First Data released its SpendTrend analysis for March 1-29, 2013. Compared to March 2-30, 2012, it tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations. Year-over-year dollar volume growth increased 6.0% in March, up from February’s 4.6% growth, as the earlier Easter holiday and…
Fiserv financial services technology solutions has launched a payment accuracy and fraud solution to reduce improper payments for U.S. federal government agencies. The professional services engagement will allow government agencies to reduce the overall loss of cash associated with improper disbursement and recovery of funds, thereby enabling that money to instead be used for citizens and tax-payers. Improper payments can include payments to the wrong person, for the wrong amount, or to citizens who are no longer eligible for benefits. An estimated one-third or more of improper payments are due to fraud, while two-thirds are the result of errors or incorrect information. Using a rigorous process and data analysis, the Fiserv solution finds and eliminates process variation, waste and opportunities for error that may result in payment inaccuracy.
PayOne mobile payments and carrier billing has been awarded another patent by the US Patent Office on its “PayConnect” technology platform, “instant wallet” capability, and intellectual property serving the mobile commerce and digital payments market. The newly awarded patent, which was filed in November 2010 for invention number 8,379,815, covers mobile payments, fraud control and identity verification for online and in-store transactions. This new patent adds to an already robust portfolio of eight patents awarded to PayOne related to mobile wallet, payments and carrier billing. PayOne’s complete patent portfolio can be found at http://www.payone.com/Patents. PayOne and the PayOne Global Carrier Network PGCN currently provides the ability for over 4 billion consumers in over 80 countries to utilize their mobile phones for secure digital mobile payments, typically with just 1-2 steps.
Vantiv payment processing for merchants and financial institutions of all sizes, announced that it was the first U.S. acquirer to complete MasterCard’s testing requirements to process EMV transactions for MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus brands at both ATM and at the point-of-sale locations. Vantiv’s integrated processing platform continues to enable the Company to quickly integrate new technologies such as EMV. This, combined with Vantiv’s comprehensive suite of payment solutions, represents the Company’s continued investments in its core processing platform, emerging technologies and strong execution capabilities. Vantiv’s network drives nearly 13,000 ATMs and has been certified to process EMV transactions on the NCR APTRA(TM) Edge ATM software platform. Its EMV processing will allows cardholders to conduct EMV transactions at selected ATMs.
Bluefin Payment Systems and fundraise.com social fundraising platform inked their partnership, whereby Bluefin’s payment gateway, PayConex, is available to fundraise.com’s customer base. Bluefin’s payment gateway features debit/credit/ACH acceptance, plus recurring billing, a virtual terminal and a hosted payment page – all backed by security features such as tokenization and point-to-point encryption (P2PE). A ll of fundraise.com clients will have access to Bluefin’s secure payment gateway by simply applying online for a merchant account, which will offer fundraise.com’s services to their base of merchants and more than 300 partners. Bluefin is partnered with over 100 software providers and serves 15,000 U.S. and Canadian merchants, including 1,200 Non-profits.
Accourt Limited consultancy services announced that Peter Trembling as a Partner, bringing with him over 20 years’ experience in International Cards and Payments. He served in roles with American Express, five years at MBNA International and was the founder of two specialist card consultancy practices. He has advised banks and card issuers in every continent around the world covering over 30 countries, as well as brokering co-brand card partnerships for over 50 rights-holders in airline, retail, travel, and sport. Peter has operated as a consultant to MasterCard, Visa and American Express and was the Chairman of the inaugural MasterCard Annual European Card Programme of the Year Awards. His speciality is in working with rights holders and assisting them in optimising the value of their card and payment opportunities, whether that be through a traditional co-branded or affinity relationship or from the advent of new technology such as mobile payments, cashless stadia and arenas, virtual cards etc.
Discover is now offering cardmembers the opportunity to earn 5% Cashback Bonus on up to $1,500 in purchases at home improvement stores. Cardmembers can start earning 5% Cashback Bonus at home improvement stores now through June 30 by signing up for 5% online at discover.com, or by calling 1-800-DISCOVER (347-2683). After making $1,500 in home improvement purchases, Discover cardmembers still automatically receive their standard cash back on all other purchases. Discover is also offering its cardmembers exclusive ways to earn between 5%-20% on purchases made through ShopDiscover, the online shopping portal featuring more than 200 top online retailers. Starting April 11 through May 12, cardmembers can take advantage of over 20 merchant partners that will increase Cashback Bonus amounts.
Fiserv financial services technology announced its Common Origination Platform and LoanServ solutions have been integrated to provide real-time, full-circle loan boarding processes for all mortgage, lines of credit and installment loans. The integration improves efficiency for all users by sharing data points and eliminating potential errors caused by manual data entry. With an increasing number of financial institutions supporting both production and servicing operations, the integration of the Fiserv solutions provides a consolidated view of each customer as well as a single view of risk for their loan portfolios. The integration eliminates duplication within processes and the business management of the systems. With the LoanServ solution, data transactions are available online, in real-time so lenders don’t have to contend with the limitations associated with an end-of-day batch processing cycle.
Lusis Payments and HP partner on payments switching. TANGO brings payments systems into line with the broader IT developments and provides a clear edge over systems that were relevant and capable once. The TANGO solution will be deployed across three central hubs with the first instance already installed in HP’s Regional Cards and Payments Utility in Sydney, Australia. It will run on HP NonStop, the platform of choice for critical on-line transaction processing globally. TANGO’s resilient system software coupled with the well-known capabilities of the HP NonStop platform provides a fully fault tolerant system.
MoneyGram money transfer and First National Bank (FNB) launched their first mobile money transfer service, giving FNB account holders a convenient option for sending and receiving international money transfers using their mobile devices. The service features an advanced data encryption system that protects account holder information. Transactions sent from a mobile device are available for collection within 10 minutes, subject to an agent’s hours of operation and local laws and regulations. MoneyGram announced an agreement with First National Bank to solidify MoneyGram’s growing position in South Africa and makes it one of the largest money transfer companies in the region. Adding FNB to its agent network means customers have an additional nearly 1,000 MoneyGram money transfer locations across South Africa from which to send and receive money.
CyberSource eCommerce payment management services opened its French subsidiary in Paris to bring its fraud management solutions to French online retailers. This will be CyberSource’s second expansion into Europe following the opening of its EMEA headquarters in Reading, UK, in 1997. CyberSource is an eCommerce payment and risk management pioneer helping businesses reduce fraud. CyberSource’s ‘Decision Manager’ is an extremely sophisticated fraud management system that provides online retailers with the ability to systematically detect and eliminate fraudulent behaviour sooner, enabling them to optimise the performance of their internal review teams. Vitally, the system can not only help to reduce fraud; it does so while preserving the customer experience by minimising the rejection of valid orders and speeding genuine transactions through. Faced with the growth of online fraud, merchants should take a proactive approach and implement tailor-made solutions to help prevent fraud and and reduce false positives.