The new security PRISMicide solution consists of “open source” smart cards and of a small “open hardware” portable reader that can be used with Android and iOS smartphones and tablets via Bluetooth and also, via USB with Windows, Mac OS and Linux computers. PRISMicide for Bitcoin allows each user to secure its private key within a smart card.
Visa’s (VS) Latin America Caribbean (LAC) region Purchase Dollar Volume (PDV) rose year-on-year (Y/Y) by 14.3% on a local currency basis in the first quarter (Q1/14) to US$95 billion. The average purchase ticket in the VS LAC region declined 9.4% Y/Y. One-year ago it stood at US$44.20, compared to US$43.90 in Q4/13 and US$40.05 in Q1/14, according to CardData. VS has an estimated 440 million cards-in-force (CIF) currently in the LAC region, compared to 431 million in Q1/13.
Visa’s (VS) Canadian region Purchase Dollar Volume (PDV) rose year-on-year (Y/Y) by 9.8% on a local currency basis in the first quarter (Q1/14) to US$52 billion.
The average purchase ticket in the VS Canadian region declined 9.0% Y/Y. One-year ago it stood at US$104.29, compared to US$101.80 in Q4/13 and US$94.89 in Q1/14, according to CardData. VS has an estimated 43 million cards-in-force (CIF) currently in the Canadian region, compared to 38 million in Q1/13.
William Healy has been appointed to the Net Element’s Board of Directors, effective June 30, 2014, and will serve on the Board’s Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Mr. Healy is an accomplished financial services industry veteran with more than 24 years of merchant financing and electronic payments industry experience. Net Element is a global technology-driven group specializing in mobile payments and value-added transactional services.
Credit card credit availability levels off and is heading south. A new study found that credit lines are contracting at their slowest rate in a year, with average credit lines for sub-prime and prime accounts (down 1.2% and 1.4% respectively) continuing to contract at a faster rate than super-prime accounts (down just 0.3%). The report also found that the credit card market is shifting toward rewards cards.
Ingenico entered exclusive negotiations regarding the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of GlobalCollect from its existing shareholders for an enterprise value of €820 million. GlobalCollect has developed a recognized payment expertise, notably in cross-border e-commerce, to enable most recognized brands to sell their products on line across the globe. Thanks to its secure, scalable, in-house and robust online platform supported by an experienced management team, GlobalCollect directly provides merchants with a comprehensive, cross-border one-stop-shop payment solution by acting as a hub to multiple other payment providers in 170 countries and providing an access to 150 local payment methods. During fiscal year 2013, GlobalCollect reported gross revenue of €305 million, net revenue of €111 million and adjusted EBITDA1 of €50 million.
Link ATM Network announced The Change Group International Plc joined its Scheme. ChangeGroup is launching a sterling and currency dispensing ATM this year, for which LINK will vastly broaden the market. LINK has a strong track record in innovation and welcomes ChangeGroup and its multicurrency ATMs into the LINK Scheme.
NCR Corporation announced it will be moving to a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. The new facility, which is more than double the size of the company’s existing facility, is built over an 117,000 square-foot area, and is under a new single roof design structure that will allow NCR to improve operational efficiency. This facility is strategically located and is in close proximity to suppliers, customers as well as robust transportation like ports and airports that will help to improve operational efficiency and enable faster delivery of innovative products to the market. NCR will continue to manufacture financial solutions such as ATMs, while also expanding to manufacture innovative consumer transaction technologies for the retail and hospitality industries. The new facility is expected to participate in lean manufacturing practices and comply with NCR global standards related to Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS), and quality. In addition, the facility is expected to participate in IGBC (LEED) Silver certification for building sustainability and Tier 1 certification on Resilient IT Infrastructure.
Ingenico is sponsoring Seedstars World, a global competition designed to recognize and support innovative startups in emerging markets. Following the opening of its regional headquarters in Casablanca in May, this sponsorship demonstrates Ingenico Group’s continuing commitment to deepen its presence in Africa.Ingenico Group sponsored Seedstars World competitions in Casablanca (Morocco), Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria) and Nairobi (Kenya) between May and July. Winners of the Ingenico-sponsored events included creators of an e-learning platform in Morocco, a bitcoins-based payment system in Ghana.
Optimal Payments has become the official sponsor of Crystal Palace Football Club for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. Optimal Payments will use the platform to raise the global awareness of its award-winning NETELLER service and Net+® Card stored-value offering which will be displayed on the front of the team’s shirts from the start of the 2014/15 English Premier League season. NETELLER will be the First Premier League sponsor within the online payments space and will provide the brand the right synergy to achieve NETELLER’S marketing and commercial objectives quickly and cost effectively. Specifically, it will support customer and merchant objectives delivering rapid multi-market brand awareness, big brand credibility and driving sign up and conversion rates in NETELLER’s key growth markets – including Asia; Africa and the America’s.
Zapp mobile payment announced it’s next round of network payment partners that are committing to support Zapp’s rollout into the market. Secure Trading, TrustPay Global and Checkout.com – some of the most innovative payment service providers – will all work to support Zapp and it’s innovative, low friction, secure and mobile enabled checkout.Getting more customers through the checkout process securely is crucial to retail success. Research has shown that there are billions of abandoned check outs in the UK and the payment landscape is becoming increasingly confusing. Zapp will allow people to make real-time payments from their mobile, unlocking the money in their current account in a much simpler and more secure way.