Payments Source Webinar Review

I just finished viewing/listening in to a webinar on the new initiative launched by Source Media called Payments Source.

According to the webinar, which took place at 12:00 PST today, Payments Source aims to become the "Go to Resource for Payments Focused News and Data." They said that they look to be the "most comprehensive service in the industry" and subscribers will have access to thousands of news articles aggregated from Source Media's publications, including: American Banker, Bank Technology News, Cardline, ATM Debit News, Cards & Payments, PrePaid Trends and more.

Payments Source subscriptions will include detailed information on:

• 35 Key Industry Rankings and Stats
• 7000+ Company Profiles (and growing)
• 6000+ Executive Profiles (and growing)
• 1000's of News Articles relating to the Payments Industry

Annual cost to subscribe is $1995 per year

Payments Source aspires to become the new web application for vital business intelligence for the payments industry. It promises to provide information designed to allow subscribers to "stay ahead of the competition by becoming the first to know about industry developments on need to know intelligence in the payments space.

Other features on Payments Source include:

A fully customizable HomePage which they call "The Watch Page." On the Watch Page subscribers see a (based on your own criteria), homepage riddled with information at their fingertips. The information includes such topics as "Top News," "Research Reports," "Rankings/Stats," "Lists" and "Marketing Trends." Payments Source also break down each of these by sectors: Debit, Credit, Processors, Networks, Merchant Acquirers and Credit Risk. (I posed a question during the webinar whether they had plans to specifically cover the "Alternative Payments" sector but did not get a response...in fairness, the question was posed near the end of the webinar).

Other features: Company Profiles, which include locations of Parent, (corporate) and subsidiary's and their addresses, key executives, number of employees, financials and other key data. Data is broken down into sectors such as credit (quarterly) and debit (annually)

Another section, entitled: "more payment professionals" include EVP's SVP's, VP's, their profiles, names, titles, biography, function, news about that person and "possibly" contact information.

The Rankings and Statistics section has been put together by a data specialist from their Chicago office; (sorry missed his name) is updated quarterly and can be downloaded to Excel. In another feature, subscribers can build "Lists" with a list builder platform designed to "save time on marketing and lead generation activities according to John McGovern, the "Enterprise Business Development Director." Finally, a section entitled "Events" obviously pertains to card payment industry related events and those can be viewed by month, name, location and/or sector.

According to Andrew Rowe, Publisher of Payments Source, they spent the last 16 months putting together a "more targeted and robust payments source than has ever existed before." I get a two-week trial for attending the event and look forward to taking a closer look. I'll bring you more on this new source for payments information upon the conclusion of my trial, including a thumbs up, way up, or down.

In the meantime, if you'd like more information on Payments Source you may view a free online site tour by clicking the graphich on the right:

To see if you qualify for a complimentary two week pass:

Call or Email Now:

See if you qualify for a 2-week FREE trial!
800-535-8403 or info@paymentssource.com, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. ET.

Or you may contact:

Andrew Rowe - Publisher
andrew.rowe@sourcemedia.com
312-983-6131 in Chicago

or

John McGovern - Enterprise Business Development Director
john.mcgovern@sourcemedia.com
212-255-9700 in New York

Related articles by Zemanta

• PIN Debit Has Highest Growth of All Payment Segments
• Debit Card Use, Particularly PIN Debit, Rising Sharply
• 6 Tips to Avoid Becoming a Skimming Victim
• HomeATM's "PIN my Card" Solves Chip and PIN Problems
• 2008 Debit Issuer Study Released by Pulse
• Credit, Debit Card Fraud and Skimming Cases Rise

Kohl's Web Sales increased by 34%, Retail drops by 4.6%

According to Internet Retailer Magazine, Kohl's is ranked 63rd among Internet Retailers...

For the quarter ended Aug. 2, e-commerce revenue for Kohl’s increased by 34.1% to $65.6 million from $48.9 million in the prior year.

In the second quarter, overall revenue grew year over year by 3.6% while comparable store sales dropped by 4.6%. The web and e-commerce accounted for 2% of total sales, but generated 13% of growth across all channels.

For the first two quarters, e-commerce sales for Kohl’s rose year over year by 31.1% to $132.8 million from $101.3 million.

Overall Kohl’s also posted net income of $389 million on revenue of $7.34 billion vs. net income of $478.2 million on sales of $7.16 billion in the prior period. Comparable store sales dropped by 5.6%. “We remain conservative in our sales expectations for the fall season and will manage our business accordingly,” says Kohl’s chairman Larry Montgomery. “We are well positioned to chase business should the environment improve.”

In August, Montgomery was replaced as CEO by Kohl’s president Kevin Mansell, who will continue to oversee e-commerce. As board chairman, Montgomery will retain management responsibility for growth and talent management, including human resources, legal and real estate development.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Target profit drops 8%
• Dell profits sink 17% as revenues rise
• Amazon Q2 net profit doubles, sales up 41%
• Costco.com Hits the Billion Dollar Sales Mark
• Kohl's Says Profit Fell as Shoppers Spent Less

PIN Debit Has Highest Growth of All Payment Segments

First Data Releases Their 21st Annual Consumer Payment Usage Study.

This fourteen page report reports on trends, segmentation opportunities with special focus on six different POS payment categories that consumers tend to be most comfortable: Signature Debit, PIN Debit, Cash + PIN Debit, Cash Only, Check Only and Credit Card.

Not surprisingly PIN Debit is "experiencing the most growth" while checks have experienced the greatest decline. The report correlates other payment behavior for each payment category such as bill payment behavior, internet purchases, security concerns and more.

Here are some highlights of the study. As always, click any graphic to enlarge it to full size. To read the study in it's entirety, follow this link:

First Data Consumer Payment Usage Study


Executive Summary

For the 21st consecutive year, First Data conducted an annual consumer study to understand and track changes in consumer attitudes and behaviors toward various payment methods. The intent of the annual study is to learn more about critical information for retaining customers, acquiring new customers, differentiating products and services and producing a higher rate of return for businesses. The 2007/2008 Consumer Payments Usage and Segmentation Study revealed key trends that merchants may want to consider in marketing and utilizing ATM/debit cards and related products.

ATM/Debit Card Use Continues to Grow The frequency of using an ATM/debit card increased from 2006 to 2007 with more consumers reporting using their card in the past 30 days. Of particular note is the substantial 11 percent increase (63 percent in 2007 up from 52 percent in 2006) in past 30-day card use by the 61+ age group. In general, the reported number of times an ATM/debit card is used in the past 30 days continues to edge up slightly and is slowly approaching usage level of once per day. According to the survey, usage levels of ATM/debit cards are driven mostly by POS use.

Compared to 2006, the two segments of PIN Debit and Signature Debit comprised a larger share of the marketplace in 2007. This is likely due to consumers gaining more familiarity with electronic payment methods, prolific accessibility to ATM/debit cards and attraction toward the speed, convenience and protection offered by ATM/debit cards relative to traditional payment methods, such as checks. The PIN Debit segment records the highest growth of all segments and is now almost equal in size to the Cash segment, which also posted an increase, though marginal.

PIN Debit Segment – Changes Versus 2006

The PIN Debit segment mainly comprises consumers 25 to 60 years. However, in 2007, the proportion of customers age 61 years and older in this segment increased slightly. A gender concentration shift also occurred as more women than men now form a larger part of this segment. Though security remains the top reason users report for preferring PIN debit, speed (faster/quicker) gained ground as a reason in 2007.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Study: Use of Debit, ATM Cards on the Rise
• Video - First Data Announces New Payment Technology "Go Tag"
• Debit Card Use, Particularly PIN Debit, Rising Sharply
• Debit Card Use Continues to Grow
• Nordstrom's Chooses First Data
• Credit Card Useless Overseas? PIN it with HomeATM
• Google Search for PIN Debit = HomeATM
• Chase Paymentech Breakup = New Payment Processing Option for Online Retailers?
• One million credit cardholders 'tricked' into taking payment protection insurance