Discover it Miles
Building on the success of the it Card, Discover has added a new Miles it Card to its arsenal. The no annual fee card is loaded with rewards earning opportunities.
RideLinQ + Way2ride
Two existing payment apps in New York City’s yellow and green taxis, RideLinQ from Creative Mobile Technologies (CMT) and VeriFone’s Way2ride, have to introduce a new and improved passenger payment experience. Now, passengers will have the flexibility to use either app to securely and conveniently pay cab fares using their smartphones in any one of the nearly 20,000 yellow and green taxis in New York City.
VeriFone Takes 12% Revenue Hit
VeriFone posted its net revenues of $432 million and net revenues of $431 million for the three months ended October 31, 2013. With this, it reported operating cash flow of $55 million and free cash flow of $38 million. The net revenue of $432 million, compared to $489 million a year ago, is a 12%…
USA Technologies Launches Livery POS Solution
USA Technologies officially launched ePortGOTM an end-to-end cashless payment, dispatch and navigation solution designed to simplify and economize the daily processes of today’s taxi and for-hire vehicle businesses while accommodating the increasing demand for secure, in-vehicle credit/debit card acceptance. ePortGO is an integrated system that enables credit/debit card fare payment, trip management, recordkeeping, vehicle dispatching, navigation, and other features all in one easy and cost-effective solution. ePortGO is also designed to be flexible; operators can start out with the standard service for metered or unmetered vehicles or opt for the Premium service that integrates dispatch, navigation and other features, such as a consumer mobile app displaying the operator’s personalized brand.
VeriFone Embarks on New Market with Taxi Payment and Media
VeriFone Systems inked a comprehensive, long-term contract to provide credit card processing along with digital and traditional media to a Las Vegas cab company whereby it will provide nearly 100% of taxi card payment services in the city. This will generate $90 million over the term of the contract in revenue derived from equipment sales and fees from services and advertising. This deal includes advertising on the company’s airport shuttle bus service, enabling VeriFone to provide virtually blanket exposure to visitors for advertising and promotional campaigns. Cab-goers will enjoy a 10-inch tablet and make electronic payments on VeriFone’s NFC and EMV-enabled VX 820 payment solution.
Contactless and Mobile Payments Expanding Use
The Smart Card 3rd Annual Payment Summit presenters reported contactless
payment is now the de facto standard for U.S. transit fare collection
systems. With this, the method will likely become a principal market driver for the
expansion of bank-issued contactless cards. Mobile payments
is regarded as another important driver that will continue expanding the
contactless market. Retailers are motivated by the other mobile
applications that complement mobile payment such as coupons, loyalty
programs and location-based services that drive people into their locations.
Visa Launches Quick-Pay Solution in 98% of Retail Categories
With 69% of consumers using their payment card for quick convenience, Visa will be introducing its “No Signature Required” program for transactions under $25 to U.S. merchants come July 2010. With this, 98% of retailer categories can accept U.S.-issued Visa cards for purchases without requiring a cardholder signature for increased POS transaction time. The “No Signature Required” program will allow hundreds of thousands more U.S. retailers, including traditionally cash-heavy merchants such as discount stores, to enjoy greater benefit from card acceptance on low dollar transactions. These benefits include the potential for faster payment, increased sales and operating efficiencies they don’t get from cash and checks.
VeriFone Acquires Clear Channel Taxi Media
E-payment solution provider VeriFone Holdings has acquired the Clear Channel Taxi Media business
from Clear Channel Outdoor. VeriFone intends to leverage this well-developed channel into VeriFoneâs
Media Solutions payment-enabled business, where in-taxi digital content
is positioned to become one of the most innovative advertising venues as
spending moves from traditional to online and digital place-based media.
The acquisition includes relationships with a nationwide network of taxi
media buyers and more than 20 experienced media sales representatives.
With the acquisition, VeriFone has added an additional 5,000 taxicab
advertising endpoints to its existing New York City network of 6,500 cabs. Financial terms were not disclosed.
VIVOTECH & TAILWIND
ViVOtech NFC payment systems has signed agreements with Tailwind
strategic payments marketing for the development and deployment of joint
contectless payment solutions. The partnership will integrate
contactless payment readers into existing Chip and PIN devices using
Tailwind’s patented “POS Paddle” universal Pin Pad mounting solution and
ViVOtech’s “ViVOpay” contactless payment readers. This will allow
retailers to leverage their Chip & PIN investment and accept contactless
cards and NFC mobile phones. The “PoS Paddle” allows retailers to
upgrade their existing Chip & PIN systems to accept contactless payments
with minimum cost and disruption and integrates the ViVOpay contactless
reader module with the Chip and PIN terminal as a single customer-facing
unit and a single point of interaction.
Card Acceptance Spreads to Boston Taxis
Credit card acceptance among U.S. taxi companies is gaining traction.
Creative Mobile Technologies has signed a deal with Boston Cab Dispatch to
install a self-swipe credit card payment system as well as
multi-channel, interactive media screens and additional technologies.
Boston Cab Dispatch has about 500 member taxis comprising over 25% of
the Boston taxi industry. The City of Boston has mandated rear-seat
credit card acceptance by April. This is the second major American taxi
company in less than three months to announce the implementation of
CMT’s state-of-the-art taxi technology. In October 2008, CMT struck a
similar deal with Chicago’s “Yellow,” “Checker” and “Blue Diamond”
family of 2,600 taxicabs. CMT is currently operating in more than 5,500
New York City taxicabs.
2,600 Chicago Taxis to Add Card Acceptance
The nation’s oldest and largest continually operating taxicab fleet is getting carded. Creative Mobile Technologies and Taxi Affiliation Services have signed a 10-year deal to install a credit card payment system in the rear seats of vehicles, as well as multi-channel, interactive media screens and numerous other technologies in 2,600 taxicabs in Chicago. This includes Yellow, Checker and Blue Diamond taxicabs. CMT’s “FREEdom Solution” is currently operating in over 5,500 New York City taxicabs. CMT’s “Passenger Information Monitors” allows passengers to swipe their own credit card and complete wireless transactions in seconds. The CMT “PIM” also features regularly updated news and media content, as well as GPS-powered passenger maps.
Personal Card Data Goes on the Cheap Abroad
New research has surfaced revealing that basic credit card information sold for fraud purposes is now commonly sold through the chat rooms in China, Vietnam and Indonesia for around $1 per card. Three to four years ago such information sold for an average of $5 to $7 per card in chat rooms in Eastern Europe. Affinion’s CardCops division says increased American tourism in the Indochina region and the high credit limits on U.S.-issued cards, have driven the increase. Upgrades to more privileged information, such as birth records, mother’s maiden names, social security numbers and mortgage information, will cost the ID thief closer to $10 per card. CardCops says tourists most often fall victim to restaurant workers, hotel employees and taxicabs while on their vacation, only 1% of these thefts are ever investigated, and a minuscule 0.5% of the thieves are ever prosecuted as a result of jurisdictional issues, resources, and the facility of perpetrators to easily erase computer/network data. CardCops notes that thieves are now collecting personal data on Websites such as Ancestry.com and Zillow.com. Additionally, the global identity theft marketplace has advanced so that buyers of personal information can pick and choose identities from victims in specific countries, and with specific ranges of net worth.