The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S. posted a 0.2% increased in September to now sit at 116.4 (2004 = 100). This represents the 5th consecutive month the Conference Board reported the Index increased, after having moved up 0.3% in August and 0.6% in July. This adds to the mixed results on…
RedFin Network emerged from the recent end-of-life announcement by Hypercom of their Secure Payments Savannah Software Product line in a stronger and more robust position. RedFin Network processing environment increased its already extensive list of processing integrations and solutions. RedFin Network operates a Level I PCI (Processor Card Industry) compliant gateway known throughout the industry as The RedFin Gateway. RedFin Network provides 24/7 Class A support, distribution, wireless activation, billing, fulfillment and exclusive distribution of HioPOS Plus ( www.hiopos.com ) and Blue Bamboo ( www.bluebamboo.com ) products and services throughout the Americas.
Citi announced a multi-year renewal of its long-standing U.S. private label credit card agreement with Sears Holdings Corporation, which includes Sears, Kmart, and Lands’ End, the nation’s largest online apparel retailer. Citi has provided branded payment products to Sears since 2003 and, with this renewal, offers customer purchase processing at over 2,200 Sears branded and affiliated stores and more than 1,300 Kmart stores serving millions of American families and small businesses across the country. This program is among the 90 million consumer and commercial credit card products Citi Retail Partner Cards provides.
Blackhawk Network prepaid and financial payments products acquired Cardpool gift card exchange. Letting consumers buy, sell and trade gift cards, Cardpool connects gift card holders around the world to create a gift card exchange marketplace where customers can buy, sell, or trade gift cards safely and securely. Consumers can continue to exchange their gift cards at www.cardpool.com for cash or a different gift card, which are all verified for authenticity and balance as part of the secure and trusted transaction process.
CSI Global-Fleet Fuel Card has offered an innovative array of fuel, maintenance and service solutions that greatly simplify fleet fuel management and is now commemorating its ten year partnership with the U.S. Bank Referral Partner program. U.S. Bank’s government, non-profit and tax exempt fleet fuel program and monthly billing process distinguishes it from other fleet fuel card programs. The referral partner program has innovative features geared towards enhanced controls, reporting and cost analysis. With this, CSI offers the ability to set up drivers and vehicles under a group profile; support for additional text messaging data prompts following authorization; and users to unlock cards online.
Online Banking Solutions (OBS) announced Mike Balin joined its management team as Director of Product Consulting to focus on custom solutions and account relationship management. Bringing with him 25 years’ experience as a technology innovator and banker, Balin will offer pre-sale analysis and consulting services in support of OBS solutions for ebanking and secure file transfer to financial institutions. He has held management and development roles in online banking, treasury management, marketing, service delivery, operations and programming with Chase Manhattan Bank, BayBank/BankBoston and Sovereign Bank.
ParTech made available its “PAR EverServ PixelPoint V11” POS software. With 38 new features and enhancements, the improvements provide restaurant operators many new tools to increase efficiency and make it easier to manage their business. The new features also provide the foundation to simplify the path for operators to enable future business initiatives. EverServ PixelPoint V11 continues to deliver on PAR’s Boundless Hospitality market vision by adding features and capabilities that empower restaurant operators to rapidly implement emerging technologies like mobile loyalty.
Beyond the Arc customer experience consulting firm launched a new Social Customer Insights service at the American Bankers Association’s Annual Convention. Available to banks, credit unions, insurance companies and credit card issuers, it combines social media data mining, strategic marketing and Voice of the Customer strategy. Social Customer Insights helps financial institutions acquire new customers, increase customer engagement and build loyalty.
Fico analytics and decision management technology is enhancing its risk management and fraud detection applications by incorporating Infoglide’s market-leading Identity Resolution Engine (IRE) software. Infoglide IRE will serve as the identity resolution engine and link analysis solution across FICO’s suite of fraud detection and risk management products, which include the industry-leading FICO™ Falcon Fraud Manager for credit grantors and FICO Insurance Fraud Manager. This lets fraud investigators identify customers with greater precision, and use link analysis to find connections between transactions, people, third parties and discrete fraud events that can reveal previously hidden fraud schemes.
TSYS is set to present at the 19th annual ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum will be held Nov. 1-4 as part of the Debit Track. The session, “How Consumers Pay and How That May Change in the Future,” will provide information and engage the audience for feedback on the results of the TSYS-commissioned “2011 Consumer Debit Research Study” conducted by Mercator.
Pageonce finance service for mobile devices launched its mobile bill pay service, allowing consumers remote control over when and how they pay their bills. The award-winning Pageonce Money & Bills already lets users automatically track all types of bills — from rent and mortgage, utilities, and cell phone to credit cards — and alerts them when a bill is due. Now Pageonce gives users the option to pay immediately from their choice of accounts with a few taps on their smartphone. Pageonce makes paper bills, checks and stamps, and logging into several different websites for online bill pay, obsolete — helping users save time and avoid annoying late and overdraft fees.
Sysrepublic POS loss prevention and systems integration solutions serving the global retail market updated its’ Secure loss prevention software. With this, it offers the ability to integrate traditional POS data sources with additional data sources – such as supply/delivery, inventory, cash office/finance, human resources and CCTV, in an efficient and easy to use user interface. This includes an enhanced active query performance for complex queries on data; simplified and faster performance on application navigation; and customized user role-based “Portals.