NEWS

Hypercom's Jane Evans Dies in Argentina

Hypercom Corp. sadly announced that Jane Evans, a Hypercom director, died suddenly in Buenos Aires, Argentina, while on a trip sponsored by the Chief Executive Organization. Evans had served as a Hypercom director since July 2000. She was a nationally recognized retailing, consumer marketing and telecommunications executive. She and several other prominent women had recently launched the Directors' Council, an executive search firm focusing on the placement of women on corporate boards.

Evans previously held senior management positions with U.S. West Communications, Interpacific Retail Group, Montgomery Securities, General Mills and Fingerhut. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of Altria Group, Inc., Georgia-Pacific Corp., KB Home Corp., Petsmart, Inc. and Main St. & Main.

Q3 2003 GDP Revised Even Higher

The U.S. economy grew at a faster rate than previously reported, according to estimates of real gross domestic product (GDP) from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 8.2% in the third quarter of 2003, revised up from 7.2%. The BEA report shows a substantial increase from the previous quarter, when GDP grew 3.3%. Major contributors to the Q3 increase include personal consumption expenditures (PCE), equipment and software, exports and residential fixed investment.

Fill Parking Meters with Credit Cards

The city of Galveston, Texas has upgraded more than 100 of its old parking meters to Pay and Display parking meters that accept credit cards, the Houston News Channel reported. Because the city has to pay transaction fees, there is a $2 minimum to pay with a credit card. Many other cities are testing or have implemented parking meters that accept credit cards for payment. The city of Boston is testing meters that operate in both English and Spanish and one meter can monitor up to four to eight parking spaces. Austin, Texas; Frederick, Md.; Newport, Ohio, New Orleans and Seattle are just a few U.S. cities exploring or implementing this type of solution.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Authorize.Net for Sale

InfoSpace, Inc. announced in October that it plans to focus solely on its InfoSpace Search & Directory and InfoSpace Mobile businesses, and that it's looking to sell its Payment Solutions business, Authorize.Net. Authorize.Net connects small and medium-sized merchants to credit card processors and banking organizations, enabling them to accept electronic payments.

According the company's 10-Q filed in Q2 2003, InfoSpace's Payment Solutions division generated $6.6 million in revenue for the three months ended June 30, an increase of $1.5 million or 27.9% from the second quarter of 2002. During the same period, the Payment Solutions segment income totaled $1.3 million, or 19.5% of revenues.

CrossCheck Revamps Web Site

CrossCheck, Inc. announced it has redesigned its Web site. Visit www.cross-check.com to take a look. The company said the site can serve as an invaluable resource to CrossCheck's ISO partners, and that they should specifically visit the Partner Relations page of the site. CrossCheck has also made available animated demonstrations of its CheckNow and ChecksByNet programs for merchants or for sales education and training.

Lipman Opens in the North

Lipman has opened a Canadian office located in Mississauga, Ontario. This office will sell and distribute Lipman's full line of point-of-sale and transaction products marketed under the NURIT brand name. Lipman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lipman Electronic Engineering, Ltd., with worldwide operations.

Shift4 Receives Visa CISP OK

Visa USA has validated Shift4 Corp.'s compliance with Visa's Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) requirements. Shift4 develops and provides financial transaction processing software and services. Its $$$ ON THE NET application is a Web-based e-payment gateway that offers real time electronic payment authorization, settlement, reporting and fraud control.

TPI Certified for Level III

TPI Software, LLC announced that Concord EFS, Inc. has certified TPI's Payment Server platform for Purchase Card Level III. Level III data include full line-item details in each statement.

The data also contain product codes, cost and quantity, in addition to the traditional Level II data (the card number, merchant name and location, purchase price and sales tax). Governments and major corporations prefer Level III merchants because line item detail reduces the need for receiving reports and other paperwork, according to TPI.

TransAKT Inventory Drained

TransAKT Corp. announced it has sold out of its initial TransAKT T4 terminal inventory. The company said this is because of overwhelming response for the product in the U.S. wireless market. TransAKT is scheduling further production for the T4 terminal with its manufacturers to meet existing order demand.

450,000 Omni 3750's Shipped

VeriFone, Inc. shipped its 450,000th Omni 3750 point-of-sale terminal in November 2003. VeriFone said this makes the Omni 3750 its most successful product launch in the company's 22-year history.

The Omni 3750 has been certified by all of the leading U.S. processors; it supports solutions from more than 30 value-added application providers, and it is being shipped to merchants through existing acquirer and ISO channels. To date, Omni 3750 terminals have been installed in more than 70 countries.

PARTNERSHIPS

PRE Solutions Expands Offerings

PRE Solutions, Inc. and Valutec have partnered whereby PRE Solutions is offering customized gift card programs from Valutec in its product suite. Its first gift card launch will be at retailer Miller Mart, and the cards will be offered in $10, $25, $50 and $100 denominations and will include an option for customers to reload any amount at a later date.

PRE Solutions also expanded its product suite to include Moviso prepaid ringtone cards, which include a PIN used to download popular songs to a phone over the Web or WAP interface or a 1-800 number. PRE Solutions will be offering Moviso prepaid ringtone cards for $4.99.

SHAZAM Chooses Hypercom

The SHAZAM network, a shared EFT network, selected Hypercom Corp.'s ICE Plus point-of-sale terminals and technology to run SHAZAM's new prepaid gift card program. The member-owned SHAZAM network owns its hardware and software.

The network offers ATM, POS and EBT services; Visa Check, Interlink, Debit MasterCard and Maestro national debit products; merchant services; ACH (Automated Clearing House) services; and Internet banking services.

Fifth Third Has Dynamic Currency Conversion

Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions, the electronic transaction processing division of Fifth Third Bank, has teamed with Planet Payment, the trade name for Planet Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, to develop and deploy dynamic currency conversion services to Fifth Third's merchant customers in the retail, hospitality and e-commerce sectors.

The service identifies a transaction from a merchant's foreign customer and displays the transaction in the customer's local currency before the customer has completed the transaction.

U.S. Bank Partners with Solutran

U.S. Bank, a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp, announced plans to private label Solutran's returned check management services for resale to U.S. Bank's corporate and commercial customers. With the partnership, U.S. Bank's depository services will include returned check processing products, such as returned check consolidation (RCC), electronic check re-presentment (RCK), service fee recovery and data-entry services. U.S. Bank will offer a customized version of Solutran's Web-based reporting system, which will allow U.S. Bank customers to track status of their returned check items in real time as they are processed.

BioPay Gets Some Answers

BioPay, LLC and Answers, Etc. announced an agreement in which more than 4,000 Answers, Etc. customers will be able to subscribe to BioPay's database that includes information on people who have passed fraudulent checks. Answers, Etc. will also offer BioPay's biometric technology, Paycheck Secure, to its new and existing customers. Answers, Etc. has more than 4,000 teller stations placed in check cashing stores, banks and check cashing kiosks within convenience stores and casinos in the United States and Canada.

ACQUISITIONS

Global Payments Closes DolEx Acquisition

Global Payments Inc. completed its acquisition of Latin America Money Services, LLC and subsidiary DolEx Dollar Express, Inc., based in Arlington, Texas. DolEx is an electronic money transfer firm that services mostly Hispanic customers who send money to family and friends in Mexico and other Latin American countries. DolEx operates through approximately 550 retail branches.

Global Payments paid approximately $190 million for DolEx in a combination of $65 million in cash and $125 million in debt. It also has changed the name of its "Funds Transfer" service offerings to "Money Transfer," under which DolEx revenue will be reported. Raul Limon, DolEx's founder and President, will remain as President of DolEx.

APPOINTMENTS

Anderson Joins SPS

Secure Payment Systems appointed Kim Anderson to serve as Director of National Retail Accounts. Anderson has more than 20 years of senior management and strategic marketing experience in transaction processing, risk management and business processing outsourcing. He has served as President of the Retail and E-commerce Division for eFunds Corp. He also worked for 15 years with Equifax Payment Services (now Certegy Check Services) in senior sales and general management roles for both the Check and Card Divisions.

Landers, Partners Start New Company

Vaden C. Landers, former Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of iPayment, Inc. is now CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based ProfitPoint, LLC. ProfitPoint is a payment services company Landers co-founded with David Daily and Mark Wilson, also former iPayment executives.

Landers, Daily and Wilson have worked together for the past 10 years. Prior to joining iPayment Landers served as President for the ISO line of business at Global Payments Inc. He has also served as CEO of Bancard Consulting Group. ProfitPoint provides electronic processing for all non-cash forms of payment to merchants, financial institutions.

MIST Appoints Head of Gateway Biz

MIST Inc. appointed Tom McCole as Executive Vice President and General Manager of MIST's gateway business. Prior to joining MIST, McCole served as President and CEO of Atomic Software, a payment gateway developer; and prior to that he was Product Manager for a specialty retail POS software developer.

Myers Comes to PPI

Eddie Myers joined Payment Processing, Inc. (PPI) as Vice President and General Manager where he will oversee day-to-day infrastructure and personnel issues and the expansion of PPI's products and services. PPI specializes in providing PC-based transaction processing services and solutions. Myers served at Paymentech the last nine years, and most recently led the Strategic Partner Channel there.

Cynergy Data Hires Rivera

Cynergy Data hired Victor J. Rivera as Regional Manager of ISO/Agent Relations to maintain and grow the company's presence in the western United States. Rivera has nearly 20 years of sales, finance and credit card processing experience. He previously served nine years at Texas Commerce Bank, where he managed the bank's Visa/MasterCard portfolio for 11 branches. He has also worked in various managerial positions at Global Payments Inc. and First Data Corp.

BOTTOM LINES

• About 54% of U.S. consumers are still paying off credit card debt from last year's holiday season, but economists predict that they will still increase their holiday spending by 6.3%, according to studies reported by Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Inc. and Bank One Corp., respectively.

• The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index registered another solid gain in November 2003. The Index now stands at 91.7 (out of 100), up from 81.7 in October.