VeriFone And Mocapay Form Strategic Partnership

VeriFone And Mocapay Form Strategic Partnership To Deliver Mobile Gift And Couponing

October 15, 2009 - San Jose, CA - VeriFone announces strategic partnership with Mocapay to deliver mobile gift and couponing on behalf of its customers, integrated with VeriFone customer-facing payment systems. Mocapay has integrated and certified with VeriFone's PAYware Connect gateway to extend its reach and availability to a broader set of merchants and to help expedite certifications with new processors.



Mocapay's platform provides merchants with the ability to mobile-enable their existing gift and loyalty programs through payment at the point-of-sale. Gift cardholders can transact at the point-of-sale, access their account balance and transaction history, find the nearest location, and reload their account, all from their mobile phone. In addition, consumers can send mobile gift cards directly from their PC to their friends' mobile phone utilizing Mocapay's proprietary Gift-a-Friend technology. Mocapay provides retailers the tools to send targeted, one-to-one messages and/or offers to their customers.



Mocapay and VeriFone have already successfully implemented mobile gift solutions as part of several retailer trials spanning specialty food, coffee, and petro/convenience verticals. "We see tremendous promise and positive preliminary results from these early market trials across multiple retailer and consumer segments", says Robbie Lopez, VeriFone senior vice president and general manager, Software Solutions. Mocapay and VeriFone first debuted their solution on MX 800 Series in VeriFone's booth at the NRF convention in January, 2009. As part of their partnership, VeriFone will integrate the Mocapay mobile capability in conjunction with merchant implementations.



About VeriFone

Mocapay has already been integrated and certified with VeriFone's PAYware Connect software to help extend its reach and availability to a broader set of merchants. "VeriFone's PAYware Connect software provides us with an easy, flexible, and one-stop shop to seamlessly integrate with the existing payments landscape." says Kevin Grieve, CEO Mocapay. "VeriFone has provided us with a flexible architecture to deliver value-added applications to their customers without burdening the merchant with technology integration."

SOURCE: VeriFone

Verifone PayWare Platform Chosen by U.S. Army and Navy

VeriFone PAYware selected for U.S. Army and Navy facilities management system



San Jose, Calif., Oct. 15, 2009 -- VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced that its PAYware Transact has been selected as the PCI-compliant payment engine for the Vermont Systems (VSI) RecTrac facilities management system that is deployed worldwide to U.S. Army and Navy recreational facilities.



VSI, of Essex Junction, VT, provides software for managing recreation and parks operations for municipal, county, state and federal military governmental entities. Its global deployment to Army and Navy facilities supports a wide range of activities, from court and locker reservations to childcare, with comprehensive reporting and financial management capabilities.



“PAYware Transact provides us with the PCI-compliant card acceptance and payment processing component,” said Giles Willey, president of VSI. “This relieves us of the need to develop specialized skills in the ever-changing payments area, isolates the payment function from our core application code, and provides our customers with assurance their applications will remain PCI-compliant moving forward.”



PAYware Transact is a highly-scalable and customizable Java-based payment solution that supports high-volume transaction processing for retailers and businesses of any size. The platform-independent system accommodates a mix of front-end environments — including POS devices, mail order/telephone order systems and e-commerce. Several thousand of VeriFone’s MX 830 systems are being deployed to approximately 3,000 Army and Navy facilities as a customer-facing card acceptance system for use with RecTrac.



“VSI has a sterling record supporting military recreation facilities and we’re proud to be part of a system that is instrumental in supporting the morale of soldiers and sailors and their families,” said Robbie Lopez, VeriFone senior vice president and general manager, Software Solutions.



VeriFone payment processing software solutions enable businesses of all types and size to quickly and securely process electronic payments including credit, debit, loyalty/stored value gift, purchasing cards, checks, EBT and more. PAYware Transact can be easily integrated into a wide variety of POS systems, databases, and corporate financial environments, and it is certified by all major processors.



Source: Company press release.

Chat In the Middle Online Banking Threat

Here's a press release from Beacon Software celebrating their new "Live Chat" for Online Banking.  Problem is, "Chat-in-the-Middle attacks are the newest form of online banking Trojans.  Here's an excerpt from their press release along with some information from a new RSA Report highlighting Chat-in-the-Middle attacks,



Live Chat Added to Online Banking Platform for Community Financial Institutions

Thu Oct 15, 2009 - PIN Payments News Blog - MARIETTA, Ga.--(Business Wire)-- Beacon Software, a Georgia company specializing in online banking services and software targeted to community financial institutions, announced today that it has added a comprehensive Live Chat capability to their popular Compass Internet Banking Platform. "While most of the very largest U.S. banks currently offer Live Chat, it is typically not available in the online offerings used by the smaller, tier three community banks and credit unions," said Beacon Software president Jack Fullen. "This new functionality gives users and visitors to our customers` banking websites an opportunity to receive immediate online assistance to explain product options and answer support related questions, precisely when they need it



Editor's Note:  Oops! RSA report highlights new "Chat-in-the-Middle" threat

The latest RSA AFCC report highlights a new, unique phishing attack called "Chat-in-the-Middle".  It is targeted against online banking customers and it is executed through routine means but then presents a more advanced layer of perpetrating online fraud. The phishing attack may dupe bank customers into entering their usernames and passwords into an ordinary phishing site but the addition of a bogus live chat support window can obtain even more credentials via a live chat session initiated by fraudsters.



During the live chat session, the fraudster behind the attack presents himself as a representative of the bank's fraud department and attempts to dupe customers who are online into divulging sensitive information - such as answers to secret questions that are used for online customer authentication. This attack is currently targeting a single US-based financial institution.

Todo's Brings Trust and Security to Georgian Banks

Two Georgian banks - TBC Bank and BTA Bank - have selected Todos to provide eBanking authentication devices and back-end servers to improve security, usability and trust for their online customers.



GÖTEBORG, SWEDEN AND T'BILISI, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 13, 2009 - Todos continues its mission to make online banking more secure and more trustworthy with two sales in Georgia. Both banks selected Todos because it offered high levels of security, flexibility, future-proofing and lower costs with the benefit of local support.



Georgia is a country on the Eastern shore of the Black Sea. It has a population of 4.6m with an economy that has been growing fast and liberalising quickly. In 2007, GDP grew by 12 percent and the World Bank called the country the "number one economic reformer in the world." Services now account for 65 percent of economic output.



TBC Bank (www.tbcbank.ge) had been using a competitor's system but swapped to Todos, buying the company's ezToken device. The token's lower total cost of ownership was a significant factor. Not only was it cheaper to buy in the first place but the longer battery life means fewer replacements over time.



BTA Bank (www.bta.ge) also chose the ezToken over rival devices for most users but also selected the enhanced ezToken PIN. The Todos VAS Server's ability to support different devices and multiple devices per user means that BTA can deploy both and give its customers an upgrade path if they require additional security.



In both cases, the presence of local partner NGT to provide support, consulting and integration was important.



"We're very excited about these deals and what they represent. Smaller countries and growing banks have a huge opportunity in today's digital market," says Bo Emanuelsson, Sales Director EMEA at Todos AB. "Quite simply, they can move faster than their larger competitors. Here we see two important banks in a fast-moving national economy choose trust, security and progress."



###



Todos AB helps banks and other businesses create trusted, secure relationships with their customers online. Founded in 1987, Todos designs, develops, delivers and supports security solutions for eBanking and eCommerce strong authentication. We have delivered over 20m products to 100+ financial institutions in more than 30 countries. When trust matters, trust Todos. For more information visit www.todos.se.



For further information please contact:

John Ahlberg, Communications Director

Todos AB

john.ahlberg@todos.seThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
www.todos.se
+46 31 775 88 00

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Windows and Online Banking - Just Say No

Trojan plunders $480k from online bank account

Windows and online banking - Just say no

By Dan Goodin in San Francisco

A Pennsylvania organization that helps develop affordable housing learned a painful lesson about the hazards of online banking using the Windows operating system when a notorious trojan siphoned almost $480,000 from its account.

News reports here and here say $479,247 vanished from a bank account belonging to the Cumberland County Redevelopment Authority after it was hit by Clampi. The trojan gets installed by tricking users into clicking on a file attached to email and then lies in wait for the victim to log in to online financial websites. The authority has so far been able to recover $109,467 of the stolen loot.



The theft is part of a rash of online heists that have stolen millions of dollars from businesses and non-profit organizations. While circumstances are different in each case, they all point to a single point of failure: Each theft relied on the successful compromise of a Windows-based system.

It was this undeniable fact that led Brian Krebs - author of the Security Fix blog which over the past month has published a series of articles detailing high-stakes bank thefts - to recommend Windows machines no longer be used by those who choose to do their banking online.



"I do not offer this recommendation lightly," he wrote. "But I have interviewed dozens of victim companies that lost anywhere from $10,000 to $500,000 dollars because of a single malware infection." To be clear, that's malware that ran only on Windows.



Indeed, the Clampi variant that hit the Cumberland redevelopment authority reportedly was able to succeed even though employees used an automated clearing house token that generated a different eight-digit access code every minute or so. Redevelopment authority officials didn't return calls seeking comment for this article.

The obvious solution for many is to simply close all online banking accounts. Contrary to what banks say, writing checks really isn't that much of a hassle, at least if you don't write that many of them.



Continue Reading

Either that or hook up a HomeATM SLIM to your USB port and log-in the same way you do at an ATM.  Then you can "Just Say Yes! to safe and secure online banking.

Usage And Adoption Of Mobile Banking Platforms Varies Considerably In Developing Countries

New report provides detailed analysis of the Finance and Banking market Published on October 15, 2009 by Press Office (Companiesandmarkets.com and OfficialWire) LONDON, ENGLAND

Consumer attitudes to Online Current Accounts Consumer attitudes toward using the online channel for current account transactions are constantly evolving. Ongoing technological advancement as well as demographic and lifestage complexities are driving these shifts in attitude. Current account providers must understand what consumers want from the online channel in order to maximize the advantages that it can bring to their business. Scope *Using global data from our FSCI survey this report identifies how consumer attitudes towards the online channel are changing. *The report analyzes the causes of these shifts and identifies strategies that can be employed by providers to attract and retain online customers *The report discusses the opportunities and threats faced by current account providers wanting to develop their online strategy Highlights The online channel is currently not being used to its maximum capability. Nearly all (97%) of those registered online for their current/checking account have used the channel to check their balance, but remarkably less one fifth had used it to order a new card, check book or paying in book. Mobile banking is expected to take the same upwards trajectory as online banking and is expected to grow faster. Over half of consumers globally believe they are 'at least somewhat likely' to conduct banking through a mobile device in the next 12 months. Take-up is expected to be particularly prominent in emerging markets by reaching the unbanked. Security concerns are the main deterrent to consumers' use of the online channel 48% those consumers who are not registered online agreed that it was a reason why they were not. With 30% of current account holders still not registered for online facilities, this a concern which banks must address. Reasons to Purchase *Access the results of Datamonitor's Global FS Consumer Insight survey, enabling you to understand shifting online attitudes and behaviours. *Identify why these changes are occurring, and understand the future implications for the online channel. *Identify actionable strategies that can help encourage consumers to engage with the online channel. Consumer attitudes to Online Current Accounts: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/r.ashx?id=763904Y0I161720 Contact CompaniesandMarkets.com Mike King info@companiesandmarkets.com Tel: +44 203 086 8600

Visa And MasterCard Face Increasing Competition From American Express In Australia

New report provides detailed analysis of the Finance and Banking market Published on October 15, 2009 by Press Office (Companiesandmarkets.com and OfficialWire) LONDON, ENGLAND

Australian Credit Card Customers 2009 Australian credit card customers 2009 is an invaluable insight into the behaviour and preferences of Australian credit card holders. The report focuses on key issues including card spending, reasons for card choice and preferred providers and sales channels. Scope *Based on Datamonitor's Australian Financial Services Survey of 2,300 adult consumers conducted in April 2009. *Survey findings related to specific providers. *Includes a detailed discussion of historical developments i n the Australian credit card market. *Includes analysis of upcoming trends and developments. Highlights Use of payment cards has increased strongly over the last five years, with debit cards used for lower transaction values and credit cards dominating larger transactions. American Express, Citibank and Bankwest cardholders are especially likely to have used the company website as a source of information when choosing main card provider. When consumers were asked to rank seven common product features in terms of the importance they would carry when choosing a new card, lower fees were overwhelmingly the most important factor. Reasons to Purchase *Confirm what consumers look for when choosing a credit card. *Quantify the benefit of card features such as reward schemes and lower fee offers. *Better understand consumers' channel preferences when arranging a credit card. Australian Credit Card Customers 2009: http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/r.ashx?id=4LPC955F3161716 Contact CompaniesandMarkets.com Mike King info@companiesandmarkets.com Tel: +44 203 086 8600

Visa Commercial Payments in India Press Release

Visa estimates 2.6 Trillion Dollar in Global Commercial Spending for 2008 for India

October 15, 2009



Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) released the annual global Commercial Consumption Expenditure (CCE) index, which estimates that global commercial spending grew to US$2.6 trillion in 2008 for India. The annual Visa CCE report provides standardized tracking of business and government spending globally and is recognized as an industry benchmark for measuring commercial spending.



The 2008 CCE is estimated to have grown at 10.9 percent from $81.3 trillion in 2007. The strongest growth rates were found in the Central/Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region at 23.7 percent and the Latin America/Caribbean region at 17.4 percent. Europe held the largest share of global CCE spend, followed by Asia Pacific; the United States; Central/Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa; Latin America/Caribbean and Canada. In this year’s index, Asia Pacific’s spending share surpassed the United States’ for the first time.



As financial institutions around the world look to optimize their commercial payment programs, the CCE data provides a valuable tool to help show where businesses and governments are spending.



India has been estimated to have one of the highest growth shares of $2.6 trillion in Asia Pacific in 2008.



In the current economic climate, governments and businesses are focused on reducing costs by streamlining their purchasing and payment processes. The annual Visa CCE report provides valuable insight into areas with strong commercial activity as organizations and economies work to overcome the global crisis. We are aware that business spending is a major economic driver – when businesses are spending, they are helping the economies in which they operate. Visa has worked with various government ministries, businesses and financial institutions across the world to streamline these processes to help drive efficiency and higher economic growth.

CCE Methodology.



The CCE index captures business-to-business purchases to acquire goods and services used in production, wholesale and retail purchases of final goods, business capital expenditures and government spending on goods and services. Adjustments are made to exclude capitalized expenditures such as construction and durable defense spending. Calculations measure transactions at basic prices, which include taxes on production. Retroactive adjustments are made as necessary to include revisions in officially published statistics and economic data for current and prior years.



Data sources used to calculate the Indian CCE index include the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and Indian Census Bureau, which conducts the Retail and Wholesale Trade Surveys. A variety of data sources were used in the calculation of the Global CCE index including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Eurostat database, the Structural Analysis (STAN) database, the General Government Accounts from the National Accounts of OECD Countries, the United Nations Statistics Division National Accounts Main Aggregates Database, Economist Intelligence Unit proprietary databases and government data from several countries. A model developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit was used to estimate results for countries where government data was unavailable.

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