Bottomline Acquires BofA's PayMode Product

BofA, Bottomline partner to expand payment and invoice network

Portsmouth, N.H. and Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 5, 2009 -- Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) today announced a strategic relationship to advance the growth of Bank of America’s market-leading electronic network for payment and invoice automation.

Bottomline Technologies will acquire Bank of America’s PayMode® product, operations and vendor network. The two companies are entering into a multi-year agreement to operate and enhance this innovative Software as a Service (SaaS) offering. In addition to continuing to market PayMode to new clients, Bank of America will retain existing PayMode client relationships and join Bottomline’s Strategic Advisory Council. The bank will also have an equity interest in the company via warrants for one million Bottomline shares.

Under this agreement, Bank of America and Bottomline will deliver next generation solutions for integrated payables automation, enabling businesses to capitalize on the two organizations’ shared vision for automated business-to-business electronic invoice and payment processing and remittance data delivery. With 80,000 vendors, PayMode is one of the largest and fastest-growing business-to-business payments networks operating today. The relationship will leverage Bottomline’s experience with SaaS solutions including its advanced invoice management workflow, global payment platforms and innovative cash management offerings used by leading corporations around the globe.

“PayMode remains an important part of Bank of America’s electronic payments suite of solutions,” said Dub Newman, Global Product Management executive for Bank of America. “This deal ensures clients will receive the same high level of service they expect from the PayMode service into the future. After a thorough evaluation, we concluded that working with Bottomline will accelerate the growth and capability of PayMode and enable us to quickly deliver an even more compelling offering to our clients. We selected Bottomline due to its deep domain expertise, focus on financial supply chain technology and impressive order-to-pay solution set. Combining forces, we will provide even greater value to our clients.”

“We have entered into a very significant relationship for Bottomline,” said Rob Eberle, President and CEO of Bottomline Technologies. “With Bank of America, we have teamed up with a truly market-moving organization and added one of the largest vendor networks available today to our payment and invoice management solution set. We believe that this arrangement will significantly accelerate our strategic plan and business model, while firmly establishing Bottomline as a leading player in financial supply chain automation.”

PayMode facilitates the electronic exchange of payments and invoices between organizations and suppliers. By making vendor payments electronically, organizations can quickly raise operational efficiency and derive greater value from the accounts payable and corporate treasury functions. In addition, there are significant environmental benefits achieved by cutting the use of paper checks, invoices and remittance advices, hence reducing all participants’ carbon footprint.

Today, approximately 550 Bank of America clients leverage PayMode for their payables automation and 80,000 suppliers receive electronic payments and comprehensive remittance data. This results in processing cost savings, improved working capital management and enhanced payment processes and controls. Approximately $300 billion in electronic transactions have been processed through PayMode since its inception. Bottomline will provide PayMode service and support for Bank of America and Bank of America clients under a long-term agreement, while making PayMode available to its own customers and other channels.

Financial terms of the arrangement, which is expected to close in the next 90 days, were not disclosed at this time. Bottomline expects the transaction to be accretive to its results during fiscal year ended June 30, 2010.

To help raise awareness of the environmental benefits achieved by transitioning from paper to electronic processing, Bottomline has posted a green savings calculator on its corporate web site. The calculator can be accessed by clicking this link: www.bottomline.com/gogreen .

About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 53 million consumer and small business relationships with more than 6,100 retail banking offices, more than 18,500 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 29 million active users.

Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to more than 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients in more than 150 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About Bottomline Technologies

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ: EPAY) provides collaborative payment, invoice and document automation solutions to corporations, financial institutions and banks around the world. The company’s solutions are used to streamline, automate and manage processes involving payments, global cash management, transactional documents and invoice approval. Organizations trust these solutions to meet their needs for cost reduction, competitive differentiation and optimization of working capital. Headquartered in the United States, Bottomline also maintains offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific. For more information, visit www.bottomline.com .

Source: Company press release.

Bank Customers Who Pay Bills Online 15% More Profitable

Financial institutions need to be aware that in the midst of this banking crisis, consumers are unusually sensitive to fees and are prone to switching banks.

*** Two PIN Payments Blog Related Posts ***

50% of Banking Customers Hit by Fraud Change Banks

Online Banking Data Being "Fed to the Phishes

Meanwhile a studyfrom fintech vendor Fiserv found that bank customers who pay billsonline are over  15% more profitable
and 76% more loyal than those whodon't.

Seven years of Javelin consumer survey data underscore the necessity of designing banking products and services to serve the customers’ craving for financial control, as 8 out of 10 online households now bank online. The industry has made laudable strides in bringing customers to their Web sites to bank and pay bills.

For the first time, slightly more consumers paid at bank sites than at biller-direct sites. Yet many banks and credit unions
have been slow to upgrade, creating a wide gap in online capabilities and usage between the nation’s four biggest banks – Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo – and smaller regional, community banks and credit unions.

Primary Questions

• How fast will online banking and bill-pay adoption grow over the next five years?
• How active are users of online-banking and bill-pay services?
• Can banks use online-banking and bill-pay services to boost revenues, increase customer loyalty, reduce costs and create cross-selling opportunities?

• Can mid-size banks and credit unions boost the performance of their online-banking services to better compete with giant national financial institutions?

Editor's Note: I can answer that question.  Yes. (want more detail?  See answer to next question)

• What services can make online banking more appealing to consumers?
Editor's Note:  Want to make online banking more appealing to consumers?  Appeal to their peace of mind.  Provide a PCI 2.x Certified Two Factor 3DES DUKPT Beginning to End Encryption Platform powered by HomeATM.  Guarantee your customers that your bank will eliminate phishing and the increasing threats caused by Malware,  Cloned Bank Websites and more.  It WILL provide your banking institution with an enhanced image, and lure wary online banking customers who are looking to make the switch.  

For more information on how HomeATM can empower your online banking platform, give me a shout!  jfrank@homeatm.net


OR CONTINUE READING "BANKS UNDER SIEGE" BELOW THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES PICTURE

 

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Banks Are Under Siege

BANKS and bank customers face anarray of threats to their security as international criminal groupsroll out a new generation of viruses, malware, fake websites andsophisticated phishing emails.

Internet banking experts say without co-ordinated global action by governments, financial institutions will have to "give up on the internet" because they are losing their war against hackers and criminal fraudsters.

Editor's Note:  That's what I've been sayingfor the last 15 months on this blog.  It was (not safe) safer to typeyour card numbers into a box at a merchant checkout center a year agothan it is today and it's (not safe) safer to do it today than it willbe tomorrow. 

It's satisfying to see "Internet Banking Experts" start to to publicly admit there is an inherent weakness in the system. 

HomeATM'sdevice (pictured above) is a secure solution to the phishing, DNSattack and cloned web site threats which permeate the online bankingworld.  Our solution exactly replicates how one would access their cashat an ATM.   1. You swipe your card, and 2. You Enter your PIN.  It'scalled 2FA (two-factor-authentication)and it would virtually eliminate phishing overnight.  The Track 2 datais "instantaneously" encrypted upon the swipe of the card and the PINis also 3DES Encrypted and protected by DUKPT (Derived Unique Key Per Transaction). Our unique end-to-end encryption methodology provides the most secureauthentication and payment application available today. Period. 

Early next week, HomeATM expects to become the only eCommercePayment company in either hemisphere to be both PCI 2.x Certified andTG-3 certified.  Swipe don't Type.  It's how retailers and consumershave been doing it at brick and mortar locations since the early 80'sand it's how it should be done online.  Until now, there wasn't anaffordable way to get consumers there very own SwipePIN device.  ButHomeATM has gotten the price down to the point that banks couldliterally give them away...thus empowering their online bankingcustomers to not only log-in securely but pay bills in real-time, sendor receive money in real-time and conduct safe, secure onlinetransactions.  I've stated that it is as simple as 1-2-3.  Two arealready done.  The bank issues the card, the bank issue the PIN...nowthe bank can issue the HomeATM Internet POS terminal.   The storycontinues... 

Almost one-quarter of the entire Australian population has beenaffected by identity theft crimes, according to a recent survey by VedaAdvantage and that number keeps growing each year.   "Last yearsome 450,000 Australians were the victims of fraud," NSWAttorney-General John Hatzistergos said last weekend as he announcednew laws that effectively duplicate Queensland's cyber crime laws.

"Nearly a billion dollars was taken from people and confiscatedby criminals, using a variety of different techniques, trading inpeople's personal information, such as passwords, pin numbers, namesand addresses.

The state based approach to the problem will not work says ProfessorBill Caelli from Queensland University of technology's InformationSecurity Institute. Prof Caelli says only co-ordinated global action bygovernments can secure the net.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail from amajor IT conference in Paris where the issue of securing the net ishigh on the agenda, Prof Caelli claimed "banks were simply not capable of providing secure internet banking."

There is a big discussion happening globally about web services such as internet banking. The question is, "Can you create large-scale secure transaction systems on the web – and the answer is coming back as no."

Already thisyear, two of Australia's biggest banks have reported significantattacks on their internet banking portals. Both attacks came aftersignificant investments by the banks to upgrade their online bankingplatforms.

"The criminals tend to target one bank and when that institution shutsthem down they move to another bank so it goes in circles," said GaryGill, head of forensics at KPMG.

Australia's biggest bank, the Commonwealth Bank, reported that amalicious attack had probably contributed to its banking website,Netbank, crashing on the busiest days of the year – the two days beforethe end of the financial year.

Steve Batten, the media spokesman for the Commonwealth Bank, said thatNetbank was designed to handle 13,000 customers online concurrently.  Last Monday, 18,500 customers were logging in concurrently and 1.59million hits were registered in the 24-hour period.  Mr Batten saidthat the bank suspected that some of that traffic was malicious.

In February ANZ Bank reported a sophisticated scam that led to a fakeweb page appearing to customers after they logged in to the ANZinternet banking site.

First Internet Bank Offers Contactless Debit Card

Indianapolis, Aug. 5, 2009-- First Internet Bank (First IB) announced today it has begun issuing debit cards that include the Visa payWave (contactless) feature. These contactless debit cards promise First IB cardholders a faster and easier check-out, with the same security protection given to traditional magnetic stripe cards.

Each First IB debit card enabled with Visa payWave is embedded with an advanced computer chip that uses radio frequency to perform the transaction. By simply holding the First IB debit card with Visa payWave close to a contactless card reader, customers can complete a purchase transaction in seconds. The cardholder remains in possession of his or her card at all times and, for most purchases under $25, will not be required to sign. In cases where the merchant does not accept contactless transactions, cardholders can still swipe the card, just as they always have.

Since its launch ten years ago, First IB has offered customers a lineup of convenient account access services - including a robust website with self-service features for anytime account access, and traditional magnetic stripe Visa debit cards as a secure alternative to carrying cash. The contactless debit card offering is the most recent enhancement to the Bank's lineup of added value services. First IB has also introduced mobile banking as well as personal budgeting and account aggregation services in the past twelve months.

"First Internet Bank strives to be a leader in innovation, and the adoption of this card keeps First IB at the forefront of banking technology," said Mr. David B. Becker, President and CEO. "Studies have shown, and our employee pilot program confirms, that cardholders find contactless payments to be fast and easy. We are pleased to offer our customers this new feature for everyday purchases. It's just another way we work to make banking easier for our customers."

For more information on the First IB debit card with Visa payWave, customers are encouraged to visit http://www.firstib.com/personalaccts/debit.html. More information is also available from Visa, including a link to locate a nearby merchant that accepts payWave cards, at http://www.visa.com/visapaywave .

About First IB

With over $540 million in assets, First Internet Bank of Indiana (First IB, www.firstib.com) is the first state-chartered, FDIC-insured institution to operate solely via the Internet and has customers in all 50 states. Deposit services include checking accounts, regular and money market savings accounts with industry-leading interest rates, CDs, and IRAs. First IB also offers consumer loans, conforming mortgages, jumbo mortgages, and home equity loans and lines of credit. First IB is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Internet Bancorp (OTC Bulletin Board: FIBP).

Source: Company press release.

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HomeATM Has a Billion Dollar "Present" for the Airline Industry

More rules and increasingly sophisticated fraud detection tools essential to Travel Services Industry's success warding off current and emerging trends SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug 5 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Fraud detection tools and payment fraud losses are top of mind according to a recent webinar and poll of airline fraud investigators. The survey results, released today by 41st Parameter Inc, a leading provider of fraud detection and prevention systems to the Airline Industry, report insufficient rules and defense mechanisms in place at most airlines. The results forecast the continued emergence of new reservation booking vehicles and a shift in the payment landscape. Additional details include:

Fraud Prevalent Industry-wide - Every airline reported some measure of fraud within their "card not present" channels, with nearly one-quarter experiencing elevated percentages.

(Editor's Note: If it's "card not present" that creates the $1 Billion Dollar problem, then it seems to me that the obvious solution is to change to a "card present" environment! HomeATM can do that with our PCI 2.x certified PIN Entry Device which encrypts the data from beginning to end!)

 

Airlines report more than a billion dollars annually in online fraud loss. To effectively reduce these losses, each needs to be up-to-date with the appropriate technologies and be prepared for fraudsters to exploit new forms of payment and booking channels.

"The Travel Industry is under siege by well organized international fraud rings. Without comprehensive technology tools to aid investigators, airlines face a greater risk of fraud succeeding, especially as fraudsters exploit new channels and payment methods which in many cases are not currently detected," said Ori Eisen, founder and chief innovation officer, 41st Parameter. "41st Parameter utilizes over 400 rules in conjunction with sophisticated device identification capabilities to help our customers, including some of the world's largest airlines, prevent fraud before it happens; significantly reducing bad debt write-offs."

Other survey questions posed include:

- How many payment options do you offer beyond credit cards?
- What percentage of your fraud is from international or cross-border transactions?
- What percentage of your reservations are written off as bad debt or fraud?
- How many Fraud Investigators does your company employ?

The complete list of questions and responses, along with the webinar recording, are available by request at: www.the41st.com/travel


Additional 41st Parameter Airline Industry Press Releases:
41st Parameter Speaking about the "Importance of Device Data for True Intelligence" at Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) Forum

Airlines Tackle $1.4 Billion Online Fraud Challenge With 41st Parameter's Device Identification Technology

US Airways Selects 41st Parameter's FraudNet

41st Parameter Enables Airline & Travel Industry Service Provider MITec to Expand Business and Protect Clientele

41st Parameter and Leading Airlines Battle on Card Not Present Fraud

41st Parameter Provides Fraud-Reduction Solution to Continental Airlines for Card-Not-Present ticket sales


About 41st Parameter
41st Parameter provides solutions for detecting and preventing fraud across multiple channels for the world's most valued and recognizable brands. Leading financial institutions, and e-commerce companies, and travel services businesses rely on 41st Parameter's technology to protect them from cybercrime threats including card not present fraud, new account origination fraud, phishing and account compromise, credit bust outs, and fraud ring attacks. Founded in 2004, 41st Parameter makes the process of detecting and preventing fraud easier and more effective, reducing both expenses and potential losses. As a leading web fraud detection innovator the company supplies industry-proven solutions which integrate advanced device identification with comprehensive risk management capabilities. To learn more about 41st Parameter, visit www.the41st.com


Survey results are nonscientific and for informational purposes only.  All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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