Middle East banks will catch a larger portion of the global transaction banking market (worth US$509 billion) by 2025, with 62% anticipating growth of 25% or greater, and 34% expecting the region’s share to increase by at least 50%.
Diners can now vote with their palates and raise funds for charity in the new 8 Great PlatesSM restaurant competition to determine the most-loved international cuisine in ten U.S. cities. Chase Card Services, a division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. [NYSE: JPM], announced today the start of public voting for consumers’ favorite international dishes among…
Western Union is hosting casting calls on April 2 and April 9 in New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Miami, and Washington D.C. for music video entries in “Love in Any Language.” The national campaign is designed to help consumers express their love to mothers, family, friends and loved ones, for which Western Union is encouraging consumers to sing and share their unique song that expresses their love for their families, friends and loved ones, reflecting the theme of the Love in Any Language campaign.
RI-based POS technology provider Restaurant Data Concepts and NJ-based CC Productions are the target of pending legal action
for possible PCI DSS breaches of its POSitouch technology, installed in more than 20,000
restaurants nationwide. According to the attorneys preparing the lawsuit,the companies allegedly sold and installed POS
systems that contributed to identity thefts at multiple restaurant
locations. At the core of the allegations in the developing lawsuit:
1) POSitouchâs POS system failure: A forensic
audit reveal that POSitouch sold a system that was non-compliant with
PCI-DSS. 2) CC Productionsâ mismanagement: The reseller engaged in
flagrant violations of PCI standards that gave rise to the security
breaches. When companies such as CC Productions engage in the support
and management of a merchantsâ POS application system they need to
ensure that they are not engaging in suspect actions that open up the
ports so that hackers may penetrate the entire system through malware.
While the exact amount of the identify theft losses to banks, the
financial losses to the restaurants, fines, investigatory costs, fines
imposed by the credit card companies and other costs attributed to
fixing the computer systemsâ security breaches are still being tallied,
the lawsuit is seeking compensation to repay the penalties levied by the
credit card companies and the massive costs to track down and repair the
POS system problems. According to the attorneys, damages âcould run well
into seven figures.â
A new survey has found that 65% of Americans are at least very
concerned about identity theft and 64% feel the same way about credit
and debit card fraud. However, 58% are willing to provide biometric data to
merchants and financial institutions to verify and authenticate their
identity. About 93% said they would be willing to use fingerprint scans,
while 79% are willing to use iris recognition. The Unisys “Security
Index” says that is an increase of 20% and 17%, respectively, since
consumers were surveyed in November of last year. Americans who are
seriously concerned about the security of their online transactions rose
to 42%, the highest level since the “Index” began two years ago. Only
22% of Americans fully trust government agencies to keep personal
information secure and private and the proportion is only slightly
better (29%) with regard to trust in data protection by financial
institutions.
A new survey by U.S. Bank reveals that customers between 5-12 years old are focused on savings. U.S. Bank surveyed 1,500 of its customers between ages 5 to 12 who indicated that 30% are saving for college, and 15% saving for a car. The young savers are setting goals and socking away windfalls from birthdays and earnings from babysitting or other duties. About 100 of those U.S. Bank savers will be on their way to achieving their goal, as each will receive $100 from U.S. Bank by participating in its âWhat are Kids Savings For?â contest which ends at the end of October. U.S. Bank launched the program to make a lasting impression on its youngest customers, and has been featuring some of their responses on the bankâs website.
TX-based grocer Market Street has rolled out the “Street Smart Rewards”
loyalty program that gives shoppers one point for every dollar spent.
By signing up for a “Street Smarts Rewards” card and using it between
now and Oct. 27, Market Street guests will earn one point for
every dollar spent. Market Street guests can immediately begin earning
points on their next
grocery trip by accepting a “Street Smart Rewards” card from the cashier,
completing an enrollment process in-store or online at
www.StreetSmartRewards.com and continuing on with their typical shopping
routine. Participants can earn anywhere from $5 to $100 in Market Street
rewards that can be spent on almost anything in the store, including
fuel, until Dec. 31.
A new study has found that more than two thirds of Americans are
extremely or very concerned about other people obtaining and using their
credit or debit card details, with 90% at least somewhat concerned.
According to research conducted in late February by Unisys credit,
debit card fraud is now the primary security concern for Americans. The
proportion of Americans indicating no concern is at the lowest level
since Unisys began the global study. Two-thirds of Americans are
seriously concerned about unauthorized access to or misuse of personal
information. Overall, the levels of concern on this issue have remained
relatively high and constant since the first global study in August
2007. Also, 75% of Americans believe that the current world financial
crisis has increased their risk for experiencing identity theft or
related fraud crimes, and more than one-quarter believe the current
crisis raises that risk substantially.
A recent survey conducted by Unisys indicates that 67% of consumers
surveyed around the world trust fingerprint scans to verify their
identities with banks, government agencies and other organizations.
Fingerprint scans rank higher in consumer trust than lesser known
biometric solutions such as facial scans, of which 44% of respondents
said they are comfortable with this method and 38% who accept scan of
blood vessels in the hand. Consumers in Malaysia, Australia and the U.K.
are the most
accepting of all biometric methods studied in the research and are also
more accepting of identification methods
that are generally unpopular in other parts of the world. Hong Kong
residents distrust many methods of authentication,
including PINs and personal passwords, but are most accepting of
fingerprints as an authentication method.
Marriott Rewards, the Marriott’s loyalty program, has partnered with The Luggage Club to provide members options to redeem points for door to door luggage shipment. Marriott Rewards members can earn 10 Marriott Rewards points per dollar on services and redeem points for gift cards in increments of $50, $100, $250 and $500 while The Luggage Club has no limits on size, weight or number of pieces that can be shipped allowing patrons to avoid long baggage check lines or fight the crowds at the baggage carousel. Marriott Rewards points can be earned and redeemed at the more than 2,800 participating Marriott International hotels around the world.
CyberSource reported that third quarter revenue rose 53% to $26.5 million. CyberSource’s total customer count increased to approximately 22,000 at the end of September. Customers added during the quarter include Beach Camera, Diane Von Furstenberg, Magellan Navigation, Perry Ellis, Silversea Cruises, Tibco Software, and Underwriters Laboratories. BidPay has acquired approximately 483,000 customers since its launch in June of 2006, up from 410,000 at the end of the second quarter. Approximately 150 customers selected CyberSource for global acquiring services during the period. CyberSource now has over 1,800 global acquiring customers, now supports over 25 international payment types and processed transactions in over 65 different currencies in the third quarter. CyberSource’s European operations contributed a record 55.1 million transactions in the third quarter, approximately 19% of total transaction volume. For the fourth quarter, total revenue is expected to be $31.5 million. For complete details on CyberSource’s latest results visit CardData ([www.carddata.com][1]).
CYBERSOURCE REVENUES
3Q/06: $17.4 million
4Q/06: $20.9 million
1Q/07: $20.7 million
2Q/07: $22.9 million
3Q/07: $26.5 million
Source: CardData (www.carddata.com)
[1]: http://www.carddata.com
The Interactive Advertising Bureau is taking on the two top third-party Internet audience measurement services, questioning their methodologies. The IAB says comScore and Nielsen//NetRatings have resisted numerous requests for audits by the IAB and the Media Ratings Council since 1999. IAB says the discrepancies exist between the audience measurements of comScore and NNR and those of the server logs of the IAB’s own members. Compounding these differences are the disparities between comScore’s and NNR’s own measurement results. The IAB, which has 332 members that account for 86% of the nation’s interactive advertising spend, has sent an open letter to comScore and NNR, questioning their panels which allegedly undercount or ignore the diverse populations that are the future of consumer marketing.