NEWSIn the march toward U.S. implementation of the Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) chip-card interoperability standard, the EMV Migration Forum issued a recommendation to ease the transition. The best path to EMV debit implementation and acceptance "is a single common U.S. debit payment application identifier (AID) on a debit card that represents each of the debit networks enabled on the card," the forum said in a statement.
If this approach is adopted, additional complex tags - which would be needed in a multi-application approach for debit implementation - would be unnecessary, according to the forum.
Many U.S. payment networks have moved toward a common AID. Ten independent debit networks recently adopted Discover Financial Services' D-Payment Application Specification, also known as D-PAS. (See "10 debit networks pick Discover AID," April 8, 2013, 13:04:01.)
Payment service providers and ISOs will have access to the fragmented Turkish market through Pay.On AG, which operates a multichannel web-based payment system. Pay.On integrated its gateway and platform with Turkish routing gateway iyziconnect, operated by Iyzi Payments, which was founded in 2012. Access to iyziconnect is provided through Pay.On's PaySourcing platform and PayPipe routing gateway.
According to Pay.On, credit cards in Turkey tend to be regional and are processed only by local banks. Iyziconnect has integrated with Garanti Bank, Isbank and Yapi Kredi bank, which together account for about 50 percent of Turkey's cardholders. Iyziconnect provides dedicated connections to acquirers as well as financial institutions and reportedly complies with internationally applicable Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) guidelines.
MasterCard Worldwide reportedly resumed the processing of payments for WikiLeaks, whose founder, Julian Assange, has been pursued by the U.S. government. In 2010, MasterCard, Visa Inc. and other financial institutions halted payment processing for the website, after WikiLeaks began posting classified documents that the government alleges were obtained illegally.
WikiLeaks said it was notified of the resumption of payments by Valitor, the Icelandic partner for Visa and MasterCard, after WikiLeaks successfully sued Valitor in Iceland for breach of contract. Donations by credit cards to WikiLeaks through https://paygate.datacell.com were fully reinstated July 1, 2013. The Huffington Post reported July 7 that Visa has also begun processing payments to WikiLeaks. Ecuador granted asylum to Assange in 2012.
ANNOUNCEMENTSU.S.-based online and mobile payment processor Braintree Payment Solutions LLC reported it now facilitates $10 billion in electronic payments annually. Meanwhile, the processor noted that it continued its European expansion with the addition of Sweden-based online game developer Mojang AB. Braintree also processes for the European e-hailing taxi app developers Click A Taxi, Hailo and Uber Technologies Inc.
Forte Payment Systems inked a deal with the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles to expand credit card payments to DMV locations through its payment gateway. Rhode Island DMV customers can now access the system to pay registration and license fees, purchase license plates, pay permit and road test fees, and handle other vehicle related expenses.
The Electronic Payments Practice Group of Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss PC launched a new legal and business blog, ElectronicPaymentsLaw.com. The blog, authored by Holli Targan, Jill Miller, Sarah Weston, Heather Maldegen-Long, Joel Alam, Eric Linden and Andrew Hayner, examines the legal challenges facing the payments and prepaid industries. Targan is a former President of the Electronic Transactions Association and co-founder of Women's Network in Electronic Transactions.
Bluetooth barcode scanner firm KoamTac Inc. added radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to its KDC450 suite of linear and two-dimensional image-based scanners and card readers designed for smartphones and tablet computers. "The KDC450 with RFID simply opens up even more flexibility for [the] way the world collects and stores information," said KoamTac's CEO, Hanjin Lee. KoamTac's scanners are known for their miniature size and ruggedness.
Recognizing the need for grocery and department stores to use POS systems to manage sales and track inventory, LAN Services LLC modified and relaunched its online shopping cart product, 24Seven Cart, integrated with its in-store POS solution, Retail Pro. The integration is designed to allow retailers to share and update information more easily between web and brick-and-mortar business units.
Duluth, Ga.-based NCR Corp. signed an agreement to deploy the NCR venue management solution to enable food service payments at the Adelaide Oval, a cricket and Australian rules football stadium in Adelaide, South Australia. The stadium is under renovation and will reopen in October 2013 with bars, restaurants, dining rooms, corporate boxes and concession stands to cater to capacity crowds of up to 50,000 fans.
The New Haven Cash Register Co. Inc., a provider of POS equipment for over 60 years, rebranded itself NHCR. The name abbreviation reflects NHCR's move toward providing new mobile POS solutions, including tablet-based ones, the company said. The rebranding initiative includes a new corporate logo and new website found at www.nhcrct.com.
In a June 26, 2013, blog post, David Marcus, President of eBay Inc. subsidiary PayPal Inc., said PayPal has embarked on a new initiative to supply payments in space via PayPal Galactic. With space tourism in the initial stages, PayPal expects the "practical realities of life," including commerce, to be a necessary piece of the infrastructure, Marcus said.
PayPal is working on the initiative with the Mountain View, Calif.-based not-for-profit organization, the SETI Institute.
Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) reported that it achieved EMV payment processing certification by Visa, MasterCard, the American Express Co. and Discover. "TSYS is now well positioned to support our acquirers and merchants as the market evolves in the coming months and years," said Eric Barth, Group Executive of Product Management for TSYS' Merchant Services segment.
City of Industry, Calif.-based ISO US Bankcard Services Inc. opened a new branch office on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. The new location is expected to provide a convenient and strategic location for connections between merchants and USBSI representatives. The addition of the new office brings the number of employees at the ISO to over 100.
RESEARCHAite Group LLC projects the adoption of EMV chip-enabled payments in the United States will cost $10 billion to $11 billion for hardware and plastics alone. In EMV: A Roadmap and Guidebook for the U.S. Market, Aite found 11 of the 15 issuers surveyed anticipate having a majority of their portfolios migrated to EMV by the October 2015 deadline mandated by the major card brands.
"The U.S. is by far the largest and most fragmented market to move to EMV," said Julie Conroy, Research Director in Retail Banking at Aite. "To compound the challenge, the networks are promoting diverging CVMs [three- or four-digit codes imprinted on cards and used to ensure the cards being used are in possession of their owners].
"Consumers who have been trained to expect uniform transaction processes regardless of issuer or brand will begin to have diverging experiences, depending on the issuer. This divergence will lead to confused consumers and merchants, longer queues, and the opportunity for fraudsters to capitalize."
Vertical Systems Reseller interviewed six payments industry thought leaders about the trends and challenges facing POS resellers and payment processors today.
Payment Processing Handbook 2013 offers advice from experts interviewed on how new POS hardware VARs can enter the market, the benefits of complementary partners to resellers and recommended security offerings that extend beyond PCI DSS compliance.
PARTNERSHIPSBluefin Payment Systems entered an agreement with Ramco Systems to make Bluefin's PayConex payment gateway available to Ramco's U.S. base of enterprise software platform clients. Ramco specializes in enterprise solutions for the aviation, manufacturing, logistics, energy, utilities and government sectors internationally. It has global offices in 21 locations.
Florida-based companies CheckWay Systems and Automated Merchant Services LLC formed a strategic alliance whereby CheckWay will offer a full suite of POS products and services, including extended warranty and support options, to AMS' payment processing merchants.
Chosen Payments entered an agreement with the National Limousine Association. As a preferred partner, Chosen will provide incentive programs to NLA members and nonmembers, as well as revenue rebates to NLA for all new member accounts. NLA members will also receive discounted credit card processing and next-day funding services as part of the program.
CorFire aligned with acardo group AG to incorporate acardo's digital vouchering system into the CorFire Wallet platform, along with near field communication (NFC), for the acquisition and redemption of vouchers through mobile wallets. The enhanced technology is designed to enable merchants to generate offers based on purchasing behavior, time of day and physical location.
Global NFC technology solution provider Gemalto NV was selected by Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd. to provide the NFC component in smartphones for a pilot program in Taiwan. Ten million CHT subscribers will reportedly be able to use mobile phones to make contactless payments at over 20,000 POS terminals that support MasterCard's PayPass technology in Taiwan.
Mobile ticketing and payment software firm GlobeSherpa teamed with iSupport Software, a developer of information technology help desk and customer support systems, in creating an advanced mobile ticketing system for transit authorities.
"Our transit agency customers are thrilled about the prospect of having a flexible, scalable solution to provide support to mobile transit customers 24/7," said Nat Parker, CEO of GlobeSherpa.
Ingenico SA added Mercury Payment Systems LLC as a partner, certifying the payment processor on its Telium2 series fixed POS and mobile payment devices, as well as Ingenico's retail-based application and hardware. According to the companies, all certified devices will be integrated to support the MercuryShield end-to-end data encryption solution.
Merchant Warehouse formed a partnership with SouthWare Innovations Inc. to integrate SouthWare's order entry, POS, web-based shopping cart and collections software with its Genius Customer Engagement Platform. Through Genius, SouthWare merchants now have a unified payment platform for acceptance of present and future forms of payment, the companies said.
Phoenix Managed Networks LLC teamed with Global eTelecom Inc. to make GETI's check processing solutions available through the PhoeniXGate payment gateway. PhoenixGate's hosted payment solution supports credit, debit, EBT, gift, loyalty, recurring payment and check transaction processing in a PCI-compliant environment via an integrated virtual terminal.
VeriFone Inc. formed an alliance with PC manufacturer Lenovo to deliver an enterprise-class, mobile POS platform powered by Microsoft Windows 8 Pro. Integrating Lenovo's ThinkPad Tablet 2 with VeriFone's PAYware Mobile technology, merchants can integrate the platform with existing business infrastructures including multi-channel and supply chain management, store operations, e-commerce, merchandising and financial software programs, VeriFone noted.
ACQUISITIONSNet Element International entered a binding agreement with Quickpay Worldwide to acquire the proprietary payment terminal network provider. Under the agreement, Quickpay will join the TOT Group, Net Element's mobile payment and transaction processing holding company, giving TOT access to cash-based economies through an interface that can be localized to match the lifestyle and language preferences of targeted markets, the companies stated.
APPOINTMENTSGlobal Electronic Technology Inc. chose Xavier Ayala to be its Executive Vice President of Business Development. Ayala now leads GET's U.S. marketing initiatives, represents GET and its affiliate OrbitalPay LLC to ISOs, merchant level salespeople, bank acquirers, value-added resellers and financial service organizations.
Ayala, who has more than 16 years of payments industry experience, reports directly to Steven H. Bryson, founder and CEO of GET and OrbitalPay. Most recently Ayala served as Vice President of U.S. Sales at Moneris Solutions Inc.
Martine Birot was appointed Ingenico's Executive Vice President of Human Resources and Internal Communication, reporting to Philippe Lazare, the company's CEO. She succeeds Mathieu Gagnard, who now co-heads Ingenico's e-Healthcare/e-ID Business Unit. Birot brings 25 years' experience in HR to the company.
Cynergy Data LLC hired Michelle Talbott Daughtry as its Vice President, ISO Sales. She is charged with championing aggressive company growth through ISO partnerships in the company's eastern U.S. sales territory.
"Michelle brings 20+ years of tremendous sales experience in the payments arena working with ISOs, acquirers and agents, earning sales and service awards along the way," said Tom Della Badia, Cynergy's Senior Vice President for Sales. Daughtry held prior executive positions in such leading payment companies as Global Payments Inc., Vital Processing Services (now TSYS), and National City Bank in Columbus, Ohio.
Shazia Manus, CEO of The Members Group, was tapped to serve a one-year term on the Credit Union National Association's Payments Policy Subcommittee. Manus was chosen "because of her experience with legislative advocacy campaigns and payments policy issues impacting consumers and the financial services industry," TMG said.
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