First Data announced its SpendTrend analysis for June 2012, tracking same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations. Indicating year-over-year dollar volume growth of 6.4%, down from May’s 7.0% growth, experts are blaming high unemployment and economic anxiety as consumers pulled back on spending.…
Regions Financial has launched a new suite of credit card products that provide consumers and businesses with flexible access to funds, as well as with the opportunity to earn points from purchases and bank services. The Regions Visa Credit Cards provides options for the changing and varied needs of consumers and businesses – from no annual fee, to zero liability, to participation in Regions Relationship Rewards. The offering includes the Regions Visa Signature for Visa Signature Concierge and participation in Relationship Rewards; the Regions Visa Signature Preferred for Signature benefits, as well as Price Protection, Trip Cancellation/Interruption and more; the Regions Visa Platinum with a lower rate or to participate in Relationship Rewards; and the Regions Visa Student Platinum for students looking to build credit. Also, the Regions Visa Business and Regions Visa Business Enhanced feature no annual fee and benefits like emergency replacement, travel and emergency assistance and more.
VeriFone Systems has been awarded a five-year contract by the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission (DCTC) valued from $35 million to as much as $45 million factoring in potential advertising revenue. VeriFone won a competitive bidding process to become the exclusive vendor for installation and support of the DCTC’s Taxicab Smart Meter System project. VeriFone will develop, install and support payment systems integrated with driver and passenger information tablet displays for all of the District’s 6,500 taxis and providing electronic trip reporting, credit card payment processing, display of news and other programming, as well as safety alert activation features for both passengers and drivers. The contract also includes a Back Office Management Information System that will provide the DCTC with automated trip reporting and GPS location services. The addition of 6,500 cabs in Washington, D.C., will increase VeriFone’s taxi media footprint by 23% to over 35,000 in the USA alone, delivering over 10 billion advertising impressions annually.
Punchcard shopping app for personalized rewards is partnering Wipit mobile payment service for web, Android or iOS smart phone apps. With this, business owners can create loyalty and rewards programs for consumers who pay with cash. Punchcard lets users shop at any one of the 15 million local retail businesses where Punchcard works, take a photo of your receipt with the Punchcard app to verify your purchase and earn “punches” on a punch card for that business. Wipit allows mobile consumers to pay for purchases in mobile apps or online using cash while Punchcard makes it easy for these consumers to get rewarded for their loyalty to their favorite businesses.
IntraLinks global provider of inter-enterprise collaboration services and Misys financial services software forged a strategic partnership arrangement. Designed to better service participants in this $3.9 trillion dollar syndicated loan market by offering end-to-end process solutions that mitigate legal and operational risk and increase operational effectiveness, the partnership will significantly expand efforts in supporting the straight-through-processing of information that is critical to the lending process. The two companies will be launching a major upgrade to the Lenderbridge connector that currently automates the provisioning of lender access to IntraLinks’ virtual deal rooms directly from within Misys Loan IQ, embracing market standards in lender (counterparty) identifiers. This upgrade will serve as a foundation for the launch of additional loan process solutions including the complicated process of administering amendment voting.
OptConnect, a member of The National ATM Council, forged an Affinity Program agreement with NAC that will make a generous royalty contribution to the organization for each wireless modem ordered by NAC members from OptConnect. Funding NAC is to support efforts to further the interests of ATM ISOs, owners and operators across the United States. OptConnect is a leading provider of wireless communication solutions for ATM machines in the United States.
Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union non-bank financial institution will pilot a non-traditional branch environment using NCR Corporation technology to create an immersive member experience for members of all ages. Affinity Plus’ member advisors are not restricted based on limitations with traditional banking roles of teller and loan officer; instead, member advisors view each interaction with members not as a simple transaction but rather a partnership. It may start as a simple account transaction, and lead to a consumer or home loan, or discussions about budgeting and goal setting. Affinity Plus has designed more than 10 individual workstations to encourage member advisors to focus on the member in front of them. Each station includes automated recycling technology – TCRs – which prevents member advisors from being tied down to one location and allows members a place to comfortably discuss their needs.
Braintree payments platform for online and mobile commerce announced Rovio, creator of the Angry Birds franchise of mobile games and merchandise, selected its payment gateway for its new online and mobile store. With this, Rovio online and mobile store is now able to accept payments in more than 130 different currencies from around the globe while reducing PCI compliance scope. The payment gateway has the proven scalability to handle the global surges in demand generated by new game releases. Braintree is able to dramatically reduce clients’ PCI compliance requirements due to its Transparent Redirect, Client-side Encryption and innovative Vault features, which allow merchants to receive payments and store payment information without ever directly handling sensitive credit card data. This greatly reduces the PCI compliance burden for merchants, saving them valuable time and resources.
New York’s MTA Metro-North Railroad and transit mobile ticketing specialists Masabi US are set to test a smartphone app allowing riders to buy their train tickets anywhere, anytime and never have to hold a piece of paper. This technology will allow customers to use today’s phones to quickly and securely buy and display electronic tickets thereby avoiding queues at ticket machines or having to use cash on-board trains. Through the app, these users can buy any type of ticket with any origin and destination, using their credit or debit cards to make the purchase. The time and date stamped electronic ticket shows up on the purchaser’s phone screen as a secure image that a conductor can validate visually. The electronic ticket also shows as a barcode that can be scanned by a conductor’s hand held device to verify that the barcode is valid.
ACH Alert has been awarded patent number 8,219,491, which significantly strengthens the breadth of its intellectual property rights by extending the scope of protection for its proprietary business methods and fraud protection systems and applications. Among the many patented automated processes in the full range of fraud protection services ACH Alert provides to its clients are: real-time, transaction level protection for commercial and individual clients; simplified identification of trusted trading partners and valid payment recipients; and facilitation of electronic transaction disputes between the financial institution and their client.
USA Technologies wireless, cashless payment and M2M telemetry solutions for self-serve, small-ticket retailing industries, announced that IVS Associates has tabulated and certified the voting results for the USAT 2012 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on June 28, 2012. USAT shareholders have elected all nine of the Company’s director nominees”Deborah G. Arnold, Steven D. Barnhart, Joel Brooks, Stephen P. Herbert, Albin F. Moschner, Frank A. Petito, III, Jack E. Price, William J. Reilly, Jr. and William J. Schoch – to the USAT Board of Directors.
Paysafecard’s “Cash for the Internet” has embarked on the Canadian market, with about 27 million Internet users and a user rate of more than 80%. An expert for prepaid payments on the Internet, Paysafecard was founded in 2000 and continues the development of non-European markets which began in 2009 in Argentina, followed by Mexico and the United States. paysafecard prepaid payment allows consumers to pay quickly and securely over the Internet.