Danish payment management company Pensio is undertaking a major relaunch and rebranding exercise and highlighting the evolution with a move to new offices in Copenhagen. Founded in 2008, the company has seen continuous growth with its breakthrough payment solutions. The new name of AltaPay is to underline the company’s new global ambitions.
Serious political attention is now being paid to the digitalisation of
households throughout the UK in the evolving ‘Digital Economy’. Business
& Decision’s recent report, “The Revolution in Self-Service Channels in
the Financial Services Sector,” analyzes the growth of consumer
self-service channels in key areas of the Financial Services market and
looks at who is winning and who could lose out. Examining the recent
emergence of new operating models and highlighting the transformation of
more established business models in those parts of the Financial Markets
most affected, the report investigates the drivers and inhibitors of the
market, the broad demographic spread of demand and the challenges to
established players in financial services and assesses the impact of
future changes that may occur in the digital marketplace. This includes
consumers’ testing the capability of many ‘traditional’ businesses to
communicate digitally, with businesses which do not connect digitally
increasingly left behind. The pressure grows on businesses to deliver
sites that meet their needs in design and ease of navigation with the
spread of demand for digital connectivity across all age groups and
correlation between age groups and various waves of social networking
media.
The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association is now entering its third membership year, which
is the final year of the initial three-year NBPCA business plan.
Building upon learningâs in the first two membership years, during the
third year, the Association will evolve its strategy and direction to
continue to drive a positive environment for network branded prepaid
cards. NBPCA has seen the the Association grow to include more than 35
members, a Board of Directors comprised of top industry leaders and two
fully-functioning working groups addressing government and
media/consumer issues. In accordance with the Associationâs three-year business plan, the NBPCA
established measurable objectives for each membership year. Education
and outreach programs are conducted through two working groups, the
Government Relations Working Group and the Media & Consumer Education
Working Group. Anil D. Aggarwalâs three-year Chairmanship will conclude at the end of
the current membership year on June 30, 2009 and Gary L. Palmer has been
appointed Chairman-elect. He will assume the role of Chairman of the
Board on July 1, 2009. After stepping down as Chairman next year,
Aggarwal will remain actively involved as Founder and Chairman Emeritus.
The NBPCA recently launched a search for a permanent President
and Executive Director with the experiences and leadership to help the
Association achieve its potential in the years to come. The search is
being conducted by a search committee appointed by the Board of Directors.
In response to VISA’s ‘Payer Authentication Service’, MasterCard introduced its ‘Secure Payment Application’ solution yesterday. ‘SPA’ is an issuer-based security scheme that takes advantage of MasterCard’s ‘Universal Cardholder Authentication Field’ infrastructure. ‘UCAF’ is a universal, multipurpose data transport mechanism implemented by merchants and acquirers for collecting authentication information generated by issuers and cardholders. Once collected, this information is communicated to the issuer in the payment authorization request and provides explicit evidence that the transaction was originated by a legitimate cardholder. Based on an open specification, ‘SPA’ allows for easier implementation because it readily integrates into existing issuer security solutions, including server-based wallets and pseudo-account numbers. Initial deployment of ‘SPA’ will be through server-based e-wallets. MasterCard plans to incorporate ‘SPA’ into existing issuer security solutions and is in discussions with Arcot Systems, Brodia, Orbiscom, and Trintech to develop ‘SPA’ systems for members.
Juniper Bank (www.juniper.com) an online and wireless consumer financial services company and division of Columbus Bank and Trust Company, announced that it has partnered with the world’s leader in tax preparation, H&R Block, to help take the hassle out of this year’s tax preparation process.
Starting today through April 15, Juniper customers and visitors can access H&R Block’s easy-to-use online tax preparation products and services, and a wide range of up-to-date information and tools, from a co-branded Website hosted by Juniper. H&R Block’s new online tax services provide innovative, comprehensive choices for all taxpayers, eliminating the guesswork and stress from tax preparation no matter how complex the return.
‘H&R Block is a brand that consumers know and trust, and their decades of experience in tax preparation makes them the leader in their field,’ said Jim Stewart, president of Juniper Financial Corporation. ‘H&R Block’s services simplify the often daunting task of tax preparation, and they perfectly complement Juniper’s mission to make our customers’ financial lives easier.’
Juniper customers and visitors will have access to the following H&R Block tax products and services:
· Online Tax Program A straightforward, secure, do-it-yourself online tax preparation and filing program for U.S. federal and state tax returns. The Online Tax Program performs calculations automatically, checks for errors, identifies deductions and fills out all of the appropriate IRS approved forms. (Cost: $19.95; includes electronic filing fee and one resident state return)
· TaxCut® Deluxe H&R Block’s award winning tax preparation software is now available for download from the Juniper site. TaxCut Deluxe includes multimedia tax help videos and imports data directly from many popular financial planning software packages. (Cost: $19.95; includes electronic filing fee and one resident state return)
· Professional Review Users who prepare their taxes online can have them reviewed by an H&R Block tax specialist prior to filing. H&R Block will review the return for missing information, errors and IRS ‘red flags.’ (Cost: 29.95; includes review of federal and resident state returns, and H&R Block’s error-free guarantee)
· Professional Tax Service A comprehensive review and filing service that allows users to have their taxes prepared online by an H&R Block specialist from the comforts of home. Users need only submit their tax information, answer simple questions, and an H&R Block specialist prepares the return. Once the return is complete, H&R Block will sign and submit the return.
In addition, Juniper customers will have a wide array of tax content available to them including tax tips, calculators, calendars, message boards and selected state tax information.
About H&R Block
H&R Block Inc. is a diversified company with subsidiaries providing a wide range of financial products and services. This year, H&R Block served 19.2 million taxpayers more than any other company – through its more than 10,000 offices located primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. H&R Block served another 1.8 million tax clients through its award-winning software program, Kiplinger TaxCut®, and through its new online tax preparation services. H&R Block Financial Advisors member NYSE, SIPC, offers investment services and securities products. H&R Block Mortgage Corporation and Option One Mortgage Corporation offer a full range of home mortgage products. RSM McGladrey Inc. is a national accounting, tax and consulting firm with 100 offices nationwide, as well as an affiliation with 550 offices in 75 countries as the U.S. member of RSM International. Quarterly results and other information are available on the company’s Web site at [www.hrblock.com][1].
About Juniper Bank
Juniper Financial Corporation, a privately held company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, operates Juniper Bank as a division of Columbus Bank and Trust Company of Columbus, Georgia. With the aim of creating a bank that empowers consumers with greater flexibility and control over their finances, Juniper offers a wide array of financial products and services and the ability for consumers to access account information, transfer funds and pay bills via the Internet, phone or wireless devices. The company has received more than $114 million in funding from such investors as Benchmark Capital, J&W Seligman, Sonera Corporation, Total Technology Ventures, Aether Systems, Fifth Third Bancorp and others. Additional information about the company, its products and services, and employment opportunities can be found online at [www.juniper.com][2] or send email to [email protected]
[1]: http://www.hrblock.com/
[2]: http://www.juniper.com/
This week, Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. launched their new Sutton MasterCard cards. Available to Sutton Sales Associates, the Sutton MasterCard is the first company branded credit card in the Canadian real estate market.
“The Sutton MasterCards will reinforce our strong presence in the industry,” said Scott Shaw, President, Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. “The cards highlight our commitment to providing our Associates with unique marketing products which give them a distinct advantage in an extremely competitive field.”
Created in partnership with Canada Trust, the Sutton Advantage, Gold and Platinum MasterCards offer Sutton Associates the same convenience and worldwide acceptance of the Canada Trust MasterCard cards.
Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. is a market leader bringing forward innovation and value to both the real estate industry and the consumer. Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sutton Group Financial Services Ltd., a publicly traded company on the Vancouver Stock Exchange under the symbol SUG.