July 27th, 2012

Edition #314

New to NewsFilter? Click here to subscribe.

PaymentsPulse.com

Follow TSG on Twitter

Follow TSG on LinkedIn

Follow TSG on Company.com

TheStrawGroup.com

In this Issue

	Economic Growth Slows to 1.5% as Cautious Consumers Pull Back
	London 2012: The Social Media Games
	Visa Shows Off the Future of Payments in London, Says Mobile will Hit Mainstream in 2 to 3 Years
	Innovative Identive Payment Tag for Mobile Phones Used at London 2012 Olympics
	Global Payments Expects Data Breach Tab Could Reach $120 Million
	VeriFone CEO on Square's Latest Funding Round? 'Pets.com'
	Discover, Once a Rival to ISOs, Is Winning Them Over
	Daily Report: Facebook’s First Earnings Report Disappoints Investors
	Facebook’s Payments, Platform Revenues Barely Budge For A Third Quarter
	Wal-Mart Balks At $7 Billion Visa/MasterCard Settlement
	Visa Inc. Posts Strong Fiscal Third Quarter 2012 Earnings Results and Authorizes New $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program
	TSYS Reports EPS Growth of 26.5% for the Second Quarter
	Heartland Payment Systems(R) Begins Lincoln, Neb., Recruitment Campaign
	KeyCorp CEO Sides Against Breaking up Biggest Banks
	Blockbuster Buys Mobile POS Company to Enhance In-Store Experience
	Bank of America Begins Rollout of Chip Credit Cards to Consumers
	U.S. Bank Acquires TransCard Prepaid Fuel Card Network
	How the iPhone 5 will Yet Again Fail to Eliminate Credit Cards
	Line Cutting: Mobile Checkout Headed to a Store Near You
	Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected
	Micro Attacks: The New Fraud Scheme

In Other News

This Day in History 1974

House begins impeachment of Nixon

On this day in 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommends that America's 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. The impeachment proceedings resulted from a series of political scandals involving the Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as Watergate.

The Watergate scandal first came to light following a break-in on June 17, 1972, at the Democratic Party’s national headquarters in the Watergate apartment-hotel complex in Washington, D.C. A group of men linked to the White House were later arrested and charged with the crime. Nixon denied any involvement with the break-in, but several of his staff members were eventually implicated in an illegal cover-up and forced to resign. Subsequent government investigations revealed "dirty tricks" political campaigning by the Committee to Re-Elect the President, along with a White House "enemies list." In July 1973, one of Nixon’s former staff members revealed the existence of secretly taped conversations between the president and his aides. Nixon initially refused to release the tapes, on grounds of executive privilege and national security, but a judge later ordered the president to turn them over. The White House provided some but not all of the tapes, including one from which a portion of the conversation appeared to have been erased. Click here to read more.

TSG Fun Fact

Check out TSG's blog, PaymentsPulse.com.
 

Advertisement

Pass it on

Know anyone who might be interested in our newsletter? Click here to forward this email to up to 5 friends at once.

Economic Growth Slows to 1.5% as Cautious Consumers Pull Back 7/27/12 Reuters    Economic growth slowed as expected in the second quarter as consumers spent at their slowest pace in a year, increasing pressure on policymakers to do more to bolster the recovery. Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate between April and June, the weakest pace of growth since the third quarter of 2011, the Commerce Department said on Friday. First-quarter growth was revised up to a 2.0 percent pace from the previously reported 1.9 percent. London 2012: The Social Media Games 7/27/12 Finextra    Having paid an estimated $100 million for the privilege of being one of 11 worldwide partners, Visa could be forgiven for wondering if it was money well spent after running into widespread criticism for locking out rivals from the Olympic venues. The card giant will hope that its reputation is boosted through an association with the Games' biggest star, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who is billed as an "innovation ambassador" and has been appearing on TV screens promoting the company's contactless card and mobile payments technology. Visa Shows Off the Future of Payments in London, Says Mobile will Hit Mainstream in 2 to 3 Years 7/24/12 CNET    While there are trials and select deployments of payment terminals and cash registers that can accept mobile payments, the method won't hit the mainstream in the U.S. for another two to three years, according to Bill Gajda, head of mobile for Visa. Visa is using the Olympics as an international showcase for mobile payments. The company has hooked up 140,000 payment terminals in London with near-field communication, or NFC, chips that enable the tap-and-pay process. The locations include 5,000 London taxis and 3,000 point-of-sale venues at the Olympics. Innovative Identive Payment Tag for Mobile Phones Used at London 2012 Olympics 7/25/12 Nasdaq    Identive Group, Inc., a provider of products and services for the identification, security and RFID industries, today announced that its innovative tomPAY™ NFC tag technology is being deployed and used for a payment application at large hospitality events at the Olympics. tomPAY™ features a unique remove and stick form factor that allows it to be manufactured using standard ISO PVC card manufacturing process. Global Payments Expects Data Breach Tab Could Reach $120 Million 7/26/12 Digital Transactions    The data breach Global Payments Inc. reported earlier this year could cost the merchant processor nearly $120 million, company executives revealed Thursday. The expenses include an $84.4 million pre-tax charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 ended May 31 that will cover fines from the payment card networks and initial remediation costs. CFO David Mangum told stock analysts that the company also anticipates breach-related expenses in fiscal 2013. VeriFone CEO on Square's Latest Funding Round? 'Pets.com' 7/25/12 BTN    When asked about the news and speculation that Square could rival VeriFone's size with only about a tenth of the sales, and no real profits, VeriFone chief executive Doug Bergeron responded with two words: "Pets.com" — referring to the over-hyped dot-com that crashed and burned in 2000. (A Square spokesman declined to comment.) Other industry observers are more open-minded. "It's very impressive that they are raising money at this kind of valuation." Discover, Once a Rival to ISOs, Is Winning Them Over 7/26/12 ISO & Agent    Gary Peterson used to discourage merchants from accepting Discover cards. He resented the card brand because its 800-member sales force competed with his independent sales organization for merchant-services accounts. But those bad old days of the '90s have ended. Today, Peterson says his opinion of Riverwoods, Ill.-based Discover Financial Services has shifted "180 degrees." "Now, they're absolutely fabulous people to work with," says Peterson, president and CEO of Arlington Heights Merchant Banc in Mount Prospect, Ill. Daily Report: Facebook’s First Earnings Report Disappoints Investors 7/27/12 Bits    Facebook’s first earnings report as a public company had some good news, but still, investors fled the stock in droves, even as Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive, extolled his company to industry analysts. Revenue was up 32 percent, beating analysts’ predictions, but profit was not impressive. “With the unprecedented hype around the company’s I.P.O., some investors believe more upside would have materialized — higher revenues, higher earnings." Facebook’s Payments, Platform Revenues Barely Budge For A Third Quarter 7/26/12 TechCrunch    No early Google-style growth here. Facebook’s payments revenues barely budged for a third quarter as gaming activity increasingly moved onto mobile devices. The company also hasn’t really started taking revenue share from apps in other verticals like music and media yet either, so that means there aren’t any new engines for platform revenue growth — yet. The company’s $192 million in payments revenue is barely an inch above the $186 million it made last quarter. Wal-Mart Balks At $7 Billion Visa/MasterCard Settlement 7/24/12 Forbes    Retail giant Wal-Mart has announced it is opposed to the $7.25 billion settlement with Visa and MasterCard over credit-card processing fees, saying it leaves the equally giant credit-card companies free to raise those fees in the future. Wal-Mart’s opposition means the settlement, troubled since it was announced, will have a hard time getting approved by the federal judge overseeing the case in New York. That’s a blow for Visa and MasterCard, who would have been granted a release from future litigation that was “breathtaking in its scope.” Visa Inc. Posts Strong Fiscal Third Quarter 2012 Earnings Results and Authorizes New $1 Billion Share Repurchase Program 7/25/12 Visa    Visa Inc. today announced financial results for the Company's fiscal third quarter 2012 ended June 30, 2012. On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a net loss of $1.8 billion, inclusive of a litigation provision of $4.1 billion, related to the previously announced settlement agreement in the Multi-District Litigation case. Visa's share will be paid from the previously funded litigation escrow account established pursuant to the Company's Retrospective Responsibility Plan. TSYS Reports EPS Growth of 26.5% for the Second Quarter 7/24/12 TSYS    TSYS today reported results for the second quarter of 2012. For the quarter, basic earnings per share was $0.35, an increase of 26.5% over 2011. Total revenues for the quarter were $462.7 million, an increase of 3.4% over 2011. Revenues before reimbursable items were $398.7 million and operating income was $92.1 million, increases of 4.9% and 17.3%, respectively, as compared to 2011. Heartland Payment Systems(R) Begins Lincoln, Neb., Recruitment Campaign 7/26/12 HPS    Heartland Payment Systems, one of the nation's largest payments processors and a FORTUNE 1000 company, today launched a targeted recruitment and merchant education and awareness building campaign (www.heartlandlincoln.com) focused exclusively on the Lincoln, Neb., market. Over the next six weeks Heartland will invest heavily in print, transit, television and radio advertisements, billboards, digital marketing, social media, public relations and more in an effort to help recruit, hire and build its local sales force. KeyCorp CEO Sides Against Breaking up Biggest Banks 7/27/12 American Banker    The nation's largest banks have another supporter, though this one remains eager to compete against them. "I don't think it is a mistake to allow" for banks with $1 trillion or more in assets, Beth Mooney, the chairman and chief executive of KeyCorp (KEY), said during an event in Cleveland Thursday night hosted by Beta Gamma Sigma, an honor society for business school graduates. Blockbuster Buys Mobile POS Company to Enhance In-Store Experience 7/23/12 Mobile Commerce Daily    Video rental retailer Blockbuster is getting into the mobile payments game and has acquired mobile point-of-sale software company Alpha Bay. Blockbuster will be using the Alpha Bay platform in its stores to improve in-store customer service, enhance inventory management and deliver promotional programs to its customers. At the same time, Alpha Bay will continue to market its software and services to other companies. Bank of America Begins Rollout of Chip Credit Cards to Consumers 7/23/12 Business Wire    Bank of America today announced that it is rolling out chip technology on many of its consumer credit cards. The new chip technology will increase acceptance and security of the cards for international travelers. Credit cards with chip technology, which is also known as EMV (EuroPayMastercard Visa), are embedded with a microprocessor chip that encrypts and stores the account information. U.S. Bank Acquires TransCard Prepaid Fuel Card Network 7/26/12 The GreenSheet    U.S. Bank, a leading provider of fuel card services for Class 1-6 cars and light trucks, is entering the large commercial truck market with the acquisition of TransCard’s Class 7-8 fuel card network, including the product technology and its nationwide acceptance network. The platform was developed by TransCard in partnership with U.S. Xpress, the nation’s second-largest privately owned truckload carrier. How the iPhone 5 will Yet Again Fail to Eliminate Credit Cards 7/23/12 MIT Technology Review    Near Field Communication technology has been in phones since 2006, and there's a reason it has yet to take off. Why aren't we all using digital wallets by now? As futurist Scott Smith points out on Twitter, one of the problems is that "banks and operators would want a pound of digital flesh somewhere." Indeed, even as operators like Square and Stripe try to make an end-run around banks, they remain inherently dependent on them. Line Cutting: Mobile Checkout Headed to a Store Near You 7/25/12 USA Today    Nordstrom is quickly replacing cash registers with mobile checkout, joining J.C. Penney, Apple and what's expected to be a rush of other retailers to embrace technology to eliminate lines. J.C. Penney hopes to get rid of cashiers and cash registers by 2014, and instead have salespeople use iPod Touch devices to check out customers, or self-checkout lanes. Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected 7/26/12 Fox Business    The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week to near a four-year low, a hopeful sign for a labor market that has shown signs of weakness. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 35,000 to a seasonally adjusted 353,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was a much sharper drop than economists expected. The prior week's figure was revised slightly higher. Micro Attacks: The New Fraud Scheme 7/25/12 Bank Info Security    A small point-of-sale attack in Kentucky points to a larger fraud trend impacting banking institutions and their customers. "Micro attacks" is the term Gartner analyst Avivah Litan uses to describe this new scheme characterized by localized fraud incidents that are relatively small in nature, eluding detection and giving the fraudsters more time to drain accounts. "More and more banks are telling me they're seeing online account takeover decline and card fraud increase,"