MailBuild Complex Newsletter Template

Card Issuers Add Support for Google Wallet

9/14/12 NFC World

Barclaycard US, Green Dot, and Silicon Valley Bank as well as six credit unions have joined Discover in adding support for the NFC mobile wallet. The API is designed to make it easy for cardholders to add cards to Google Wallet and provide a simple "click-to-add" process that can be made available to cardholders via a card issuer's website, their Google account, or the Google Wallet app on their Android NFC phone.

US Retail Sales Rise in August

9/14/12 The Washington Post

U.S. retail sales rose in August from July because consumers paid higher gas prices and bought more cars and trucks. They were more cautious elsewhere, suggesting the weak economy has made many selective about spending. Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.9 percent, the Commerce Department said Friday. Gas station sales jumped 5.5 percent, the most in nearly three years and a reflection of sharp price increases.

ISIS Mobile Payment Service Hits Snag, Delays Trial Run

9/13/12 CNET

Isis won't be launching its mobile payment trials at the end of summer. Isis, which is a joint venture between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, told CNET today that it was delaying the start of its trials, which were scheduled to start this month in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas. "Our focus has been on making sure when we launch we do it properly and do it right," said Ryan Hughes, head of marketing for Isis, in an interview.

Retail Group Opposes Credit Card Fee Settlement

9/11/12 USA Today

The National Retail Federation is opposing a proposed $7.25 billion settlement that Visa, MasterCard and major banks have agreed to pay retailers for alleged fee fixing. The group represents retailers from the U.S. and 45 countries overseas. The trade association said Tuesday that its board has agreed to go to court to try to block the settlement. The NRF, which is not a party to the lawsuit, says it is unsure whether outside groups will be allowed to intervene.

No NFC Apple?

9/13/12 ComputerWorld

Apple left out near-field communication technology in the new iPhone 5, a decision that one NFC backer said could result in Apple's loss. But several mobile payment experts said Apple probably made a good choice for now, given the slow rollout of NFC, especially in the U.S. Only 2% of merchants globally are equipped with NFC-reader terminals, not nearly enough to merit Apple's attention, said Rick Oglesby, an analyst at Aite Group.

The Digital Skeptic: Apple Saw Truth About Making iPhone 5 a Credit Card

9/13/12 The Street

While Apple skipped actual mobile payments in its Wednesday rollout of the iPhone 5, smartphone makers such as Google and Samsung are workin' it hard to have their gear play the role of credit cards. Apps such as Google Wallet and other near-field communications technologies are sneaking into phones including the Galaxy S III and HTC EVO as well as several BlackBerry devices.

Square Was Originally Called “Squirrel”, Here’s The Story From Jack Dorsey

9/11/12 TechCrunch

It’s pretty interesting to learn about how a company got its name, and every company has a story. We learned about Square’s today, and it was almost called “Squirrel”, according to founder Jack Dorsey and Square’s Creative Director, Robert Anderson. MG Siegler broke this three years ago, but here are the full details.

Fed Bets Big in New Push to Rescue Economy

9/13/12 Reuters

The Federal Reserve launched another aggressive stimulus program on Thursday, saying it will buy $40 billion of mortgage-backed debt per month until the outlook for jobs improves substantially as long as inflation remains contained. In an unprecedented step, the Fed's policymaking panel escalated its effort to drive U.S. unemployment lower by tying its unconventional bond buying directly to economic conditions, a move that immediately sparked controversy among its critics.

ISOs May Ready Merchants For Online Mobile

9/12/12 ISO & Agent

More consumers are using mobile devices to pay for online purchases, but small merchants aren’t doing much to accommodate them, the findings of a study released Sept. 12 indicate. That lack of preparation for a new kind of shopper leaves an opening for ISOs to teach retailers about website optimization for mobile payments, according to executives from the companies that commissioned the research.

American Express Named "Most Admired Payment System" for Fifth Consecutive Year in The Beat's 2012 Readers' Choice Awards Program

9/12/12 American Express

American Express has been named “Most Admired Payment System” by readers of The Beat, the BTN Group’s industry-leading business travel newsletter. This is the fifth year in a row American Express has won the award, making it the only company to do so since The Beat’s Readers’ Choice Awards program launched in 2008. “We’re honored to be chosen for this award by people who know corporate travel and payments inside and out,” said Darryl Brown, President, Americas, Global Corporate Payments, American Express.

First Data Releases August 2012 SpendTrend®

9/12/12 First Data

First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today released its First Data SpendTrend® analysis for the full month of August 2012 compared to August 2011. SpendTrend tracks same-store consumer spending by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT, closed-loop prepaid cards and checks at U.S. merchant locations. Consumers responded well to back-to-school and summer clearance sales in August. Year-over-year overall dollar volume growth was up 7.2%, the largest increase since March 2012.

MasterCard Pressures ATM Owners to Accept EMV

9/13/12 BTN

MasterCard is giving all ATM owners a strong reason to upgrade their machines to accept chip and PIN cards. Last year, the card association asked that all ATMs that accept its Maestro international card be made compatible with EMV cards — cards that meet the Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) chip and PIN standard — by 2013. Those that fail to meet this deadline will be more liable for ATM fraud transacted on the cards.

TSYS Poised for NFC Payment Solution With North American Partner

9/13/12 TSYS

TSYS announced today the introduction of its Near-Field Communication capabilities in North America in preparation of a launch with CIBC. The TSYS NFC Payment Solution enables real-time mobile account creation, mobile device identification, and supports generating the EMV data necessary for provisioning a mobile device. “This is yet another step in delivering on our agenda for Connected Mobility announced earlier this year,” said Paul Bridgewater, group executive of Global Product, TSYS.

Pivotal Payments Inks Deal with Frank & Oak Online Retailer

9/10/12 The GreenSheet

Pivotal Payments, Canada's leading independent merchant services provider is proud to announce it has partnered with Montreal-based online menswear retailer Frank & Oak. Pivotal Payments will be the company's exclusive provider of Internet payment processing and provider of payment gateway services.

Startup Marqeta Issues Prepaid Cards That Come Partially Loaded by Merchants

9/13/12 Digital Transactions

A 2-year-old startup that allows consumers to use prepaid cards augmented with funds from participating merchants is expected to launch its product commercially next week following a nearly nine-month pilot in the Bay area. Emeryville, Calif.-based Marqeta Inc., which has already signed up about 250 merchants, is banking on the idea that consumers will respond better to real-dollar rewards than to other types of value and that merchants will line up to lock in customers’ spending in advance.

Fiserv Launches SpotPay Mobile Payment Solution

9/10/12 Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc. unveiled SpotPay™, a mobile card reader solution for financial institutions to offer to their small business customers that enables merchants to accept card and check payments anywhere, anytime. Using SpotPay, merchants will be able to swipe credit and debit cards with their mobile device to accept payments. And, a key differentiator, SpotPay offers merchants the ability to deposit checks using the mobile remote deposit capture feature from Fiserv

Directory of U.S. Merchant Acquirers – Contribute & Stand Out with Complimentary Listing

TSG Metrics is in the process of updating and expanding one of our most prevalent reports among payments industry professionals – the Directory of U.S. Merchant Acquirers. Learn More.

Click here for survey.

This publication provided by TSG will serve to:

Recognize high growth potential ISOs/MSPs
Supply third-party validation/industry credibility
Enhance valuations and exit strategy potential
Understand the competitive positions of ISOs/MSPs within the marketplace

Incentives to Participate:

Participants will receive a one-page synopsis comparing their data against all other participants, along with an overall ranking
High-growth ISOs will receive recognition in the form of a ‘TSG Emerging ISO of 2012’ emblem for placement on the participants’ website and other marketing materials.
A significant discount, gaining access to the report for $950 (normally $2,900)

One participant, selected randomly, will receive a complimentary copy of TSG’s Directory.

Will The PCI Council Show A Little Mercy To Retailers This Week?

9/11/12 StorefrontBacktalk

Expectations are high for the upcoming PCI Community Meeting. In addition to hearing the latest on mobile commerce and point-to-point encryption (P2PE), this is a feedback year. That means this is the meeting when the PCI Council and the card brands respond to the comments and suggestions offered by participating organizations (POs) and assessors. Based on the information provided by the PCI Council, it is listening. The next step is to hear its responses.

The Trouble with QR Codes

9/10/12 Portals and Rails

You've seen them, those funny-looking little squares. Like tribbles, "quick response" (QR) codes are everywhere—and, like tribbles, they seem to be propagating. You see them on billboards, magazines, real estate sale signs, and product packaging. QR codes are even being used for retail payments, as we discussed in an earlier Portals and Rails post. But like tribbles, the very fact of their ubiquity is creating a big challenge for those agencies and individuals concerned with consumer fraud protection.

E-Payments Behind Quarter of Canadian GDP Growth Over 25 Years

9/12/12 Finextra

According to the report, carried out by information and analytics specialist IHS, Canada has been at the forefront of the global migration to electronic payments from cash and cheques. The growth in e-payments has been largely driven by credit and debit card transactions, which saw their value grow by more than a quarter between 2006 to 2010, from C$363.4 billion to C$455.4 billion.