REATIL BRIEFS
ANNOUNCEMENTSAustralia-based international payment service provider BillPro Pty. Ltd. opened its first European payment services office. The company said the move comes ahead of BillPro's introduction of new products and services for the European Union market. In addition to worldwide credit card processing, BillPro specializes in local payment methods and multicurrency support.
"Our new office in Amsterdam gives us a base for expansion of our EU services," said Daria Rippingale, Chief Executive Officer for BillPro. "We're excited to bring our expertise in cross-border payment processing to the region and to support Europe's robust and growing cross-border economy."
U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California sentenced former Secret Service special agent Shaun W. Bridges to 71 months in prison. This followed his guilty plea to one count of money laundering and one count of obstructing justice. He also ordered Bridges to forfeit $651,000.
Between 2012 and 2014, Bridges was assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force investigating illegal activity on the Silk Road, a covert online marketplace for illicit goods. Bridges conducted forensic computer investigations to locate, identify and prosecute targets, including Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. Bridges admitted to resetting passwords and PINs of various Silk Road accounts and moving about 20,000 bitcoin, at the time worth approximately $350,000, from those accounts into his own bitcoin wallet.
The House Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas, continued its Disrupter Series with a review of mobile payments. The subcommittee discussed how mobile technology works, the security it provides consumers, and how it is disrupting traditional payment options for small and large businesses across the country.
The Electronic Payments Coalition issued a statement praising the House Financial Services Committee's approval of several bipartisan measures designed to protect consumers, grow the economy, strengthen government transparency and help lead the fight against terrorists. One of the seven acts approved by the committee, the Data Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 2205) is designed to ensure retailers adopt scalable, flexible, common sense data security standards to protect consumers' personal and financial information when in the hands of retailers. The committee also approved a task force to investigate terrorism financing.
FIS stated the resolution and dismissal of patent infringement claims brought against the company by Fiserv Inc. in 2012 were resolved. FIS and Metavante, which FIS acquired in 2009, were sued in the United States District Court by Fiserv subsidiaries CheckFree and CashEdge in January 2012 for allegedly infringing four business method patents. The dispute was settled with no monetary payment made or promised by either party.
Fiserv was named Technology Provider of the Year at the 2015 Payments Awards. Now in its third year, the Payments Awards are organized by fintech publications FStech and Retail Systems to recognize cards and payments excellence, as well as technology innovations occurring over the past year. Fiserv was selected as the winner from among a group of five other short-listed companies.
Net Element Inc. rebranded its TOT Money brand as Digital Provider. The new name and logo were introduced to reflect the evolution of the company and its initiatives as a digital provider of mobile payment services. The company is also launching new content monetization tools into emerging markets. These include short message service, wireless application protocol-click, Internet-click, in-app purchases and other direct-carrier services.
Network Merchants Inc. released a new payment facilitation gateway platform called FACenablement (FACe). It is a fully brandable gateway platform built to meet the technical and operational needs of payment facilitators, NMI stated. The product leverages NMI's agnostic payment gateway to power payment facilitator enablement and can accommodate both sub-merchant and traditional merchant accounts.
Omidyar Network reported it made a for-profit investment in eCurrency Mint, a company that pioneered a new digital currency technology called eCurrency. The currency is issued by a central bank and has the same legal and monetary status as notes and coins. Funds raised during the Series C round will make eCM's ground-breaking technology available to central banks around the world, Omidyar stated.
Australia-based Shareable Apps said it expanded operations into the United States with the opening of an office in California's Silicon Valley. This expansion is expected to support Shareable Apps' rapid growth, accommodate new talent and continue to drive customer acquisition. "We've now recruited local talent in San Francisco, New York and LA to service our U.S. customers," said Adam Friedman, founder and CEO of Shareable Apps.
TabbedOut raised $2 million from Miami-based Aeterna Capital. Aeterna Capital joins lead investor Wellington Management Co. and participating investors NEA and Morgan Creek Capital Management. TabbedOut's Series C, initiated in June 2015, now totals $23.5 million. The company anticipates this infusion will help it land account teams in six U.S. states initially, with three more U.S. geographic locations to be added soon.
Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) said it signed a payments agreement with Atlanticus Holdings Corp. to support its loan origination platform, Fortiva. As part of the agreement TSYS will continue to provide cardholder services, card and statement production, fraud prevention, and risk management. "We are pleased to once again extend our relationship with Atlanticus and Fortiva, as they have been a valued TSYS client for many years," said Bill Pruett, President of TSYS' North America Services segment.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. launched Walmart Pay on Dec. 10, 2015, in select stores in Bentonville, Ark., where the company is headquartered. Nationwide rollout is expected to be completed during the first half of 2016. The retail chain noted that prior to the launch, 21 million customers were already active users of its existing mobile app. With the addition of Walmart Pay, mobile payment access will now extend across iOS and Android devices; with acceptance of all major credit, debit, prepaid and Wal-Mart gift cards; and to all in-store checkout lanes.
Wandera Inc. reported it detected payment information leaked from smartphones accessing major mobile websites and apps during purchase and upgrade processes. Customer credit card information, passport data, purchase data and other personally identifiable information were sent unencrypted during purchases from companies including easyJet, Air Canada, San Diego Zoo, AirAsia, Aer Lingus and others, according to Wandera.
Wyndham Hotels settles with FTC Wyndham Hotels and Resorts agreed to settle FTC charges that its security practices unfairly exposed the payment card information of hundreds of thousands of consumers to hackers in three separate data breaches. Under the terms of the settlement, the company will establish a comprehensive information security program designed to protect cardholder data – including payment card numbers, names and expiration dates, the company stated.
Zebit Inc. was named a 2015 Startup Competition Winner at the Future of Money & Technology Summit for its automated payments platform that offers zero-interest credit to underserved Americans. The 2015 Startup Competition showcases new companies that are modernizing financial services systems and products using innovative, technology-based solutions. Nominated organizations were evaluated on business model, growth potential and platform capabilities.
RESEARCHThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report detailing how more than $16 billion in credit card fees has been reduced by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act). The CARD Act empowered the CFPB to regularly review the credit card market and the impact of the law's rules. The CFPB report acknowledged the CARD Act has addressed many problematic practices and outlined remaining areas of concern.
GlobalPlatform released version 1.2 of its System Messaging Specification for the Management of Mobile-NFC Services. The specification, which defines the roles of actors in the near field communication (NFC) landscape, and the common language used between them, has been updated to recognize new actors within the NFC ecosystem. It also makes lifecycle management data more accessible to service providers.
Hoyos Labs Corp. released the results of an independent survey of online shopping trends. The results revealed consumers are concerned about online hacking but weren't planning to do more this holiday season to protect themselves. Of those surveyed, 90 percent said passwords provide little or no security; more than a third believe biometrics would be a much more secure solution.
RSR issued two reports covering retail trends. Omni-Channel 2015: Taking Time, Money, Commitment And Technology contains analysis of the business drivers, opportunities and organizational constraints pertaining to retailers' omnichannel strategies. Merchandising 2016: Big Changes Coming offers baseline recommendations for navigating the future of merchandising as retailers struggle to differentiate themselves on more than price alone.
The Secure Remote Payment Council released its fourth position paper in a series on transaction security. This paper wrestles with preventative measures to combat identity theft. The SRPc Authentication Work Group statement indicated out-of-band, multifactor authentication provides the best defense against Internet and POS fraud and addresses the barriers to entry in the deployment of user authentication solutions and the misperceptions in the marketplace.
As the U.S. migration to Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) continues, some industry participants are planning to process payments made using EMV contact chip cards, EMV contactless cards, mobile NFC devices or all three. To clarify how NFC and EMV work in tandem, the Smart Card Alliance released a white paper titled EMV and NFC: Complementary Technologies Enabling Secure Contactless Payments.
PARTNERSHIPSA collaboration on innovative POS payment acceptance based on Internet technologies and value-added services in Europe began between the Wirecard Group and Alipay, a business of Alibaba Group's Ant Financial. Wirecard stated the partnership will enable the brands and retailers to tap into the Chinese tourism market, worth $165 billion in 2014, according to the World Tourism Organization, and provide a channel for them to engage with Chinese tourists.
American Payment Solutions formed a strategic alliance with V-Technologies LLC. Through the collaboration, APS customers will participate in a series of webinars hosted by V-Technologies. Customers will learn how to get Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard compliant at no additional cost, lower AmEx fees, access Level 3 gateways for lower interchange rates, get seamless Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software integration, and more.
CAN Capital Inc. and iPayment Inc. formed a partnership to provide over 150,000 small businesses currently working with iPayment the ability to apply for access to flexible financial solutions to help them grow their businesses. "Our partnership with CAN Capital is another example of our commitment to listening to market demand and delivering a streamlined solution for our small-to-medium business customers," said Greg Cohen, President of iPayment.
KeyBank entered into a strategic partnership with Aptexx, a provider of payment and property management software. Aptexx's Resident Anywhere service, and Key's real estate industry expertise and payments capabilities are expected to provide property owners and managers with a centralized, mobile-first solution to collect rent payments, receive maintenance requests, deliver resident communications and administer one-click micro-surveys.
Nymbus partnered with Payveris to allow for a seamless online banking experience for consumers and streamline processes for financial institutions. Poised to equip smaller banks and credit unions with modern systems, the Nymbus platform fuses core banking functionality, a suite of applications and a cloud-based infrastructure into a singular, modern solution designed to increase efficiency and the ability for these smaller institutions to survive and thrive, the companies said.
PAYK12 and PowerSchool Group LLC joined forces through an independent software vendor partnership agreement. Through the integration, administrators can now seamlessly plug in PAYK12 with existing student management platforms to allow for easy monetary transactions from parents online, the companies said. "Parents and administrators want the same things when it comes to a student portal: convenience, ease of use and security," said Chad Wolfe, CEO of PAYK12.
POSsible POS Inc. extended the distribution of its POS software and hardware solution through its new partnership with Clearent LLC. Clearent customers now have the ability to utilize POSsible POS' software and hardware solutions. POSsible POS Restaurant Software enables restaurateurs to improve profitability by managing ingredients and recipes, employee labor, and customer marketing personalization based on market trends, the companies said.
Revention, Vantiv join to serve hospitality industry Revention partnered with Vantiv Inc. to provide a secure EMV payment solution to merchants with the ability to process NFC contactless payments, as well as PIN debit cards. "Vantiv's dedication to advancing technology and customer service were the primary factors behind Revention's decision to enter into the partnership", stated Laura J. Gaudin, Director of Product Management at Revention.
The Sage North American payments division, Sage Payment Solutions, teamed with cybersecurity provider Trustwave to expand its merchant compliance program. Sage Payment Solutions rolled out new endpoint protection services from Trustwave, including antivirus protection and file integrity monitoring, which are now available as part of the Sage merchant compliance program.
ACQUISITIONSTarsin Mobile Inc. entered into a merger with Circle Plus Payments Inc. and changed the name of the combined entity to Circle Plus. The company will deliver global payment solutions on mobile devices through its Payable App, which is expected to enable merchants to accept payments or send invoices without external readers or hardware.
Payscape and e-commerce provider Vendevor entered into an agreement under which Payscape will acquire all the assets of Vendevor. Payscape said that through the acquisition, its customers will be able to utilize existing merchant accounts to open comprehensive e-commerce stores and manage and update their accounts through mobile devices. Vendevor customers will benefit from cheaper processing costs and transaction fees, Payscape added.
SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc. initiated a $5 million private placement offering under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933. The company will use the proceeds from the offering to conclude a proposed merger with CT-Payment Inc. and finance the growth of the new group. SmartCard stated it will take advantage of the development and technical expertise of CT-Payment to create a powerful EMV host solution.
TransUnion buys Trustev TransUnion LLC acquired Trustev Ltd., a provider of digital verification technology based in Ireland. With Trustev's online risk analytics and TransUnion's data, the combined platform offers customers new levels of confidence to support account acquisition, account management and digital payments. "As fraud grows in volume and sophistication, TransUnion continues to invest in building our global capabilities to help companies manage their risk," said Jim Peck, TransUnion's President and CEO.
APPOINTMENTSEffective Jan. 1, 2016, ShopKeep's President and CEO, Norm Merritt, will be stepping down as head of the company for personal reasons. Michael DeSimone, former ShopKeep COO and CEO at Borderfree, a publicly traded company sold to Pitney-Bowes in 2015, will serve as ShopKeep's acting CEO. ShopKeep Board Member Dan Ciporin spoke on behalf of the board and said, "We support Norm in his decision and wish him the best of luck."
BlueSnap Inc. hired three executives to support the company's commitment to delivering a frictionless checkout experience with maximized payment conversions for online merchants. BlueSnap welcomed Scott Fitzgerald, as Senior Vice President of Marketing; Bob Botelle, as SVP of Customer Success; and Scott Conti to lead sales efforts. All will be based at the company's headquarters in Waltham, Mass.
Zilliant hired Steve Hale as Vice President of Worldwide Channel Sales to lead the design and execution of Zilliant's new channel program. This new program will be designed for channel partners who aspire to differentiate their solutions and services portfolios with Zilliant data science solutions. "We're very excited to welcome Steve to our fast-growing team and build a world-class partner program," said Greg Peters, President and CEO of Zilliant.
Verifone announced that former Oracle senior executive, Christophe Job, joined Verifone as SVP and Chief Technology Officer of its solutions delivery organization. In this position, Job will drive a new wave of innovative software solutions and bring leading-edge, strategic value to Verifone's global clients, the company said.
ABC Financial Services appointed Daniel Pack to the position of Chief Technology Officer. Pack joined ABC Financial eight months ago as the Vice President of Software Development to provide a greater business focus. In his new role as Chief Technology Officer, Pack is responsible for directing the software development organization in the delivery of the software solutions that customers use to run their businesses.
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