Javelin Study Evaluates Alternative Payments

Javelin Strategy and Research just press released an announcement regarding a "new study" that purports to evaluate providers of alternative payments solutions for online retail transactions.  In fairness, it should be noted that Javelin Strategy and Research and Acculynk have a business relationship (i.e. cash has exchanged hands) which, in this bloggers "opinion" more than likely skews their objectivity at least a lil' bit.  In fairness, there's always the possibility that it doesn't.  In which case it could be simply a coincidence that Acculynk was found to "come closest to widespread success"  HomeATM is taking a wait and see approach.   We believe that as online fraud becomes even more prevalent than it already is, consumers will get the message and migrate away from typing their card numbers into a box on a website...which would preclude them from being able to use their mouse to enter their PIN.    Here's Javelin's press release:

Alternative Online Consumer Payments: Banks and Merchants Weigh a Host of New Options

Javelin Study Evaluates How Well Emerging Vendors Solve Online Transaction Needs

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Javelin Strategy & Research (www.javelinstrategy.com) today released a report that evaluates providers of alternative payment solutions for online retail transactions. The report, Predicting Alternative Payments Vendor Success: Balancing Needs Among Banks, Merchants, and Consumers (http://www.javelinstrategy.com/lp/AlternativePaymentsBrochure.html), reviews the rates and the value of services provided by nine vendors.

"Several emerging methods are strong at balancing the needs of banks, merchants and consumers, which historically predicts success in new payment methods. None of the solutions are perfect, yet we found many vital differences among those we analyzed," said Mary Monahan, Managing Partner and Research Director.

Included in the report are vendors with some level of emerging status (eliminating vendors such as PayPal and BillMeLater), as well as some level of financial-institution orientation (eliminating Revolution Money). Vendors evaluated include Acculynk, eBillme, HomeATM, Mazooma, Moneta, NACHA SVP, Noca, SeerGate, and Verient.

Key Findings from the Report Include:

• The three vendor solutions that come closest to widespread success are those offered by Acculynk, eBillme and Moneta – with Verient’s platform finishing close behind. 
• Many former alternatives for online retail transactions are quickly going mainstream.
• Emerging payment methods from traditional payment providers have the advantage of trusted brands and established networks for issuance, acceptance and processing.
• To retain and grow valuable customer relationships, financial institutions must offer dynamic, alternative payment solutions that meet consumer, merchant and bank needs.

"Financial institutions are faced with increasing competition from non-financial institution payment brands, such as PayPal, that seek to usurp transaction volume, particularly online," said Bruce Cundiff, Director of Payments Research and Consulting. "As consumers shift from credit cards to various forms of ‘pay-now’ methods, financial institutions must offer new payment methods to remain the primary and all-around trusted financial provider."

About Javelin Strategy & Research

Javelin is the leading independent provider of quantitative and qualitative research focused exclusively on financial services topics. Based on the most rigorous statistical methodologies, Javelin conducts in-depth primary research studies to pinpoint dynamic risks and opportunities. Javelin helps its clients achieve their initiatives through three service offerings, including syndicated research subscriptions, custom research projects and strategic consulting. Javelin’s client list includes some of the largest banks, credit unions, card issuers, and technology enterprises in the financial services industry. For more information about this or other Javelin reports, please visit www.javelinstrategy.com/research or contact Elizabeth Travers at (925) 225-9100 ext 31 or at etravers@javelinstrategy.com.

Contacts

Javelin Strategy & Research
Elizabeth Travers, 925-225-9100 ext. 31
etravers@javelinstrategy.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20090623005407/en

5comments:

Anonymoussaid...

"In fairness, it should be noted that Javelin Strategy and Researchand Acculynk have a business relationship (i.e. cash has exchangedhands) which, in this bloggers "opinion" more than likely skews theirobjectivity at least a lil' bit."

-Not sure how this skewsobjectivity. It seems to me Javelin has always reported on implicationsof actual data. It seems to me you have to understand the data andresearch methodology to make your own assumptions. If we throw out allresearch companies who service the industry for a fee, I guess we'releft with...hmm. I not actually sure who we're left with. Maybe agovernment agency or a fed bank report. My only point is to look at thedata and how conclusions are derived. Statistically significantfindings are indeed findings, whether you like the results or not.

June 23, 2009 9:07 AM 

 

John B. Franksaid...

It's not that I don't like the results.  It's that I am using aneducated guess to decipher what the results were based on.  The truthis, most research companies, or analysts agree that if you "type" yournumber into a box on a website, it will get hacked. It is not it "might gethacked"...it WILL.  So, with that said, I don't know how well the vendorin question "solves" online transaction needs, when their solution"requires" first, for the consumer "type" their card number into a box(as per usual) before they inherently admit that doing so is not safe...and then lock the keyboard to ensure that consumers do NOT use it, to enter their PIN.  I don't think my imagination isrunning away with me when I project that intercepting mouse clicks, viascreen scrapers, or mouse-logging is going to be that difficult of atask for sophisticated hackers to figure out. My point isn't that Idon't LIKE the results. My point is that they don't make sense. Settingup consumers to have their PIN codes hacked is not, in my mind,"solving transaction needs."

You have to admit, that much is true.

Onthe flip side, if the report was entitled, Javelin Study Evaluates HowWell Emerging Vendors "CONVENIENTLY" Solve Online Transaction Needs,then I might agree with their findings. It is less convenient to get aPCI 2.0 Certified Device into the hands of the consumer than it is to simplyvisit a website that downloaded the vendors API. . But part of theproblem, (the part that hackers love) is that pushing "convenience"over "security" won't work in the long run.  

Thanks for taking the time to anonymously comment! - JBF

June 23, 2009 10:20 AM

Bruce Cundiffsaid...

I will not anonymously comment, as I wrote the Javelin report (andhave had minimal interaction with Acculynk as a Javelin client). Iwould like to address the accusations of bias and influence directly.

Thereport I wrote was based on independently gathered information andconsumer data on various solutions, with the primary criterion forefficacy of a solution being the balance of value that said solutionprovides for
the constituents in an online retail transaction: financial institutions, merchants, and consumers.

Secondly,you cannot separate convenience and security. Consumer usability wasABSOLUTELY part of my analysis, and I make no apologies for it.

Itis very easy to have zero fraud. Have zero transactions. Elegantsolutions take both the reality and the perception (consumer andotherwise) issues associated with security into account, effectivelybalancing the two. Leading (and ending) with a message that is basedsolely on "better security," and one that marginalizes and ignoresconsumer usability is a path fraught with peril.

Thanks forcommenting on the press release for our new report and linking to oursite. Please let me know if you have any additional questions aboutthis or our other research.

June 23, 2009 4:39 PM

John B. Franksaid...

Bruce Cundiff stated above that It is very easy to have zero fraud with zero transactions. I couldn't agree more.  That said,  We've done 80K + transactions with zero fraud. Over $7M in dollars. All verifiable with eFunds. 

June 23, 2009 9:01 PM

Kenneth G. Magessaid...

Bruce,

I love America and I especially love the Internet because it disintermediates us all so elegantly and swiftly.

I'velong followed your thoughts on ecommerce and highly respect yourconsidered thinking, writing, and speeches on same. However, as to yourlatest report Predicting Alternative Payments Vendor Success I mustmake some comments and please bear in mind that John Frank and MitchellCobrin speak for themselves just as I do here.

As you correctlystated, with zero transactions you will have zero fraud. However Itrust you are willing to look at hard data which we will happilyprovide and validate through eFunds that from January 2008 through May2009, HomeATM ran over 80K PIN transactions totaling over 7M inprocessing with ZERO fraud or breach and no biased users.

Oursole purpose in running said transactions was to prove that our systemwas impervious to malware, phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks, and anyother method of hacking. It may (or may not) interest you that in the1990's I was personally preaching, writing patents, and raising moneyand awareness that music and video would inevitably be compressed,captured and redistributed freely on the web.

While I wastechnically correct, I could never convince the entertainment industrythat THEY had a problem and my business and personal fortune dissolved.

Imorphed my thinking to financial transactions and I say this with alldue respect to your obvious understanding that while the music industryin it's very best year did 15B in sales, that much money is moved everyhour on the Internet.

Is HomeATM the easiest ecommerce solution?Absolutely not. Do we have challenges getting our PIN entry devicesdistributed ubiquitously, absolutely. But I will give you a freeprediction analogous to the one I gave executives at Warner, Sony, RCA,etc. There will be a Napster of personal information where I can go toget your SSN, mother's maiden name, and or any other plastic card andidentity information you posses... unless said data is encrypted WITHhardware AT the point of data entry. I promise.

kgm

Chairman/CEO
HomeATM ePayment Solutions

Global Payments to Announce Q4 and Y/E Earnings

Global Payments to Announce Fourth Quarter and Year-End Earnings on July 23, 2009

Press Release, Source: Global Payments Inc.
 
ATLANTA -- Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN - News), a leader in payment processing services, will release fourth quarter and year-end financial results for fiscal year 2009 after the market closes on July 23, 2009.

Global Payments' management will host a conference call for investors to discuss these results at 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 23, 2009. Callers may access the conference call via the company's Web site at www.globalpaymentsinc.com by clicking the "Webcast" button; or callers in the U.S. and Canada may dial 1-8... and callers outside U.S. and Canada may dial 1-9.... The pass code is "GPN." A replay of the call may be accessed through the Global Payments' Web site through August 6, 2009.

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN - News) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for consumers, merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Global Payments offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management. The company also provides consumer money transfer services from the U.S. and Europe to destinations in Latin America, Morocco, and the Philippines. For more information about the company and its services, visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com.

Global Payments, GPN

Things Happen in 3's...Don't Read Too Much Intuit

Editors Note:  Things happen in 3's and Symantec is alerting those who read, that there will be dozens, if not hundreds, of attempts to "capitalize" on the recent passing's of the King, the Angel and to a lesser extent, the Sidekick.   

Speaking of 3's, before learning math, did anyone else originally think that 3 was half of 8?

Celebrity Deaths and What to Expect in Cyberspace 

Symantec Security Response writes...

This week has seen the tragic deaths of three iconic American super stars: Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. As always, events such as these seem to be prime targets for spammers and malicious code authors alike.

Internet users should expect to see a flurry of threats seeking to play upon the emotions and curiosity of the public around these events. If you’re looking for news, videos, pictures, or any information regarding these individuals and their lives, Symantec recommends that you only visit sites you’re familiar with and trust. Don’t click on every link you see related to this story and always keep your security solutions up-to-date.

For example, Symantec has observed spam that appears to be a spoof on CNN that actually contains a link to a malicious Web page.

Users that click on the link will be redirected to a page that prompts users to download and run a file on a fake Flash Player, which actually installs malicious code.

Here are some of the additional spam and online tactics Symantec does expect to see as attackers seek to further take advantage of these tragedies:

• Spam with subject lines related to any of these deaths trying to peddle fake medicines
• Spam with subject lines related to any of these deaths leading to misleading applications, such as fake antivirus software
• Spam with subject lines related to any of these deaths leading to fake codecs
• Spam with subject lines related to any of these deaths with malware attached
• Search engine poisoning campaigns injecting malicious sites into the top search engine results related to any of these deaths
• Sites claiming to host videos of the last moments of these individuals lives, but actually peddling fake goods or malware
• Links to fake videos of these stars that actually attempt to infect users with malware
• Social networking site messages related to these deaths that could link to malware such as W32.Koobface
• Twitter tweets about these deaths with links to all sorts of malicious Web sites

Related articles by Zemanta

• Security firms warn of bogus Michael Jackson messages (digital.venturebeat.com)
• Death by Threes (tuibguy.com)
• Celebrity malware: beware (seattlepi.com)
• Michael Jackson Death Exploited by Malware Vendors [WARNING] (mashable.com)
• Beware the Michael Jackson Spam (blogs.wsj.com)
• Internet groans under weight of Michael Jackson traffic (arstechnica.com)