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Newtek CEO Barry Sloane Comments On Obama's Position For Small Business Success

7/18/12 MarketWatch

President and CEO, Barry Sloane commented, "Unfortunately, the country is now in a debate over deciding whether successful business owners and entrepreneurs should thank the government for building roads or great school teachers for their education. At Newtek - 'The Small Business Authority,' we represent over 100,000 business accounts and owners and believe that the American philosophical and cultural way of doing things has made them and all of their stakeholders successful.

New MasterCard SpendingPulse™ for Small Business Report Shows Small Retailers Outperforming Overall Retail Sales in June, with 8% Year-Over-Year Growth

7/18/12 MaterCard Worldwide

A SpendingPulse™ report released by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard in partnership with Wells Fargo, America’s No. 1 small business lender, found that June spending at small retailers increased 8% compared to June 2011. This was higher than the overall U.S. retail growth rate of 6.9%. The June report also found that sales growth at small retailers has now outperformed growth of overall retail sales for 9 consecutive months, since October 2011.

'We Won' vs. 'You Lost': Reactions to Credit Card Settlement

7/16/12 BankThink

The credit card industry's proposed deal to settle long-pending retailer lawsuits set interchange watchers chattering over the weekend, divided over how much each side won and lost in the deal. We at American Banker spent the weekend and Monday polling several expert observers and industry members, looking for official reactions as well as informed and more impartial opinion on what the deal means for all of the parties.

Not All Merchants Are Happy with the $7-Billion-Plus Credit Card Settlement

7/16/12 Digital Transactions

No sooner had the ink dried on a proposed settlement of a massive credit card suit than cracks began to appear in what had been a solid edifice of merchant solidarity. The NACS, a national trade group for convenience-store operators, on Friday said its board of directors had unanimously rejected the settlement, and on Monday its attorney told Digital Transactions News more merchant dissenters will emerge. “A lot of merchants are very upset about this [settlement],” says Douglas Kantor, a Washington, D.C.-based partner at Steptoe & Johnson LLP and counsel to NACS.

The 'Swipe Fee' Conundrum

7/18/12 The Wall Street Journal

Last week's proposed settlement of a lawsuit against Visa Inc., MasterCard Inc. and bank credit-card issuers opens the way for millions of businesses to add checkout fees when customers pay with plastic. Now, many business owners are wrestling with whether to do so. For the first time, retailers, doctors, bakeries and other merchants accepting credit cards will be able to recoup the so-called "swipe fees" they incur each time they process a credit- card transaction. These swipe fees, which are between 1% and 3% of the purchase, aren't visible to consumers.

ETA Marks Dodd-Frank Anniversary with Warning

7/19/12 The GreenSheet

ETA's chief executive officer Jason Oxman has issued the following statement regarding the anniversary of Dodd-Frank: “Two years after enactment, much of the Dodd-Frank law is not yet implemented, and ETA and its members are concerned about further consequences of government regulation of commercial interchange rates mandated by the so-called Durbin amendment."

Unemployment Claims Jump, Economic Indicators Fall .3%

7/19/12 USA Today

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose by 34,000 last week, a figure that may have been skewed higher by seasonal factors. Applications for benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 386,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The gain followed a drop of 24,000 the previous week and was the biggest jump since April 2011. Additionally, a measure of future economic activity declined in June, latest sign the economic recovery is sputtering.

Pay by Voice? So Long, Wallet

7/18/12 The New York Times

A lot of the things we do today will make our grandchildren burst out laughing. Yes, we used to drive to a store to rent a movie. Yes, there were huge patches of America where you couldn’t get a cellphone signal. Yes, we used to pay for things with pieces of green paper and plastic rectangles. And if those squealing rugrats don’t believe us, we can crack open the history book to 2012, the dawn of the twilight of cash and credit cards. That was the year when, for the first time, paying for things in stores required nothing more than saying your name to the cashier.

eBay Continues to Benefit from Mobile Growth

7/19/12 The Street

Shares of eBay(EBAY) skyrocketed on Thursday as investors welcomed the strong second quarter earnings largely attributed to its booming mobile businesses. "As we consistently execute against our 3-year growth plans, there is no question that an inflection point is occurring in retail," said CEO John J. Donahoe on the second-quarter earnings call. "Mobile is revolutionizing how people shop and pay, becoming the digital nexus of consumers' lives. They want what they want, when they want it, anywhere, anytime."

CFPB Targets Capital One in First Enforcement Action

7/19/12 Law.com

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on July 18 announced its first enforcement action, charging Capital One Bank with deceptively marketing add-on credit card services such as credit monitoring and payment protection plans. The bank agreed to pay a total of $210 million to settle the government charges, which were also brought by the Office of the Comptroller of the Curency. The bulk of the money — $150 million — will be refunded to more than 2 million customers. In addition, the bank will pay the CFPB a penalty of $25 million, and the OCC a fine of $35 million.

Texas ISO Crossing The Border To Canada

7/17/12 ISO&Agent

Though it’s the world’s longest undefended border, the boundary between the United States and Canada can seem formidable to American ISOs and agents. From the Maritime provinces to the Yukon, Canada’s handful of banks has maintained a firm grip on the acquiring business. Canada has few ISOs of its own, and U.S. ISOs have a difficult time making money there. But the market’s about to open to American ISOs and sales agents, according to SignaPay Ltd., a Texas-based ISO.

American Express Second Quarter EPS From Continuing Operations Up 7% to $1.15; Revenues, Cardmember Spending and Loan Portfolio Grow as Credit Quality Remains Excellent

7/18/12 American Express

American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) today reported second-quarter income from continuing operations of $1.3 billion, up 3 percent from a year ago. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations was $1.15, up 7 percent from $1.07 a year ago. Net income, which includes discontinued operations, totaled $1.3 billion, up 1 percent from a year ago. Per-share, net income was $1.15, up 5 percent from $1.10 a year ago.

First Data Advances Universal Commerce with Breakthrough Innovations in Q2

7/18/12 First Data

First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, shared highlights from its Q2 2012 U.S. Product Release. In a continuing effort to power a new era of Universal Commerce, First Data has introduced new breakthrough innovations that provide consumers more secure and flexible payment options and products that are streamlining once complex processes for merchants.

PayPal Aquires Mobile Payment Facilitator card.io

7/18/12 TechSpot

PayPal recently announced that they have acquired mobile payment facilitator card.io, a San Francisco-based company that provides software for developers to use the camera on smartphones to capture and process credit card information. PayPal has been using card.io tech with their PayPal Here app but decided to buy the startup after being impressed with their creativity and drive during that project.

IRS Releases Newly Proposed Version of 1099-K Form

7/19/12 ETA

With regard to the obligation of merchant acquirers to report merchant card transactions to the Internal Revenue Service, the IRS has released a newly proposed version of Form 1099-K for Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions for tax year 2012. You can view the newly proposed form here.

Google Wallet Still Dogged by Security Concerns

7/18/12 BTN

Google's been hamstrung by questions about its mobile wallet security for some time, and in the past week has been hit with bad reports on two fronts — a dispute with a large Australian bank and chatter about vulnerabilities at the upcoming Olympics. "There is concern that the technology can be hacked. Consumers are always going to wonder. And so when we look at Google in particular, we see the trust among consumers is low, and so when these [reports of vulnerabilities] happen it's not going to help."

ISIS Mobile Pay Service May Start Trials in August

7/19/12 CNET

Isis, a joint venture among Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, will likely start trials of its mobile-payment service in August, according to a person familiar with the launch plans. The August target, however, isn't set in stone. CNET has gotten indications elsewhere that the timing may change. A representative for Isis only said the service would begin trials in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas, this summer, pushed back from the prior forecast of a mid-year launch.

Fifth Third Realizes Gain from Processing Unit in 2Q

7/19/12 American Banker

The $118 billion-asset company's net income available to shareholders rose 15% in the second quarter from a year earlier, to $376 million. The results included dividends paid on preferred stock. Fifth Third benefited from a $36 million after-tax gain tied to the valuation of a warrant the Cincinnati company holds in Vantiv, which was once known as Fifth Third Processing Solutions. Fifth Third sold a 51% stake in that business to Advent International in 2009.

Global Payments Announces Executive Changes

7/16/12 Global Payments

Morgan ("Mac") Schuessler, currently the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, will be assuming the position of President – International as of August 1, 2012. Mr. Schuessler will oversee the company's business units in Europe and Asia. In his current role, Mr. Schuessler has supported the company's international growth through his existing responsibilities for global operations, marketing and human resources.

Element Extends Partnership with Marathon Data Systems

7/18/12 Element

Element Payment Services, Inc., a recognized industry leader in PCI DSS compliant payment processing and Marathon Data Systems, a leading provider of software and marketing solutions for field services companies announce an extension of their partnership which will provide fully integrated, PCI DSS compliant processing solutions to ServiceCEO customers. Credit card fraud is a significant problem for merchants.

FTS Acquires Lead Merchant Service Provider, Marathon Solutions, Inc.

7/16/12 Yahoo!

Financial Transaction Services (FTS), a full-service provider of electronic transaction services, announces its acquisition of Marathon Solutions, Inc. (MSI), a provider of electronic payment processing solutions based in Mission, Kansas. “Our partnership with FTS provides an exceptional opportunity for Marathon to continue to focus on exactly what we do best, which is growth through strategic alliances by providing personalized merchant support."

BridgePay Network Solutions, Inc. Makes a Big Splash with Acquisition of TGate Payments

7/10/12 BridgePay

BridgePay Network Solutions, Inc. a new gateway company on the rise in the electronic payments industry has agreed to acquire TGate Payments, a proven payment technology company. BridgePay envisions a great strategic fit with its robust technology and security tools combined with TGate’s proven processing platform and existing integrations with major acquirers and software companies.

Clearent Continues Triple-Digit Growth Rates

7/17/12 PRWeb

Today Clearent announced that it maintained triple-digit growth rates for the first half of 2012. Clearent has been able to maintain these impressive growth rates over the past four years, and is now processing nearly $3 billion worth of transactions a year. The company’s rapidly growing volume makes it one of the fastest growing merchant services providers.

Openbucks Raises $4.8 Million Series A For its Gift Card Payment Network

7/17/12 PR Newswire

Today Openbucks, the "Gift Card Payment Network," announces the closing of a $4.8 million Series A funding round led by Yahoo co-founder, Jerry Yang, with the participation of Terry Semel, Greycroft Partners, BV Capital, Clearstone Ventures, Morado Ventures, Novel TMT Ventures, Inspiration Ventures, CrunchFund, SV Angel and TiE Angels. The investment will support Openbucks' strategic growth plans, including the continued development of its acceptance network.

PIN Pad Pong: Is Verifone Playing Games With German POS Security?

7/18/12 StorefrontBacktalk

The most popular PIN pad in Germany may have a major security hole—at least that’s what a German security lab says. Verifone insists it can’t reproduce the problem. In response, the researchers on July 12 went public with a demonstration on German TV in which a PIN pad was hacked to turn it into a Pong game. Yes, it looks like this started by being about security, and then about money—now, it’s personal.

Cloud Security: Getting it Right

7/18/12 Bank Info Security

Organizations first moving to the cloud have the opportunity to test and identify security issues. Unfortunately, many neglect to do so, says Gartner's Anton Chuvakin. "The original intention was to learn to do security on less critical data, and then eventually when you move more critical data to the cloud, you already have your lessons learned and you have prepared controls and tested monitoring approaches," says Chuvakin, who joined Gartner in 2011.