ANNOUNCEMENTSPayroc WorldAccess LLC launched a new offering, ConsumerChoice, to provide choice for card-not-present (CNP) environments. Provided through Payroc’s subsidiaries, this custom offering will provide businesses of all kinds the choice to accept all card and ACH payment types at no cost to their merchants, Payroc stated. ConsumerChoice is Payroc’s consumer-driven processing program that facilitates the elimination of payment processing costs to the merchant, whether transacting in a card-present or CNP environment, the company added.
Online fraud fighting firm SEON partnered with András Arató, the man featured in the popular Hide the Pain Harold memes, to create a web series titled Behind The Pain. The series follows Harold as he explains how his life has been impacted by becoming globally famous online. The series of three very short videos, which have been nominated for this year's Webby Awards and Shorty Awards, strike a comedic tone while highlighting the importance of protecting one’s identity online. Episodes can be viewed on YouTube at
Synechron, Inc., a digital transformation consulting firm, launched its PayTech Accelerator Program, aimed at helping banks and other financial services institutions seize new opportunities across the payments landscape and solve evolving common business challenges. The ninth such Accelerator Program launched since September 2016, PayTech Accelerator leverages the expertise of Synechron with the payments domain and technology experts from Attra, which Synechron acquired in December 2020. The program offers a suite of cutting-edge, scalable solutions that are design led, data driven and technology enabled, the company stated.
authID.ai, a provider of biometric identity authentication, reported it received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its multi-party, multi-factor authentication method. The patent protects a core component of authID’s intellectual property relating to its Verified identity verification platform. Entitled A Method and System for Transaction Authorization Based on a Parallel Autonomous Channel Multi-User and Multi-Factor Authentication, the patent comprises a method that enables an account holder to authorize a transaction, and at the same time, allows a third-party identity verifier to validate the identity of the account holder—for example, through a personal code or biometrics—and confirm the account holder’s consent for the transaction.
RESEARCHIn a global consumer survey, Axway found that almost 60 percent of respondents believe it's worth allowing companies to access their personal data if it means a better user experience. The survey also revealed regional—and perhaps cultural—differences regarding data openness: 75 percent of Brazilian and 59 percent of U.S. participants said it's worth allowing access to their data if it provides a better user experience; The British are split, with 50 percent agreeing it’s worth allowing access to their data; and Germans are slightly opposed to the notion, with 48 percent agreeing. Also, 73 percent of respondents use their Facebook or Google account to log into other apps to avoid creating new logins.
The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance issued a joint bulletin on the increasing threat of ransomware attacks. Critical areas identified for best practices implementation include network segmentation, employee training, system testing, network security maintenance, software patches, ongoing monitoring, system backups and response to attacks. The bulletin is available at https://bit.ly/3K6BqIq.
Visa reported that the U.S. Spending Momentum Index (SMI) was 102.4 in January, down from a revised 109.4 in December. When the Visa SMI rises above 100, consumer spending momentum is strengthening; when it falls below 100, spending momentum is weakening, compared to the previous year.
The SMI’s decline from December was due largely to the rise in new COVID-19 cases with the spread of the Omicron variant, but the current wave’s impact on spending was less than prior outbreaks, and for the most part, hasn't derailed the recovery as more households continue to spend more than they did last year, Visa noted.
PARTNERSHIPSBlackhawk Network and retail software firm LOC Software partnered to deliver innovative touch-free mobile payment technologies to retailers. With new touch-free payment options, the partners stated, they will give retail customers more ways to pay, more reasons to shop in stores and more ways to engage with retail brands. “Blackhawk has developed a robust API solution that enables easy integration with digital wallets and payments solutions," said Helena Mao, vice president, global product strategy at Blackhawk Network. "Working with LOC Software will give our partners rapid integration to better deliver the technology of multiple wallets as part of our digital payments promise for customers."
MOCA, a digital-first payment platform provider, partnered with digital payments developer Vertifi to provide Vertifi’s remote deposit capture (RDC) technology, DeposZip, to its platform and further enhance its platform’s capabilities. With DeposZip, MOCA’s clients can offer their customers a convenient way to deposit checks with any mobile device by taking a picture of the check, MOCA noted, adding that DeposZip is designed with flexibility, efficiency and security in mind so customers can make deposits easily and safely.
Paysafe, a specialized payments platform, expanded its partnership with BetWildwood, the official online sportsbook of Wildwood Casino in Colorado. BetWildwood integrated Paysafe’s new Skrill USA digital wallet, upgrading its existing Skrill wallet to streamline depositing and payouts for its players and support broader customer acquisition and retention. BetWildwood, powered by software provider ISI Race & Sports, first plugged into Paysafe in early 2021 via a single streamlined integration providing access to a full suite of traditional and alternative payment methods, including Skrill USA. deposits and payouts, Paysafe noted.
Socure, a provider of digital identity verification and fraud solutions, partnered with OSaaS, a solutions-as-a-service public sector integrator. OSaaS will now offer industry-leading accuracy for identity verification along with fraud prevention solutions to state and local government agencies to prevent billions in losses due to identity fraud, Socure stated. Together, the partners will deliver Socure’s graph-based identity verification platform into mission-critical projects, which will enable consumer information to be verified in a frictionless manner and facilitate instant, accurate decisions while also protecting consumer privacy, Socure added.
ACQUISITIONFinancial technology company TreviPay said it acquired BATON Financial Services Inc., a technology company that built a "unique, innovative B2B invoice payments network." Baton’s payments network enables seamless delivery of structured financial services in partnership with financial institutions, TreviPay stated, noting that this acquisition is part of its ongoing, global expansion plan to make B2B payments faster and more flexible for its clients. As liquidity continues to be challenging for small businesses, the ability to extend trade credit helps free up cash flow while building customer loyalty and maintaining competitive B2B market share, TreviPay added.
APPOINTMENTSMelio, a B2B payments platform for SMBs, appointed former Meta and PayPal senior executive Tomer Barel as its new chief operating officer. Barel will spearhead Melio’s strategy execution and scale operations as it accelerates growth, aiming to become the leading infrastructure for moving money between businesses and their suppliers. Barel brings more than two decades of management experience and leadership to Melio, having been at the forefront of payments, technology, and innovation, Melio said. Most recently he served as vice president and COO of Novi, Meta’s payments unit and digital wallet. Before joining Meta, Barel spent nine years at PayPal.
The National ATM Council Inc. appointed Brian Haynes, senior vice president of PAI, and Yonas Marcos, CEO and president of Star Financial Services Inc., to serve on its Board of Directors. “[I]t is with considerable pride and satisfaction that we welcome these two top tier ATM professionals to the NAC Board,” said NAC Board Chair George Sarantopoulos, CEO of Access One. “Their knowledge gained over years of very successful experience in the retail ATM and payments sectors will be invaluable as NAC continues tackling the vital challenges and opportunities now impacting America’s ATM entrepreneurs.”
Marqeta selected Mike Milotich to serve as its chief financial officer. Milotich joins Marqeta following a decade-long tenure at Visa, most recently serving as senior vice president of investor relations and corporate finance. He has more than 20 years' experience in corporate finance, primarily in payments and financial services. He also held leadership positions at American Express and PayPal. “[I]t was clear that Mike’s deep payments experience makes him an excellent fit for Marqeta," said Jason Gardner, Marqeta’s founder and CEO. "He has a keen appreciation for the possibilities in front of us as a company.”
The Electronic Transactions Association promoted Jeff Patchen to director, government affairs. “Jeff is an invaluable member of the ETA Government Relations team, representing ETA members in Washington, D.C.," said ETA CEO Jodie Kelley. "Jeff’s knowledge of issues facing the modern payments industry makes him a key voice for ETA and its members." The ETA also hired Riaz Ladha as vice president of industry affairs. “With his deep knowledge of payments and experience in growing businesses, Riaz and his team will help ensure ETA remains laser-focused on providing value to our members, ensuring we are strategically aligned with the direction of the industry and providing those opportunities to collaborate, learn, and lead that will help our industry thrive," Kelley said.
Brendan Peter joined Socure as vice president of government relations. He will work with government stakeholders to implement policies that stress demand for robust identity proofing and verification while reducing friction and fraud and maintaining high privacy standards. Peter previously served as head of U.S. government relations for Seagate Technology.
He also served as vice president of government relations for IDEMIA and as vice president and head of global corporate affairs for CA Technologies. Peter also held executive posts at LexisNexis, Daon, the Information Technology Association of America and Jefferson Consulting Group. 
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