market.
Cloud-based software-as-a-service company e-Nabler Corp., developer of the eMobilePOS application, is integrating with Ingenico S.A.'s iSMP Mobile Payment Sled for Apple devices to create the industry's first mobile EMV chip and PIN in POS.
Management consultant services company Global Payout Inc. and First American Electronic Payment Solutions Inc./Intradata Solutions agreed to an e-wallet licensing deal that allows Global Payout to use Intradata's software on its MoneyTrac payment solution. Global Payout can now manage sales, marketing and customer service for its business-to-business (B2B) clients. Intradata will host the platform and provide technical assistance.
Mobile commerce solution provider Mocapay Inc. expanded its strategic partnership with restaurant group Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Inc. The agreement mobilizes the Lettuce Eats Frequent Diner Club loyalty program, giving its more than 100,000 members the ability to collect points and redeem rewards via smart phones in over 80 restaurants across seven states.
Payment and networking products company Precidia Technologies Inc. and payment processor Vantiv Inc. entered into a strategic relationship to offer POS software systems resellers Precidia's payment processing solution, TransNet. The product is targeted to small and medium-sized businesses.
Payment gateway Shift4 Corp. partnered with mobile POS application developer FoundryLogic LLC to create Retail Mobile POS, a processing and customer service mobile platform for Apple devices. The new payment solution is available to users of business intelligence software Retail Pro, versions 8 and 9.
Payment processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) reached a minimum six-year agreement with Bank of America Corp. to provide payment processing services for the bank's consumer credit card portfolios.
ACQUISITIONSMovie and game disk rental company Blockbuster LLC bought cloud-based mobile POS software and services provider Alpha Bay Corp. Alpha Bay software delivers real-time inventory management, customer loyalty and business intelligence capabilities to retailers.
Payment application development company BridgePay Network Solutions Inc. bought TGate Payments LLC, an electronic payment service provider for the ISO and independent software provider markets. BridgePay plans to combine its technology and security tools with TGate's PathwayLINK payment gateway and PayLINK processing application.
ISO and electronic processing services provider Financial Transaction Services purchased B2B payment processing solutions provider Marathon Solutions Inc. MSI offers PCI DSS-compliant, card-not-present payment capabilities for the B2B merchant community.
Fuel card and workforce payment product provider FleetCor Technologies Inc. completed its $180 million purchase of Brazilian fuel payment processing services provider CTF Technologies Inc.
Merchant Warehouse purchased utility payment processing ISO Avatas Payment Solutions. Avatas offers online, electronic funds transfer (EFT), mobile and check-by-phone solutions. The Newton, Mass.-based ISO will continue to operate independently ofMerchant Warehouse.
APPOINTMENTSRayburn Chan was named Vice President of Corporate Development at Twitter commerce platform provider Chirpify Inc. Chan worked as Director of New Business Development at American Express Co. and was head of product and new business development at Vesta Corp., a mobile payment platform company.
Heartland hired Ian Drysdale, former WorldPay US Inc. Senior Vice President of Product and Industry Relations, as its new President of Network Solutions. Drysdale is responsible for growing Heartland's retail, petroleum and e-commerce markets.
Payment gateway and data security solutions provider Merchant Link LLC hired Patricia Sappington as its Director of Channel Development. Sappington was formerly with Elavon Inc., where she worked with value-added resellers (VARs). In her new position Sappington will focus on building VAR relationships for Merchant Link.
Morgan "Mac" Schuessler, formerly the Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Global Payments, assumed the position of President - International at the processor.
Schuessler, a board member of the company's Asia-Pacific joint venture, will join the board of the company's joint venture in Spain. Schuessler succeeded Joseph Hyde, who left Global Payments to join a private financial services firm.
Expert mobile payment, merchant-acquiring, EFT and payment systems attorney Sarah Weston was named a partner at Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.
Afshin Yazdian joined American Bancard LLC as President. Yazdian left iPayment Inc., where he was Executive Vice President and General Counsel, to take the American Bancard leadership role. He is charged with continuing American Bancard's growth and further developing the company's POS technology.
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