aren Staglin, CEO of First Data Corp.'s subsidiary eONE Global and First Data Director for 10 years until March 2002, owes FDC $16.7 million of a $16.9 million loan, Reuters reported. Staglin borrowed the money to exercise an option on 4.22 million eONE Class B Common Limited Partnership shares. Staglin's salary and bonus in 2002 totaled about $1.6 million. The loan's interest rate is currently 5.37%.

As a result of the bankruptcies of Enron, WorldCom and other large corporations, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which prohibits loans to corporate officers and directors, in July 2002. Staglin took out the loan February 1, 2001, so his loan is not in violation of the law.

No More Credit at the Old Alma Mater

Thirty percent of Colorado State University's payments for spring 2003 tuition and fees were made using Visa and MasterCard, but the university no longer will accept these cards as a result of major budget cuts in 2003. CSU said it must eliminate this method of payment, which it has honored for more than 30 years, because of the high cost of processing fees charged by banks. Last year the university paid more than $600,000 in these fees.

CSU instead will accept Discover Card, electronic checks, personal checks, cash, wire transfers or cashier's checks for tuition payments. It still accepts Visa and MasterCard at the bookstore, athletic ticket office and, of course, for gift donations to the university.

Although many universities and colleges have followed the trend of allowing students to pay their tuition with major credit cards, many of these schools soon realize how expensive this service can become when processing fees pile up.

Purdue, Stanford, Tufts, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia are just some of the schools in the U.S. that do not accept credit cards for the payment of tuition and fees.

More Women as Entrepreneurs

More and more women are leaving the corporate world to start their own businesses and are doing it at twice the rate of men, according to a study by Cheskin Research, which was cited in a recent article by Laurel Delaney titled "Escape from Corporate America."

In addition, the article stated that there were 6.2 million women-owned businesses employing 9.2 million workers and generating $1.15 trillion in annual revenue as of 2002 (estimates from the Center for Women's Business Research); it also reported that 29% of women business owners with prior private-sector experience say the "glass ceiling" is the major reason for leaving the corporate world.

And of those women, 44% felt as if their contributions were not recognized or valued (study by Catalyst).

Delaney's article appeared in the March/April 2003 issue of Across the Board, a bimonthly publication of The Conference Board. You can read the entire article at www.conference-board.org/publications/atb/articles/03marDelaney_01.cfm

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NCR Receives Patent for Signature Capture

NCR Corp. was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,539,363, "Write Input Transaction Apparatus and Method," for electronic signature capture. NCR adds this patent to its list of inventions of other payment technologies used for signature encryption, bar code scanning and self-checkout. NCR introduced the first signature capture device for retail stores in 1991.

Hypercom Marks Silver Anniversary

Hypercom Corp. celebrates 25 years in the electronic payment industry in 2003. The company announced that it recently shipped its 6 millionth card payment terminal. Visa EU and CEMEA awarded Hypercom the 2003 Chip Vendor of the Year for Technology Excellence, and Frost & Sullivan named Hypercom the 2003 Market Engineering Company of the Year for the second year in a row.

ATM Company Name Change

Financial Technologies, Inc., one of the 10 largest ATM network operators in the U.S., changed its name to FTI. The company said the name change reflects its new vision as a provider of services beyond ATM deployment such as check cashing, credit and debit processing, electronic check conversion with check guarantee, prepaid cellular and long distance, money orders, money transfers, gift/loyalty cards, equipment and reporting.

Extra! Extra! Updates on 2003 ACH Rules

The Western Payments Alliance (WesPay) announced that two of its publications, the "ACH Self Audit Survival Guide" and the "ACH Return Entry Survival Guide," have been revised and updated based on 2003 ACH operating rule amendments. The publications are currently available, and both WesPay members and non-members may purchase them in PDF format on WesPay's Web site (www.wespay.org) or order a printed copy of the publications by phoning 415-433-1230.

Secur-Chex Offers ECC

First American Payment Systems, L.P. has enhanced its Secur-Chex suite of products and services by adding electronic check conversion and check recovery. First American no longer will use a third-party provider for these newly added services. The company also offers check verification for both electronic and paper-based checks through Secur-Chex.

CardSystems Gets $23 Million

CardSystems Solutions, Inc. has secured $23.6 million in funding, which was provided by a private placement arranged by William Blair & Co. and led by Camden Partners, a new investor in CardSystems. Existing CardSystems investors include Equity Dynamics, Inc.; Principal Financial Group; and Edgewater Private Equity Fund. CardSystems said it plans to use the funding to expand its payment processing services that support customers such as independent sales organizations and acquiring banks (see Appointments for more information on CardSystems).

POSDATA Opens New Office

Gig Harbor, Wash.-based POSDATA, Inc. is opening a new service facility in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. The company said the location positions it closer to some key customers. In addition to offering point-of-sale equipment, POSDATA announced it now configures and services desktop computers, providing local pickup and dropoff at the new location.

PARTNERSHIPS

Ingenico Gets Class A Certified, Announces 5 New Partners

Ingenico has been busy lately. The company announced its Elite 712 point-of-sale terminal application received a Class A certification from Vital Processing Services to process credit, online and offline debit, EBT transactions and Vital's POS check services on Vital's network.

Ingenico also has formed five new partnerships. 7-Eleven, Inc. will install Ingenico's eN-Touch 1000 touch-screen and signature terminals in approximately 5,300 7-Eleven convenience stores in the U.S.; and software applications eN-Concert Store and eN-Concert Insight, which help stores manage their transactions and prompt customers for PIN when using an online debit card.

In addition, Payment Option Solutions, LLC will resell Ingenico's eN-Check 3000 for check verification and funds capture. Secure Payment Systems, Inc. plans to certify and resell Ingenico's 2600 check reader/imager to their network of ISO's and acquirers. PRE Solutions, Inc. will integrate its prepaid card services with Ingenico's Elite terminals and payment software.

Ingenico also integrated its Elite terminals with Cignify Corp.'s PeopleNet workforce management software to create an integrated payment and time capture EFT POS terminal for retailers. Retailers can use the solution to accept credit and debit payments and to capture and track employees' hours to better manage payroll.

FDC Processing for Scotiabank

First Data Corp. will provide Scotiabank with credit card processing services in 19 countries in the Caribbean and Central America over the next seven years. First Data has provided credit card processing services for what is now Scotiabank Inverlat, S.A. in Mexico since 1994.

First Data and Scotiabank also provide processing services to merchant clients of the bank throughout the Caribbean region.

Global Payments Extends Partnerships

Global Payments Inc. has expanded contracts with two of its customers. Total Merchant Services, Inc., a 2 1/2-year partner of Global Payments, signed a new multiyear agreement for front- and back-end payment processing, settlement and technical support. In addition, Global Payments will provide customer Kaiser Permanente's optical, pharmacy and medical facilities with authorization and settlement for credit cards, debit cards and checks and online reporting.

GO Captures Kodak Moment

Eastman Kodak Co. integrated GO Software, Inc.'s Windows-based payment processing products in its KODAK Picture Maker line of kiosks. GO Software is a subsidiary of Return On Investment Corporation (ROI), provider of payment-processing software.

Aloha Distinguishes Heartland

Aloha Technologies announced that it recognizes Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. as an Aloha Business Partner, which means that Heartland offers complementary Aloha solutions while providing customer service and support to Aloha clients and resellers. Aloha Technologies is a provider of point-of-sale software and information solutions for the food service and hospitality industries.

VeriFone Gets Juicy

Jamba Juice is using VeriFone Inc.'s Omni 3740 terminals in conjunction with Atrana's MicroPortal technology at 110 of 315 franchise locations to support Jamba Juice's jambacard gift card program. The Omni 3740 will be installed at store locations that are not already using Aloha Technologies' point-of-sale system.

EXS Partners with Global eTelecom

Electronic Exchange Systems (EXS) is using Global eTelecom, Inc.'s proprietary processing engine to offer electronic check conversion capabilities to its customers.

CrossCheck Announces Partners

Electronic Data Resources, Inc. (EDR) and Nextdayfunding.com are marketing CrossCheck, Inc.'s check guarantee services as part of their transaction processing solutions and merchant payment offerings, respectively. In addition, a group of 20 of Ingersoll-Rand Corp.'s brand industrial tool stores will use CrossCheck's check guarantee program.

CrossCheck also announced Ingenico's 2600 check reader and imager, the eN-Check 2500 check reader and the eN-Check 3000 dial check reader support CrossCheck's check guarantee and check conversion plus services. CrossCheck's check conversion plus application also is certified on VeriFone Inc.'s Omni 3750 terminals. CrossCheck's application runs on VeriFone's CR 1000i, a check imaging peripheral.

APPOINTMENTS

CardSystems Expands Management and Sales Teams

CardSystems Solutions Inc. appointed John Moynahan to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John Skeele to Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management, and Steve McHenry to Senior Vice President of Operations.

The company also expanded its sales team in order to support its growing customer base of acquiring banks and independent sales organizations. CardSystems hired several seasoned sales professionals: Robert Robinson as Senior Vice President Financial Industry Sales, Alan Forgione as Vice President Sales-Eastern Region and Kevin Kane as Vice President Sales-Western Region. Their combined experience totals nearly 70 years in the financial services and payment industries at companies such as First Data Corp., MasterCard International, Lynk Systems, Inc. and ENVOY Corp.

Ezic Growing, Hires Four

Ezic, Inc. hired four new executives: Doug Jackson, Vice President of Finance; Andrew Schmidt, Director of Product Management; Brad Bialas, Vice President of Business Development; and George Johnson, Vice President of Channel Sales.

Jackson has more than 15 years of experience and has served as both President and Chief Financial Officer for electronics manufacturing and industrial software providers. Schmidt has more than 10 years of project management and software engineering experience for Motorola, Baxter Healthcare, and Abbott Laboratories.

Bialas has more than 10 years of experience in business development and sales for Internet and technology companies, including Togaworld, Cognos Corp., Peregrine Systems and McAfee Software. Johnson has more than 17 years of channel sales experience working with Xerox Corp. and with Prudential Securities.

Global eTelecom Promotes Frantz

Global eTelecom, Inc.'s Board of Directors promoted Brian Frantz to the position of Chief Information Officer after serving as the company's Vice President of Information and Technology. Frantz joined Global eTelecom in June 2000. He had previously worked as a computer and systems engineer with Manufacturing Technology, Inc.

Global Payments Adds Gaming Exec

Global Payments Inc. appointed Deborah L. Schmidt Director of Business Development of Global Payments' Gaming Division, where she will help develop payment solutions for the gaming industry. Schmidt previously served in various planning, finance and corporate management positions at Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and with several of Harrah's casino and hotels in the U.S.

Planet Payment Hires Three

Planet Payment announced it has added three new members to its team.

Juan F. Soto was hired as Senior Vice President of Sales. Soto has more than 20 years of sales experience in the retail point-of-sale, transaction processing and acquiring marketplace. Jeffrey Hatch, who joined Planet Payment as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, has more than 15 years' experience in database application development, systems architecture and technical engineering. Richard Enzler was hired as Senior Accounting Analyst. Enzler previously worked at Avis Rent A Car System, Inc., where he managed the company's accounting systems.