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July 22th, 2011
Edition #262
New to NewsFilter? Click here to subscribe. In this Issue In Other News This Day in History 2003 Jessica Lynch gets hero's welcome On this day in 2003, U.S. Army Private Jessica Lynch, a prisoner-of-war who was rescued from an Iraqi hospital, receives a hero's welcome when she returns to her hometown of Palestine, West Virginia. The story of the 19-year-old supply clerk, who was captured by Iraqi forces in March 2003, gripped America; however, it was later revealed that some details of Lynch's dramatic capture and rescue might have been exaggerated. Lynch, who was born April 26, 1983, was part of the 507th Ordnance Maintenance Company from Fort Bliss, Texas. On March 23, 2003, just days after the U.S. invaded Iraq, Lynch was riding in a supply convoy when her unit took a wrong turn and was ambushed by Iraqi forces near Nasiriya. Eleven American soldiers died and four others besides Lynch were captured. Click here to read more.
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Charge It! Here Comes the Google Credit Card
7/21/11 Seeking Alpha The Google credit card has arrived. No joke, this is the real deal people! So what’s the catch, right? The Google AdWords Credit Card has been designed for small-to-medium size businesses that already advertise on Google. The firm is now capitalizing on the fact that many of its advertising clients in one form or another are often cash flow constrained and lack a “formal” credit line. While we can’t say we were expecting to ever see a credit card from Google this just goes to show you how innovative and bold the firm remains after so long. eBay CEO Pooh-Poohs NFC, Says Chains Won’t Permit It
7/21/11 StorefrontBacktalk eBay CEO John Donahoe argued Wednesday (July 20) that PayPal will dominate in both mobile payments and in-store POS, mostly because few retailers will end up being able to stomach deploying unproven near-field communication (NFC) applications at their ultra-critical POS. Taking a direct swipe at Google Wallet—and, to a lesser extent, ISIS and Apple—Donahoe said that NFC is simply too unproven and that PayPal is a more comfortable choice. “I was with a large merchant last week who described NFC as Not For Commerce,” Donahoe said during a quarterly earnings call. Economy Struggling To Regain Momentum According To Fannie Mae’s Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group
7/22/11 Daily Markets The economy is struggling to regain the momentum lost since the beginning of 2011 as higher gasoline prices and supply-chain disruptions due to the Japan tragedy during the first half of the year combined to restrain growth, according to the July 2011 Economic Outlook released today by Fannie Mae’s (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) Economics & Mortgage Market Analysis Group. Economic growth in the second quarter is estimated to have moved at the same anemic 1.9 percent pace seen during the first quarter. CFPB Opens for Business, Starts Accepting Credit Card Complaints
7/22/11 MyBankTracker The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has officially received authoritative power on July 21 as scheduled. The first order of business: consumer credit card complaints. The bureau has begun accepting complaint forms regarding credit card issues on its website. Any consumer who feel they’ve been treated unfairly by card companies will have their voice heard. Complainers will have the opportunity to describe, categorize, and provide details of the issue and pose a reasonable resolution to the problem. New TSG Report Finds Authorization Costs and Transaction Processing Costs Dropped by More Than 10% Since 2009
7/21/11 PaymentsPulse TSG's 6th edition of the 2011 Merchant Processing Pricing Benchmark Study, the most comprehensive pricing study published, is now available for purchase. The study provides access to industry wide line-item authorization related front-end and back-end settlement pricing information that could be helpful for managing the pricing strategy decision process to your client base. Key findings impacting the overall cost of merchant processing costs include:
Dodd-Frank Buffeted by Challenges, Limps Forward
7/18/11 CNBC On the surface, it looks like the Dodd-Frank financial oversight law is in trouble. U.S. regulators are months behind schedule in rulemaking, Republicans have succeeded in holding agency funding hostage, and odds are good that the business community will win its first court challenge to an important provision. On top of that, Republicans and Wall Street titans are selling a doomsday scenario of Dodd-Frank killing the struggling economic recovery. Behind the scenes, though, a sort of acceptance is setting in. The Small Business Authority Index for June 2011
7/20/11 PR Newswire Newtek Business Services, announced the release of the SB Authority Index for June 2011 reaching 106.07 points. The SB Authority Index is up 1.17% from May 2011. Approved SBA loan volumes, the Russell microcap index and Retail Sales caused the increase in the index. The other five components of the index are ADP national employment report, Newtek's proprietary merchant processing volume, estimated small business default loan rate, GLS default rate and the prime rate. First Data Releases Overview of SpendTrend® Closed-Loop Prepaid Cards Second Quarter 2011 Analyses
7/18/11 First Data First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today released an overview of its First Data SpendTrend® Closed-Loop Prepaid Cards analyses for the second quarter of 2011. The analysis tracks year-over-year same-merchant activations, redemptions and reloads of merchant-branded prepaid cards in the U.S., including spending, gift, incentive and promotional cards. Economic trends played a significant role in consumer behavior during the second quarter. CyberSource/Trustwave Survey Shows Merchant Concern Over Brand - Not Fines - Drives Payment Security Investments
7/19/11 ePayment News Findings from a new survey of eCommerce merchants released today by CyberSource, a Visa company and Trustwave, a leading data security and compliance firm, show that: "nearly 70 percent of respondents cited the need to "protect the brand" as the primary driver for tightening controls against hackers and other payment security risks. Only 26 percent said avoiding fines resulting from non-compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) were the key motivator" PayPal Will Process POS Payments for up to 20 Merchants in 2012, eBay Chief Says
7/21/11 Digital Transactions PayPal Inc. will roll out mobile payments at the point of sale with as many as 20 retailers next year following a pilot set to start later in 2011, the chief executive of eBay Inc., PayPal’s parent company, said late on Wednesday. Speaking to stock analysts as part of eBay’s quarterly earnings release, John Donahoe called processing for brick-and-mortar merchants an “incremental” opportunity for PayPal but gave no further details of the e-commerce processor’s plans. “There are going to be a lot of announcements,” Donahoe said. ISIS Network Deals Pave the Way for Banks
7/19/11 Bank Technology News Isis executives said Tuesday that its contractual agreements with the three networks will allow consumers to load their networks' payment cards into a mobile wallet application scheduled for field trials next year. Specifically, Isis is licensing the networks' contactless payments specifications for use in its software. Isis initially had a relationship with Discover Financial Services as its only card network. The deals with the other card brands "effectively lay the framework for any of the networks to get their cards, their payment applications, into the mobile wallet." Dwolla Reachs Million-Dollar Milestone
7/21/11 GreenSheet Dwolla, the first payment company to combine social networks and location-based technologies with online and mobile payments, is now processing $1 million in transactions daily. The milestone for the payments network, which charges a flat 25-cent fee for transactions of all sizes, calculates to a potential user savings of $30,000 every 24 hours when compared to traditional payment networks. “We believe this represents a thought shift in the electronic payments industry,” said Dwolla founder Ben Milne. The Trillion-Dollar Question: Who will Power Your Mobile Wallet
7/19/11 CNNMoney If you want to get a smackdown going, throw together five executives each angling for a lucrative piece of a $4 trillion market. The retail payments space is one of tech's hottest battlefields. The reigning technology, magnetic stripes on debit and credit cards, is nearing the end of its 50-year run -- "it's just the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa" left clinging on, quipped Verifone (PAY) CEO Doug Bergeron -- as NFC chips embedded in smartphones and other devices begin their ascent. Giftango Brings the Mobile Wallet Era Closer With New Ability to Convert Plastic Gift Cards Into Digital Equivalent
7/20/11 Marketwire Giftango, the digital eGift card company, today announced the release of its Mobile Wallet Conversion Platform, for securely converting plastic gift cards into digital forms of payment by inserting and leveraging a 2D barcode on the back of a plastic gift card. Giftango has assembled the infrastructure needed to help bring merchants, incentive houses, plastic card printers, and virtual payment technology companies together to drive consumer adoption of the mobile wallet. U.S. Embracing NFC; ISOs Set To Benefit
7/20/11 ISO&Agent Card-security specialists are bullish regarding mobile Near Field Communication payments adoption in the U.S., a movement that could enable ISOs and agents to sell services to restaurants and to businesses that make deliveries or perform services at consumers’ homes.That optimism about NFC shines through in a report by Boston-based Aite Group LLC. In April, the research firm surveyed 76 North and South American card-security specialists at the MasterCard Worldwide Global Risk Symposium. Visa, MasterCard Win Approval of Settlement in 'Anti-Steering' Case
7/20/11 The Wall Street Journal A federal judge has approved a settlement of alleged antitrust violations by Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over rules they had in place preventing merchants from steering customers to lower-cost payment options. The agreement settles antitrust allegations brought by the U.S. government and several states over so-called anti-steering rules, which prohibited merchants that accept Visa and MasterCard credit cards from offering customers a discount for cash or a credit card that is less costly to the merchant. American Express Second Quarter EPS From Continuing Operations Up 27% to $1.07; Revenues Rise 12% on Record Cardmember Spending
7/20/11 American Express American Express Company today reported second-quarter income from continuing operations of $1.3 billion, up 27 percent from $1.0 billion a year ago. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $1.07, up 27 percent from $0.84 a year ago. Net income, which includes discontinued operations, totaled $1.3 billion for the quarter, up 31 percent from a year ago. Per-share, net income was $1.10, up 31 percent from $0.84 a year ago. American Express and Sprint Collaborate to Promote Serve
7/18/11 Sprint American Express and Sprint today announced an agreement that will provide Sprint customers with easy access to ServeSM, American Express' recently launched digital payments platform. The agreement marks Serve’s first relationship with a mobile carrier since launching in late March, and builds on Sprint’s commitment to providing customers mobile solutions with convenience and choice. This summer Serve’s mobile wallet application will be made available in the Sprint Zone to Sprint customers using select Android-powered smartphones. eBay Profits Boosted by PayPal Success
7/21/11 BBC Auction site operator eBay has reported a 26% rise in profits for the last three months thanks largely to increased use of its PayPal service. Profits for the quarter totalled $412m (£272m), the company said, up from $327m a year ago. Sales were up 20% internationally, but rose only 2% in the US, demonstrating its reliance on international growth. Ebay's online payments business, which includes PayPal, saw revenues rise by 22%. 16 Arrested by FBI for Alleged Roles in PayPal Cyber Attacks
7/20/11 FBI Fourteen individuals were arrested today by FBI agents on charges related to their alleged involvement in a cyber attack on PayPal’s website as part of an action claimed by the group “Anonymous,” announced the Department of Justice and the FBI. Two additional defendants were arrested today on cyber-related charges. The 14 individuals were arrested in various states on charges contained in an indictment unsealed today in the Northern District of California in San Jose. Global Payments Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End Earnings
7/21/11 Global Payments Global Payments Inc. today announced results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended May 31, 2011. For the full year, revenues grew 13% to $1,859.8 million compared to $1,642.5 million in the prior fiscal year. Normalized diluted earnings per share from continuing operations grew 9% to $2.77 compared to $2.54 in the prior year (See Schedule 2 for Normalized Earnings). U.S. Bank Introduces VITAband for People Who Are on the Go and Want to Leave Their Wallets at Home
7/18/11 MarketWatch U.S. Bank, lead bank of U.S. Bancorp, continues to be at the forefront of contactless payments innovation with the introduction of the U.S. Bank MasterCard(R) PayPass(TM) VITAband(R), a light-weight and durable wristband that combines contactless payment technology with emergency contact and medical information. The VITAband allows customers to simply "Tap & Go" when making purchases at merchant locations that accept contactless payments. Citi Commits to EMV for International Travellers
7/19/11 Finextra Citi confirmed its plans as it rolled out a new suite of services and rewards offers for its 24-year old AAdvantage credit card portfolioIn a statement, the bank says: "Later this year, Citi plans to introduce the Citi Executive/AAdvantage card with EMV chip card functionality to provide cardmembers with the ability to use a technology that is increasingly important when making credit card purchases abroad." Element's Hosted Payments is Validated to Take ISVs out of PCI Scope Removing the Need for PCI PA-DSS Assessment
7/19/11 SFGate Element Payment Services, Inc. the industry leader in PCI compliant payment processing, announced today that their Hosted Payments solution has been validated by Trustwave Holdings, Inc. for its ability to remove software applications from the scope of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). The objective of the assessment was to determine the applicability of the PCI DSS and PA-DSS to software applications integrated to Express via Hosted Payments. PrepaYd, Inc. Enters into Private Label Services Agreement with Sprint to Offer Its Own Wireless Services on the Nationwide Sprint Network
7/19/11 BusinessWire PrepaYd, Inc., entered into a private label services agreement with Sprint. Pursuant to the agreement, PrepaYd, Inc. will become a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) and will be able to provide its own branded wireless services using the Nationwide Sprint Network. PrepaYd, Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary PrepaYd Wireless, Inc. will become a Wireless Service Provider by offering Prepaid Wireless Service on the Nationwide Sprint Network. Khang & Khang LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuit Against Bank of America Corporation
7/18/11 Yahoo! Finance Khang & Khang LLP announces that a class action has been filed in federal court against Bank of America Corporation related to the Company’s Credit Protection Plus service. CPP is a program available to credit card holders that charges them roughly 1 percent of their credit card balance in exchange for allowing them, under certain circumstances, to defer their monthly minimum credit card payment obligations. The complaint alleges that Bank of America is engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices.
7/20/11 EON cMoney, Inc., a Houston-based company at the forefront of global mobile phone-based payments and money transfers, while using the POS and ATM payment systems. cMoney today announced the latest developments with regard to the completion of their beta product and the finalization of the pending patents. |
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