NEWSDwolla Inc., the Iowa-based online and mobile payment company that charges merchants a flat 25 cent transaction fee on purchases of over $10, is allowing designated entities to make transactions that involve large sums, the company said in a Jan. 8, 2013, blog post. "Dwolla has always believed that it costs the same amount of money to move $11 as it does $51 million," the company said.
The new policy will allow merchants and nonprofit organizations access to higher transaction limits in what Dwolla called "narrowly defined situations," such as when entities are accepting and settling tax payments, moving money between vendors, buying raw materials, purchasing equipment or executing real estate transactions.
European Union law enforcement agency Europol recommended EU banks only issue Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) chip and PIN-enabled cards to protect transaction security.
The Jan. 7, 2013, Situation Report titled Payment Card Fraud in the European Union said blocking non-EMV transactions by disabling the mag stripe on cards will protect card issuers from liability for payment fraud in non-EMV compliant countries, like the United States.
Europol reported almost all fraudulent face-to-face transactions using cards issued by EU banks take place overseas, mainly in the United States.
A Jan. 17, 2013, CNNMoney report said JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PNC Bank were launching ATMs that dispense cash in any dollar amount. But a PNC spokeswoman said the news is not new, as a substantial portion of its ATMs already had that capability.
"We previously had approximately 2,000 ATMs that dispensed $1 bills going back several years," said Marcey Zwiebel, Vice President and Senior Manager, External Communications at PNC Financial Services Group, to The Green Sheet. "Other machines could dispense $10 bills and others dispensed $20 bills.
"What is new is that more than half of our 7,200 ATMs now have been upgraded with this feature, and the upgrades on the rest are expected to be complete by the end of this summer. We are always looking for ways to upgrade our ATM network with new functions that will make banking easier for our customers."
ANNOUNCEMENTSLos Angeles-based online bankcard processor Allied Wallet Ltd. opened a new office on Wall Street. Allied Wallet said the high-profile location across from the New York Stock Exchange is a testament to the ISO's growth in 2012. Inc. magazine ranked Allied Wallet 369 on its Inc. 500/5000 list last year with three-year growth of 1,005 percent and revenue of $4.2 million in 2011.
Merchant cash advance (MCA) provider American Finance Solutions said the MCA industry grew by roughly 40 percent in 2012 and would grow by at least that much in 2013. AFS reported the South and West regions of the United States will experience the highest growth rates.
The surge in the MCA market is attributed to banks continued reluctance to lend to small businesses, with financial institutions typically turning down 85 percent of small business loan applications, AFS said.
Business-to-business payment provider Comdata Corp. said cardless fuel transactions can now be processed at convenience stores and truck stops via Comdata's Smart Solutions POS platform. The company noted its SmartQ cardless fueling technology, which employs radio frequency identification tags, automatically shuts off fueling when trucks pull away from pumps.
Petaluma, Calif.-based check guarantee company CrossCheck Inc. reported that its check guarantee applications have been certified to operate on POS terminals that use Heartland Payment Systems Inc.'s E3 end-to-end data security technology. Heartland said CrossCheck's applications compliment E3.
At the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Diebold Inc. introduced the first ATM that allows customers to complete cardless transactions. The new software facilitates cardless transactions by integrating with mobile devices in the cloud.
The software also features a new user interface that allows ATM users to employ touch gestures commonly used with smart phones and tablets.
Online commerce provider Digital River Inc. added American Express Co. bankcard processing to its e-commerce solution. The Minneapolis-based company said merchants that use Digital River World Payments to power their e-commerce websites can now offer customers the option of paying for purchases with AmEx cards.
Business Solutions magazine named Element Payment Services Inc. a 2012 Best Channel Vendor. The magazine awarded the Phoenix-headquartered ISO based on its innovative, reliable technologies and customer service. It is the fifth year in a row the magazine has cited Element as a top payment provider.
First Data Corp. said over 1 billion transactions have been protected using its TransArmor security solution, with in excess of four million transactions secured in one day. The merchant acquirer noted that, since the 2010 launch of TransArmor, over 380,000 U.S. merchants employ the data security technology.
Web hosting company ITX Design said its new online Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) compliance service simplifies the compliance process for e-commerce vendors by securing cardholder data in the cloud. ITX Design said the service is integrated into major payment gateways, including Paypal Inc.'s Payflow Pro, Visa Inc.'s Authorize.net and Planet Payment Inc.'s iPAY.
MasterCard Worldwide's European division reported the number of payment cards enabled with its near field communication (NFC) technology, PayPass, has grown by over 50 percent in Europe since January 2012. MasterCard Europe said PayPass-enabled cards are used in 26 countries across Europe, with eight new countries having added the cards in 2012.
New York-based MCA firm Merchant Cash and Capital LLC said it surpassed for the first time the $10 million-per-month threshold for MCAs in a single month. The mark was reached in November 2012.
"With everything from the 'fiscal cliff' to issues overseas impacting lending, we are confident that our merchant cash advance programs will remain attractive for some time to come," said MCC Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sheinbaum.
Payment gateway operator Shift4 Corp. is continuing its professional golf fundraising campaign for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
The Birdies4Shriners campaign tracks the progress of two PGA Tour players during the 2013 golf season and allows donors to pledge a specific amount for each shot under par they make. Shift4 then adds its own contribution to each donation. In 2012, the campaign raised $75,000 for Shriners, the company said.
Online billing and payment provider SmartPay added the Payment Gateway Log to its electronic billing and invoicing solution.
The log records transactions that flow through SmartPay merchants' payment gateways. SmartPay said the log informs merchants if transactions have been approved or denied, as well as descriptions of error codes, if they occur.
Prepare1099.com said its service allows payment processors to file 1099-K forms with the Internal Revenue Service to comply with the new merchant transaction reporting requirements.
The website added it is an IRS-approved e-file provider for 1099-K forms - commonly called Federal Information Reporting (FIRE).
The Smart Card Alliance wrapped up 2012 with a progress report on the United States' and Latin America's migration to EMV chip and PIN technology. The alliance said 2012 was a "landmark year" for EMV adoption, as summarized by the second annual E-Yearbook available on the Smart Card Alliance website.
The alliance also noted its EMV Migration Forum has grown to 100 members, including global payment brands, financial institutions, merchants, processors, acquirers, regional debit networks, device manufacturers and industry associations.
Data communications and interoperability solutions provider Transaction Network Services Ltd. certified the Ingenico iWL250 wireless payment terminal for use with the TNSPay Mobile wireless payment gateway in the United States.
According to Ingenico, the device is the first EMV-ready payment terminal on the market to support 3G connectivity.
PARTNERSHIPSBluefin Payment Systems selected Vokal Interactive for the deployment of Bluefin's payment gateway on Apple Inc. iPhone and iPad devices. Vokal will also serve as a referral partner, presenting Bluefin's secure payment gateway to its current clients, the companies reported.
Financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. became a TOPS Software Authorized Integration Partner.
With the integration of TOPS Condo/HOA property management payment software, Fiserv clients will reportedly be able to resolve exceptions automatically when processing payments through Fiserv's RemitStream Exception Handling system.
EVO Payments International LLC partnered with Madison Dearborn Partners LLC to fund international expansion and growth initiatives.
"Our goal across the enterprise is to become a truly global leader in the payment transaction sector and our partnership with Madison Dearborn is a significant step in that direction," stated Ray Sidhom, EVO founder and Chairman.
Pace Payment Systems teamed with SCCP Group's global mobile commerce Swiff enterprise in launching its first private-label payment gateway in the United States.
Pace said that with the tailored solution, its merchant and technology partner clients will now have access to Swiff's patented security and authentication technology.
Online payment provider SafetyPay Inc. integrated WorldPay's global payment and risk services to enrich the features of its secure, international e-commerce platform catering to travel industry, digital goods and other online merchants.
Customers can now make purchases directly from bank accounts in their local currencies, the companies said.
VeriFone Inc. formed a strategic alliance with telecommunications firm China Mobile Ltd., Bank of China and Shen Yang Badatong E-Commerce Co. Ltd., for the deployment of VeriFone's Paymedia Mobile Marketing Platform, bringing NFC payments and mobile marketing to thousands of merchant locations throughout China, VeriFone stated.
ACQUISITIONSNewly formed Nashville, Tenn.-based payment processor Charge Payment LLC completed its first acquisition with the purchase of Atlanta-based Trust One Payment Services Inc., a firm representing a portfolio of approximately 2,800 merchants that process over $700 million in annual volume.
Trust One will continue to operate in Georgia as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Charge Payment. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Heartland Payment Systems expanded its Heartland Payroll Services business with the acquisition of payroll outsourcing firm Ovation Payroll Solutions.
"Integrating Ovation Payroll within Heartland will allow us to further market the advantages of being the only large, public, highly service-oriented, merchant advocate payroll provider offering three-year price lock agreements," said David Gilbert, President, Hospitality Group, at Heartland.
Cloud-based software developer NetSuite Inc. purchased multichannel retail management solutions provider Retail Anywhere.
NetSuite said the acquisition will enable the company to continue the expansion of its SuiteCommerce platform and deliver a fully integrated, multichannel, cloud-based business suite especially designed for retail customers.
Colorado-based ISO Total Merchant Services Inc. acquired California-based Fanminder Inc., adding social, mobile marketing to its product suite.
"Now our sales partners can provide merchants with strategies for driving social media promotions to help grow their businesses," stated Joe Kaplan, CEO at Total Merchant Services.
APPOINTMENTSChristian Fadel is the new Chief Financial Officer at payment processor SecureNet Payment Systems LLC. Fadel served as CFO for a number of electronic payments companies, including Century Payments Inc., Sage Payment Solutions and Network 1 Financial Corp., before joining SecureNet.
In his new position, Fadel is responsible for overseeing accounting, human resources, PCI DSS compliance and corporate financial matters.
Mike Urquizu was promoted to Senior Vice President of Sales and Account Management at Discover Financial Services' Pulse debit/ATM network.
Prior to his promotion Urquizu headed Pulse's financial institution sales program. He is now responsible for managing and directing the company's sales and business development activities.
Patty Bengtson, Group Executive and CFO of the Merchant Segment at TSYS Acquiring Solutions, is the 2013 Women's Network in Electronic Transactions (W.net) Board President.
W.net President-Elect is Lisa Shipley, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Accounts for First Data. Linda Rosetti, President of Bluestone Payments LLC, was named Board Treasurer and Chris Lee, President of NA Strategic Partnerships and Emerging Markets at Moneris Solutions, is the new Board Secretary.
Marla Knutson, President of TransFirst LLC, becomes the Immediate Past President.
Carol Grunberg, Senior Manager at Google Payments and Head of Strategic Partner Management at Google; Joan Herbig, CEO at ControlScan; and Nina Vellayan, President and CEO at FrontStream Payments Inc., were all newly named to the W.net board of directors.
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