Robert McKinley, Senior Analyst/Editor Robert McKinley is an analyst of the payments industry on a daily basis for 32 years covering payment cards and payment systems from both the business side and the consumer side. McKinley is the retired founder and chief executive of RAM Research, CardWeb and CardTrak. In his prior position, McKinley has participated in more than 10,000 documented news media interviews, testified as an expert witness in two separate $billion+ U.S. anti-trust trials, testified before the U.S. Congress, assisted the GAO with paymentsIMG_2006 (1).jpeg reports, chaired numerous business conferences and provided C-Suite opinion to a multitude of Fortune 500 companies. In retirement, he has continued developing and funding digital media assets as well as contributing payments related analysis/content to a broad list of online publishers, including CardFlash, CardTrak and CardData. McKinley is also a national certified mentor with the non-profit SCORE organization with a focus on assisting Fintech startups. www.robert-mckinley.com

E-Revenue Gateway and ElectraCard Launch ePayment

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ElectraCard Services (ECS) software and processing solutions for electronic payment systems, powers e-Revenue Gateway (e-RG), a payment processing and electronic transaction switching company, to launch contactless electronic payments in Nigeria. ECS’ PA-DSS compliant platform will help e-RG to launch programs with multiple financial institutions and channels like ATM/ POS/ Internet/ Mobile on the same platform. Contactless, otherwise commonly known as “tap & go” payment cards, are more convenient to use and perfectly aligns to “Cashless Nigeria” initiative of Central bank of Nigeria (CBN). The eRG payment cards offer consumers a choice of debit or prepaid Smart Cards with the first NFC capabilities in the country.

UniCredit Bank Deploys Fiserv Money Mgr Solution

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Fiserv partnered Mellon Ukraine to offer UniCredit Bank its “Currency Manager” solution to optimize the bank’s cash reserve levels and maximize transportation capacity. The Integrated Currency Manager from Fiserv is a web-based cash supply chain management and optimization tool that automates precise cash forecasts for multiple cash points, including ATMs, branches, vendors and vaults. It combines complex forecasting functionality with historical trends to reduce currency outages and expensive emergency deliveries to restock empty ATMs. It also optimizes transportation schedules. Through accurate forecasting, the solution eliminates excess currency inventories, increases the availability of capital for investment and ensures cash points are stocked.

Fiserv Posts 2Q/13 Revenue Up 12%

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[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”0″ ihc_mb_template=”1″] Fiserv 2Q/13 revenue of $1.14 billion compared to the year ago figure of $1.02 billion for a 12% increase. Meanwhile, 1H/13 djusted revenue was $2.22 billion, compared with $2.04 billion in the same period in 2012 for a 9% increase. Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations in the second quarter…

AnywhereCommerce mPOS Now Visa Ready

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AnywhereCommerce anticipates increased traction in Canada for its mobile point of sale (POS) technologies, due to its participation in the Visa Ready Program. As part of the agreement, AnywhereCommerce’s “Nomad” EMV-capable chip-and-pin device, which enables Canadian merchants to accept payments through mobile phones and tablets, has received the “Visa Ready” designation. Visa Inc.’s Visa Ready Program allows companies like AnywhereCommerce to easily navigate the complexities of the evolving payments ecosystem, and expands access to Visa’s certifications and best practices. AnywhereCommerce will market its “Nomad” product to merchants using the Visa Ready symbol. Supporting both emerging EMV chip-and-pin and legacy magnetic stripe technology, Nomad is a flexible and secure product that is compatible with iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows 7 and 8 operating systems.

TSYS Healthcare Launches HRA Card Functionality

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TSYS Healthcare multi-purse benefit card processing introduced innovative and market-leading card functionality for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), a key component of the consumer-directed healthcare (CDH) space. TSYS’ enhanced HRA functionality, coupled with technology-leading Web services capabilities, brings a complete, real-time HRA solution to the benefit market. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, employers and administrators must look for ways to provide new healthcare coverage options while reducing overall healthcare and administrative expenses. TSYS Healthcare’s new HRA functionality accomplishes both of these objectives by providing debit card access to HRA plans and incorporating a TSYS Healthcare Partnership Model for revenue sharing. TSYS developed a comprehensive solution that allows benefits administrators to provide debit card access to virtually all HRA plans.

MoneyGram to Acquire Kiosk-Based Money Transfer Business

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MoneyGram signed an agreement to acquire Nexxo Financial’s full-service money transfer kiosk business and to become the preferred money transfer and bill payment partner for Nexxo Financial. MoneyGram will acquire approximately 200 kiosks primarily located in California, Illinois and Texas. These kiosks will offer automated, self-service money transfers to MoneyGram agents worldwide allowing consumers to pay bills utilizing MoneyGram’s bill payment network. The move to expand MoneyGram’s use of self-service channels is a strategy in line with recent statistics. The FDIC has estimated that 60 million U.S. residents do not use formal banking channels as the primary method for their day-to-day financial services. This points to a growing need for convenient and affordable means to transfer funds.

ANZ Launches Fiserv Unbanked mSolution

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Fiserv announced that Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) launched an extensive mobile banking and payment service in several nations in the Pacific.
The bank, which has offered Fiserv-supported mobile financial services to its customers since 2006, is now providing mobile financial services to unbanked and underbanked consumers in Samoa, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The bank is using Mobiliti Reach(TM) from Fiserv, which is designed to meet the needs of consumers in emerging markets, to provide these services under the ANZ goMoney(TM) brand. Under the ANZ goMoney brand, Mobiliti Reach from Fiserv enables consumers without a banking relationship to save, send and spend their money – transactions traditionally carried out in cash. Popular transaction types include merchant payments at the point-of-sale, person-to-person payments, mobile phone top ups and more traditional banking services like balance checks and transaction history.

Equity Bank and Airtel Kenya Ink mMoney Agreement

10, Country, KENYA, PriorityLeave a comment

Equity Bank and Airtel Kenya have entered into a partnership that will offer comprehensive mobile commerce solutions to their customers through Airtel Money. The service, available to all Equity Bank customers with Airtel lines, will enable customers from both Airtel and Equity Bank to access Airtel mobile banking platforms, perform agency cash transactions at Equity Bank branches and also enable Airtel services customers to withdraw money at any Equity Bank countrywide. Airtel Money will also enable customers to pay their utility bills, receive bank transaction alerts, check account balance and receive mini statements, among other services. Airtel Money is fast becoming the preferred way of sending and receiving money across the Kenya and the region with customers widely using to pay utility bills such as electricity, water and pay-television subscriptions. The process is fully automated and reflects in real time providing customers with a faster and more secure mode of carrying out their transactions.

Morpho TSM Partner in NFC Program

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Morpho (Safran) mNFC platform, product and services provider, announced its partnership with Far EasTone Telecommunications (Far Eastern Group) for Trusted Service Management (TSM) technologies and solutions in the “FarEasTone NFC All Around Trial Program.” As the number one mobile network operator in Taiwan and a leading service innovator, Far EasTone’s vision is to build a nationwide NFC ecosystem by 2014. Users will be able to tap their NFC phones to pay for purchases, take public transportation and use loyalty programs. These transactions will be available at 25,000 PayPass point-of-sale terminals and 10,000 shops. The transactions will be done through Morpho’s Trusted Service Management (TSM) system.

First Data 2Q/13 Revenue Up $24mm Y/Y

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[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”0″ ihc_mb_template=”1″] First Data reported its 2Q/13 consolidated revenue of $2.7 billion, up $24 million by 1%, compared to a year ago, primarily driven by a $29 million increase in reimbursable debit network fees, postage and other. For the second quarter, the net loss attributable to First Data was $189 million, compared to…

American Express Unstaged Announces Latest Headliners

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American Express, VEVO and YouTube announced Kings of Leon and Fred Armisen have been selected as the next pair in its popular live stream music series “American Express Unstaged.” Kings of Leon’s exclusive performance will be live streamed from Shepherd’s Bush in London at 4:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM PT on Friday, August 9 at www.amexunstaged.com directed by Fred Armisen. Fans can watch the live event on YouTube’s iOS and Android apps as well as its mobile website, VEVO’s free apps for iPhone®, iPad® and Xbox 360, and on the American Express Channel, available through the American Express app on LG connected TVs. The global event precedes the highly anticipated September 24th release of MECHANICAL BULL (RCA Records). The “American Express Unstaged” music series is a cutting-edge live event and interactive digital platform, bringing together popular musical artists with renowned film directors. Armisen, best known for his work on “Saturday Night Live” and as the co-creator and star of IFC’s “Portlandia,” will make his return to “American Express Unstaged,” this time as the director.

TransFirst Launches VeriFone EMV- and NFC Terminals

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TransFirst, a leading provider of transaction processing services and payment enabling technologies, announces in conjunction with VeriFone Systems (PAY) that it now offers its merchant customers the EMV- and NFC-capable VX 520 countertop payment solution and VX 805 contactless PIN pad from VeriFone. TransFirst has added the two payment systems to its portfolio of supported systems after recently completing compatibility certification. VeriFone’s VX 520 is a reliable, rugged countertop device with a powerful processor and expandable memory designed to handle processing of card payments at lightning speeds. The VX 805 is a convenient payment device that allows merchants to process a range of transactions through multiple connectivity options and is ready for NFC mobile commerce and EMV.