CU Trust
A recent study of 10,000 U.S consumers shows credit unions took top spots in the trusted banking category, including credit cards.
The 2015 Temkin Trust Ratings rates the trust that consumers have with 293 companies across 20 industries.
USAA & NPS
USAA’s insurance, banking and credit card businesses earned top rankings in the latest Net Promoter Score (NPS) Benchmark Study by Temkin Group. NPS identifies the likelihood of consumers to recommend a company to their friends and family, using a scoring range from -100 to +100.
Gemalto to Acquire SafeNet
Gemalto has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of SafeNet from Vector Capital for US$890 million on a debt free/cash free basis.SafeNet technology protects over 80% of world’s intra-bank fund transfers and its 1,500+ employees, including 550 cryptographic engineers, serve more than 25,000 customers, both corporations and government agencies, in over 100 countries. In 2013, SafeNet recorded revenues of US$337 million and profit from operations of US$35 million and expects revenues of US$370 million and profit from operations of US$51 million for 2014. The purchase price of US$890 million is self-funded with US$440 million from available cash, and US$450 million drawn from existing long-term credit facilities. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in Q4 2014, after approval from the relevant regulatory and antitrust authorities.
RewardsNOW Partners to Expand Local Merchant Funded Program
RewardsNOW loyalty programs for financial institutions partnered It’s My Michigan, a merchant discount program that offers Michigan residents discounts at thousands of Michigan-based merchants. The partnership with It’s My Michigan will enable RewardsNOW to expand the reach of its Shop Main Street local merchant funded shopping program beyond the metropolitan Detroit area into greater Michigan and is just one of many initiatives planned for the expansion of the Shop Main Street program. RewardsNOW’s innovative local merchant funded rewards program offers participating Shop Main Street merchants access to an easy-to-use online marketing tool where they can create customized, relevant offers designed to meet their own unique business needs and objectives, to attract new customers, and to reward loyal ones. And, unlike daily deals and coupons, Shop Main Street merchants have access to extensive data on customers’ transactions enabling them to analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of their offers.
Mobile Users Like Biometric Authentication
PayPal and the National Cyber Security Alliance unveiled the results from a new Zogby Poll highlighting the latest trends, concerns and misperceptions around mobile security and commerce. The survey is in support of National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), an effort that educates millions of people each year about the importance of online safety and security. The national survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults underscores how deeply entrenched in American’s daily lives mobile devices have become. For example, two-thirds of the people surveyed told us that their smartphone is never further than one room away, and one in ten said they keep their phone handy everywhere they go, with the possible exception of the bathroom. In addition, the survey highlighted the growing importance of mobile devices as a tool for shopping, with one in four respondents reporting that they complete at least one transaction per day on their smartphone, while one in six say they make at least 25 percent of all their purchases on their smartphone. The survey found that many people are open to new approaches to mobile security that would increase their safety. In particular, there are strong indications that many people are willing to take advantage of biometric technology to protect themselves against mobile security threats. The survey found that Americans are overwhelmingly comfortable replacing passwords with newer security technologies such as fingerprint identification (53 percent) and retinal scans (45 percent).
MediStreams Remittance Automation Appoints Director
MediStreams Revenue Cycle Management company appointed Dr. Marcia Hardy as National Director of Business Development. MediStreams offers a full suite of Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management Solutions for providers and provider partners of all sizes. This includes payment automation tools to help providers post remits more effectively. Dr. Hardy joins the MediStreams’ team from her previous employment at an electronic healthcare company where she provided leadership, consulting expertise and software solutions to the healthcare industry. She holds a doctorate from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Graduate School of Education and Information Systems (GEIS).
Chase Blueprint and O Shows Consumers Spending Smart
Chase Blueprint asked an O, The Oprah Magazine reader panel how they will be spending this year, indicating a watchful eye on their holiday budgets. According to the survey, three in five (59 percent) respondents are planning to spend the same amount or more this holiday season than last year. On average, respondents plan to spend $594 on gifts this holiday season. Meanwhile, two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) “look forward” to shopping for gifts this holiday season. To save money this season, 59 percent plan to use coupons or look for last minute sales, while nearly a quarter (22 percent) bought most of their gifts during Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Additionally, more than three in 10 respondents will create a holiday shopping budget (36 percent), spend less money per gift (35 percent) or buy gifts for fewer people (31 percent). When it comes to the tradition of holiday parties, nearly one-third (28 percent) of respondents will host a holiday or seasonal party this year. On average, these party hosts are setting their party budget at nearly $300, with more than two in five (44 percent) planning to spend $100 to $249 on the party and more than a quarter (26 percent) planning to spend $250 to $499. For those hosting a party, the average number of party invitees is 19 people with nearly a third (27 percent) planning to invite five to 10 people and 46 percent planning to invite 11 to 20.
Nice to acquire Merced for up to $170 million
NICE entered an agreement to acquire Merced Systems for approximately $150 million, demonstrating its commitment to provide its customers an analytics solutions and Workforce Optimization suite. Merced’s flagship solutions include Merced Service Performance Management, which provides performance analytics and dashboards, service coaching, incentive management and real-time reporting for enterprise service personnel. They also include Merced Sales Performance Management with incentive and quota management, performance analytics and dashboards, sales development and coaching, and other analytics solutions. As part of the acquisition, NICE will also pay Merced up to $20 million in cash subject to Merced meeting certain performance targets.
Chase Shows Parenting More Costly Than Expected
According to the Chase Blueprint-Parents Survey, 62% of moms feel that raising a child is more expensive than they had expected, and are subsequently taking a proactive approach to saving money and managing their spending each month like couponing (98%), stocking up on sale items (74%) and managing their credit cards (64%). Chase Blueprint conducted the survey with Parents and American Baby to better understand how moms are approaching key personal finance decisions related to planning for and raising a child. Chase Blueprint is available for free on many Chase credit cards and can help design plans to manage the necessary purchases that arise. This is a critical life stage for families that requires extensive planning and when it comes to money, is important to get right. Ninety-five percent have cut back on spending for themselves and their partners since having children, including 52 percent who have made drastic cutbacks in their personal spending. Among those moms who feel raising a child is more expensive than expected, 61 percent made drastic cuts to their personal spending as a way to counter balance those extra expenses.
American Optimism Fuels Economy
Although the employment rate is struggling, there are some sure signs the economy is improving. Bankruptcies are way down, credit card charge-offs are holding steady and consumer optimism is strong. Although this is relatively apparent with credit card volumes having grown slightly this past month-after having steadily declined over the past 2 and a half years- consumer optimism and confidence is also reflected in 30% of consumers feeling the economy is getting better, up 23% from before the holidays, while 25% at least feel the economy can’t get any worse, down from 33% before the holidays.
These findings, says Chase Card Services, also show 60% of Americans met or stayed below their set spending goals this past holiday season, but still spent approximately 20% more than they said they would; 21% believe their own personal finances are getting worse, down 3 points since December; 31% believe they are improving their situation, up 5 points; and 49% are in control of their finances, compared to 47% having disclosed this before the holidays while 48% of men are in control of finances, down from 51% who said that before the holidays.
RushCard Adds a Prescription Drug Card
RushCard holders are eligible to receive a free prescription drug discount card.
At RushCard.com, cardholders can search for and locate participating
pharmacies and drug prices in order to plan ahead and find their best
price. The prescription drug discount program will be accepted at more
than 56,000 participating pharmacies nationwide, including chains and
independent pharmacies. Interested members can receive discounts of 10 to 85% on their
generic and brand name prescription drugs. Members can enroll in the
free program through their online RushCard account. The discount card
can then be printed and taken to the cardholder’s pharmacy of choice
along with a prescription to receive the discount. OH-based UniRush LLC was created to offer the over
48 million Americans without access to a traditional banking
relationship an array of basic financial services via the Prepaid Visa
RushCard.
UATP Teams with NxSystems
Corporate travel provider Universal Air Travel Plan has partnered with global payment solution NxSystems.
NxSystems product line includes domestic and international
prepaid cards that are processed through a proprietary multi-currency payment platform
gateway that allows worldwide access to e-banking, e-payments and e-commerce.
NxSystems brings to the UATP partnership the unique ability for
split-tender payments, domestically and internationally.
Split tender will enable consumers to use the voucher prepaid debit card in a multitude of currencies with
combined payment options, for use around the globe. NxSystems’ proprietary
“NxPay Payment Platform Gateway” software provides consumers with a global payment
solution that links prepaid debit cards to its multi-currency payment platform,
creating an innovative and comprehensive web-enabled solution. Real-time transactional
information can be managed globally.