RETAIL BRIEFSANNOUNCEMENTSCayan LLC earned a Level 2 EMV (Europay/MasterCard/Visa) certification listing on EMVCo., the leading governing body for EMV specifications and interoperability issue management. "Cayan's EMV certification is deeper than most other companies," said Marc Castrechini, Cayan Vice President of Program Management. "Instead of just reselling capable hardware, Cayan certified our own kernel, which allows us to control the entire application and consumer experience."
CO-OP Financial Services unveiled the top five finalists of the CO-OP Think Prize 15, co-sponsored by MasterCard Worldwide and hosted on OpenIDEO. The finalist areas, which ranged from an invention of a new currency to a new process for loan approval, were selected based on the degree to which they showed a vision for success and were human-centered, collaborative, community-centered, unique and implementable.
The eBay Inc. board of directors gave the green light to complete the separation of eBay and its subsidiary PayPal Inc. into two independent publicly traded companies. Subject to satisfaction of conditions related to the separation, the distribution of PayPal common stock is expected to occur on July 17, 2015.
First Data Corp. reported it will provide small-business technology at no cost to any veteran or military spouse-owned business. "Few bring more discipline to growing a business than those who have served in uniform, and our First Data Salutes initiative will help to level the playing field for veteran entrepreneurs by providing the tools they need to run their businesses," said Dan Charron, Executive Vice President, Global Business Solutions at First Data.
John Hagy, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of MetaBank, received the inaugural Terrence P. Maher Prepaid Influencer Award at the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association's annual Power of Prepaid event in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes one individual for dedication and passion in driving the prepaid industry forward, and its namesake honors the late Terry Maher, former partner at Baird Holm LLP and General Counsel for the NBPCA.
MyECheck Inc. uploaded its mobile commerce platform, "e", to Google Inc. and Apple Inc. app stores for approval. Once approved for Apple and Android devices, the mobile apps will be available to a limited group for live testing before availability for download and use by the general public. The MyECheck e Mobile Commerce System enables businesses to accept real-time, guaranteed payments from their customers via mobile devices, the company noted.
The North American Bancard customer service, mobile and tech support teams were named the Best Help Desk/Tech Support Team by Interactive Intelligence Inc., a provider of enterprise-grade collaboration, communications and customer engagement software. The award was presented to NAB for its Customer Experience Quality Program, which reduced the average speed of answer by the NAB customer service team by 3.75 minutes and technical support response time by 2.5 minutes, NAB noted.
NCR Corp. released NCR Retail ONE, a new commerce hub designed to unite an open ecosystem of retail applications and data with an omnichannel software platform to provide frictionless shopping experiences for consumers. The open nature of the new ecosystem of applications and the omnichannel platform allows retailers to differentiate their businesses in an increasingly competitive retail environment using assets already in hand.
As the momentum for near field communication (NFC) solutions continues to build, the NFC Forum released updated technical specifications, which are published on the NFC Forum website. The revised specifications deliver new capabilities to support improved radio frequency (RF) communication, device identification, greater security in peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging, and new RF interface extensions for optimized and scalable P2P and memory tag communications.
PayRange Inc., makers of card and digital payment acceptance solutions for vending machines, received $12 million in Series A funding to modernize the $45 billion cash-based vending industry. PayRange said it enables vending machines to accept any form of payment, from credit card to Apple Pay, so consumers have the freedom to purchase what they want, when they want, without using coins or cash.
Prairie Cloudware Inc. closed a round of funding to support increased demand from banks and credit unions for solutions to provide consumers with safe and simple digital payments. As an innovator in omnichannel digital payments services, the startup stated it is creating new ways for financial institutions to deliver choice, convenience and security to customers purchasing goods online or at the POS.
Visa Inc. assured the Airlines Reporting Corp.'s sponsored Credit Card Working Group that effective October 2015 it will accept airline-supplied flight manifests as a remedy for fraudulent payment card chargebacks. This remedy represents an opportunity for the airline industry to recoup millions of dollars lost each year in "friendly fraud," Visa said.
Digital check provider Zipmark Inc. will now provide payment services to the direct-to-consumer wine sales business Winestyr. Zipmark's integrated payment solution is expected to effectively improve cash flow, simplify operations and enhance the customer experience. "We were excited to find that Zipmark offered a solution that satisfied our payment processing requirements," said John Wilson, co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of Winestyr.
RESEARCHA new report by Boston Retail Partners stated that by 2020, nearly two-thirds of retailers will identify customers via their smartphones when they walk into stores. The BRP SPECIAL REPORT: Real-time Retail – The New Retail Imperative, discusses consumer expectations of a seamless experience across in-store, web and mobile channels and addresses how retailers can deliver a real-time shopping experience to meet these elevated demands.
Javelin Strategy & Research released the 2015 Data Breach Fraud Impact Report, which explores the type of credentials fraudsters will want to steal, the type of businesses most at risk for a data breach, and the magnitude of identity fraud expected by 2018. And Javelin's State of EMV cardholders: Opportunities to Capitalize on the Halo Effect provides a diagnostic snapshot of the state of cardholder awareness of Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV), comparing EMV and non-EMV cardholders.
According to the annual report on U.S. merchant processing fees published by The Nilson Report, general-purpose and private-label credit, debit and prepaid cards generated $5.165 trillion in payments for goods and services in 2014. Processing fees, including interchange paid by U.S. merchants to handle that business, were $78.09 billion, up from $72.44 billion in 2013 when fees were $4.768 trillion.
Trustwave Holdings Inc. released the 2015 Trustwave Global Security Report revealing what it determined were the top cybercrime, data breach and security threat trends from 2014. The report discloses how much criminals can profit from malware attacks, which data they target, how they break into networks, how long it takes for businesses to detect and contain data breaches, what types of businesses criminals targeted, and where the majority of victims are located.
Zix Corp. shared the results of a commissioned research study focused on American consumers' views on data breaches. The Qualtrics-conducted study – which surveyed more than 500 individuals between the ages of 18 and 75 – revealed how Americans view data breaches, how much they understand about them, and if they are changing their shopping habits as a result. Overall, the results indicate Americans have a strong desire for upfront and comprehensive data breach notifications.
PARTNERSHIPSApriva and Amano McGann partnered to enable integration of the EMV-ready, Apriva Gateway, into Amano McGann's parking solutions for both attended and unattended parking systems across a network of more than 5,000 locations. "Apriva is the ideal partner to enhance our payment systems to support EMV acceptance," said Joe Survance, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Business Development at Amano McGann.
Defense Mobile Corp. reported it teamed with prepay and value transfer provider, EMIDA to expand Defense Mobile service and SIM cards to thousands of locations nationwide. "We are confident that EMIDA's many years of experience in the prepaid marketplace will allow us to better deliver on our mission to connect and improve the lives of the members of the military community," said Phil Prouty, co-founder of Defense Mobile and head of distribution.
To help healthcare providers comply with upcoming fraud liability standards and protect patients, Experian Health joined forces with AxiaMed and Ingenico Group to deliver a new EMV-compliant solution to hospitals and medical providers. The joint application protects patient financial information, reduces liability and gives hospitals control over patient collections, the companies reported.
Jory LLC teamed with USAePay to integrate its business-management POS software for small to midsize businesses with USAePay's gateway. "Instead of piecing together a solution from multiple vendors and service contracts Jory does all of this on its own," said Vlad Galyuz, Vice President of Technology at USAePay. "It's payments, operations and customer engagement in a beautiful software package designed for the SMB in mind."
PayItSimple USA Inc. extended distribution of its patented Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliant technology through a partnership with North American Bancard that incorporates the NAB gateway, NABVelocity. The partnership is designed to provide a comprehensive cloud-based solution that will enable merchants to offer customers instant, interest-free installment payments using the Visa and MasterCard credit cards they already have in hand.
POS SuperStore reported that it became a strategic reseller for Quetzal POS in the U.S. market. Used in tandem with the Card Connect Payment Gateway, the Quetzal POS Apple iPad/IBM Cloud solution enables POS Superstore to provide its customers with a fully integrated payment system. The agreement enhances POS Superstore's offering to retailers providing them a seamless solution for managing operations, staffing, inventory and payment processing, according to the companies.
Sigma Payment Solutions Inc. formed an alliance with KISS Concepts Group to market solutions to auto dealers in the buy-here-pay-here industry, as well as to finance companies, credit unions and banks throughout the United States. KISS said that through this new alliance, its nationwide business development managers will act as the outside sales force for Sigma's entire suite of products and services.
Spindle Inc. stated it signed an agreement with PayLeap to provide a flat-rate payment aggregation solution to a segment of PayLeap's merchants. Through the arrangement, PayLeap will offer gateway services and Spindle's payment aggregation service to iClays, a management company responsible for scheduling tournaments for more than 124 member gun clubs in the southern United States.
TeleCommunication Systems Inc. partnered with Symantec Corp. to provide financial services firms, online gaming companies and other organizations a new tool for identifying fraud, confirming location compliance, and preventing "false positive" denials of services. The resulting solution enables organizations to confirm the true location of a device, and determine whether the device has been tampered with or the location has been spoofed, the companies said.
Vantiv Inc. partnered with Zuza LLC and CardFlight Inc. to expand POS payment solutions to customers. The three companies will blend capabilities to help merchants better manage their businesses and accept card payments. Chris Williams, Vantiv Senior Vice President, ISO Business Unit, said, "These partnerships allow us to offer our customers the most forward thinking and best technological solutions for all of their POS needs."
ACQUISITIONSC&H Financial Services Inc. acquired Regal Payment Systems LLC. C&H said it serves more than 5,000 merchants and processes over $1 billion in transaction volume yearly. As a result of the acquisition, the company expects it will reach $5 billion in transaction volume in 2015. C&H continues to pursue other opportunities for growth in the credit card processing and payments industry.
GoCoin and Ziftr LLC, a mobile wallet, e-commerce loyalty and credit card processing company, agreed to proceed with strategic merger discussions. Together, GoCoin and Ziftr expect to provide one platform to meet merchant demands for better digital currency solutions that will engage customers and encourage them to use the low-cost, highly secure alternative to credit card payments.
Spindle Inc. completed the purchase of the Loyalty Program Operator License from Help Worldwide Inc., a global consumer and business network. The companies said they will jointly market a co-branded Yowza!! points program for all Yowza!! consumer app users, as well as Yowza!! merchants, who will now be able to leverage the POS solution to reach over 30 million consumers via Help Worldwide's network.
APPOINTMENTSRêv Worldwide appointed Yobie Benjamin as its board chairman. Benjamin is an investor and technology innovator with deep financial services, retail and consumer products experience that includes product design, next generation security, know your customer/anti-money laundering and anti-fraud systems, software architecture design, and engineering. He earned the CNN Top 10 Technology Products of 2014 award and was also named 2015 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.
Digital River Inc. appointed Hoke Horne its Chief Financial Officer, effective June 24, 2015. In this role, the 20-year financial services veteran is responsible for the company's accounting, finance, tax, corporate development and enterprise operations activities. "We are pleased to welcome Hoke to our leadership team," said David Dobson, Digital River's Chief Executive Officer.
North American Bancard appointed Rhett Rowe as President of Capital for Merchants, an NAB subsidiary focused on helping businesses obtain working capital through merchant cash advances. In his new position, Rowe will provide strategic leadership and direction to maximize the CFM brand. Prior to joining CFM, Rowe served as Senior Regional Director with Great Lakes Business Credit where he expanded GLBC's sales and marketing channels.
TMG Financial Services hired Matt Oakley as its Chief Marketing Officer. A seasoned marketing veteran with more than 20 years of experience, Oakley joined TMGFS from Kreg Tool, where he served most recently as Director of Marketing and Customer Experience, and executed a series of strategies to ensure the voice of the consumer was heard by all stakeholders, TMGFS noted.
Traxpay named Jochen Siegert as its Chief Operating Officer. Siegert has held senior executive management positions at both PayPal and MasterCard. Siegert brings a deep understanding of the financial technology sector that is expected to be a key advantage in the company's global expansion. "We share a common vision for where the industry is going, and what the market is expecting in terms of innovation for companies transacting on a global scale," said Traxpay CEO John Bruggeman.
Global Payments Inc. appointed Frank T. Young to serve as its Senior Vice President, Global Product and Innovation. In this role, Young is responsible for leading global innovation and product strategy. Reporting to David Mangum, the company's President and COO, Young comes to Global Payments with a professional focus on the intersection of innovation, technology and commerce, the company said. He most recently served with Google, where he led strategy and partnerships supporting in-store, online and P2P payments. 
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