PIN Your Credit Card Starting June 4th in AU

I came across an interesting article this morning. The reason I found it interesting was how it relates to a specific HomeATM Technology called PIN My Card,. PIN My Card would allow online consumers to attach a PIN number to a credit card or PIN-less debit card and thus formulate the basis for Internet Retailers to be able to process these transactions at a lower "card present" rates.

Here's the release.

Click the graphic on the left to enlarge and read the entire press release.

Australian credit card customers will soon have the option of signing their name or keying in a PIN when shopping.

Pen or PIN project spokesman Simon Greig said the change would make it faster to make a purchase with a credit or charge card.

"Australians are among the most prolific card users in the world, making more than 118 million card transactions per month,'' Mr Greig said. "The introduction of PIN on credit and debit cards will give cardholders a quick and easy alternative to signature authorisation when making purchases in person.''

The change is set to occur on June 4 and will be available to all American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa customers, at more than 600,000 point of sale terminals across the country.

The introduction of credit card PIN will bring Australia in line with several other countries, including New Zealand, who have been using the system for several years.

More information: www.penorpin.com.au

Towering Debit Card Growth

Tighter financial markets, new waves of bankruptcies and foreclosures, and economic uncertainty have caused a constriction in the availability of credit. Yet despite current challenges in the credit markets, new research from TowerGroup finds that the debit card’s increasingly dominant position as a payment vehicle will continue through 2009 and beyond. Prepaid cards will also continue their rapid growth as a result of foreclosures affecting credit scores and consumers continuing to require the benefits of payment card access.

Transactions for debit cards in the United States surged three times faster than those for credit cards from 2005 to 2007, as consumers separated purchases into “lending” versus “spending” products.

Debit cards have absorbed a growing share of consumable purchases – such as gasoline, groceries, and other day-to-day consumer expenses – leaving the credit card for durable goods purchases.

As consumers and businesses work their way out of a sluggish economy, TowerGroup projects the weakened economy will continue to erode the rate of credit card transaction growth. Although personal savings rates in the U.S. fell to record lows in 2004, debit card volume continued to grow both steady and aggressively. Even as consumers tightened their budgets or were unable to save discretionary cash, their reliance on payment cards for business transactions is visible.

TowerGroup believes the debit market is primed for growth from channels and relationships beyond the confines of traditional retail banking products. There are several emerging and high-growth debit markets that should carry substantial transaction volume and value as they come to fruition. These include person-to-person payments via the emergence of mobile and “contactless” transactions, micropayments covering low-value transactions, and pre-loaded debit products aimed at the teenage and college markets.

The research report, titled “Crediting Debit: How Debit Cards Will Grow in a Changing Environment,” is authored by Brian Riley, senior analyst in the TowerGroup Bank Cards practice. The report explores why debit cards will continue strong transaction growth regardless of a downturn in the economic climate and its uncertain impact on aggressive credit card lending.

The Rise of Alternative Payments - Mercator Study

The rise of alternative payment services - from PayPal to Google Checkout, Bill Me Later, HomeATM and many others - is a response to both consumer demand for an improved online payment experience and merchant need to lower shopping cart abandonment rates, payment processing fees, and raise the appeal of online shopping to specific consumer demographics.

Mercator Advisory Group's latest report, Alternative Payment Services: Moving into Traditional Payment Territory, examines the role and adoption of these competitors to traditional online card-based payments and online merchant acquiring.

The report offers an in-depth look at the principle providers of alternative payment services. The report examines the payment modalities supported by these alternative payment services and the consumer demographics they appeal to. While retail point of sale continues to be the largest area for consumer payments, online consumer spending has yet to reach its potential from the payment perspective.

In 2000 less than 1 percent of sales were via the internet. Today, that spending is likely to be $116 billion in the United States, a full 5% of retail spending.

But this annual growth is predicted to slow from 20 percent to 16 percent by year end and further to 13 percent by 2008. As these rates slow, online merchants must meet their customers "where they are" with the right payment mechanisms to maintain the highest possible growth and the widest possible sales funnel.

Alternative payment systems are fast becoming an important way for merchants to sustain and accelerate that online sales flow. Highlights of this report include:

• An overview of the current state of online commerce in the US.
• A discussion of consumer segments that employ alternative payment solutions.
• A discussion of the value of alternative payments to both e-commerce customers and online merchants.
• A review of some of the main providers of alternative payment solutions: Bill Me Later, PayPal (with a specific look at PayPal Pay Later), Google Checkout, Amazon Financial Payment Services, Pay By Cash and Paid By Cash.
• A brief look at the future of alternative payment solutions.

In Alternative Payment Services: Moving into Traditional Payment Territory, Mercator Advisory Group reviews the current and future roles of alternative payment services.

The report discusses some of the drawbacks and issues of each alternative payment service and its payment modalities in relation to both the consumer and merchant including the IT challenge of integrating multiple payment methods into an e-commerce site.

The report contains 34 pages and 5 exhibits.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group have access to these reports as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits. Please visit us online at www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com.