Friday, October 29, 2010

Report: 20 Percent of Cardholders Use Birthday as PIN

It has been reported that many people are using very weak numbers for their credit and debit card PIN, making it easy for thieves and fraudsters to be able to access their accounts. A study was recently carried out, and officials said that one fifth of cardholders were using their birthdays as their PIN, which is an obvious choice that would easily be rumbled by someone that got their hands on the card.
The study also found that people are very careless with their PIN, and around 13 percent kept their PIN written down on a piece of paper, which they then kept in their purse or wallet along with the card itself. Over 1500 people were polled as part of the study. Officials said that the results seemed to show that whilst people were becoming increasingly stringent when it came to their online banking and accounts they were still very lax with their offline accounts.
Another 17 percent of those polled said that they kept their PIN stored on their mobile phones in case they forgot the number whilst they were out. Worryingly, 25 percent of people said that they set the same PIN on all of their credit and debit cards, which means that of someone got hold of the PIN they could access all of their cards rather than just one.
Speaking of people using their birthdates one researcher said: “I would strongly advise against this. You need to select a number that is memorable to you, but not known by other people, or just learn the PIN that the bank provides you with. Consumers who pay for items on a credit or debit card with a PIN are just as vulnerable to identity theft as people who sign for payments. It’s not rocket science; having your PIN written somewhere in your purse or wallet, right next to your credit or debit card, is asking for trouble.”

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Visa Meeting Threat from Alternative/Mobile Payments Head On

Visa Debit logoImage via Wikipedia

From the Editors of American Banker


Visa Inc. said it is prepared to confront alternative and mobile payments head on.

Notably, Visa has talked up its July purchase of CyberSource Corp. as giving it the tools to respond to the constantly evolving e-commerce and mobile payment space. It has also worked with DeviceFidelity Inc. to put Visa payment capabilities in mobile phones through a microSD data card that consumers can install themselves.

Visa discussed its plans during a conference call Wednesday to address its earnings for its fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Its call came as PayPal unveiled multiple new initiatives this week to expand its own influence in mobile payments.
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Mobile Phones Emerge as Security Threat Targets

sponsored by Trend Micro, Inc.
Posted: 26 Oct 2010
Published: 26 Oct 2010
Format: PDF
Length: 6  Page(s)
Type: White Paper
Language: English
ABSTRACT:
Today’s technology-driven market has given way to the proliferation of mobile phones with advanced features to cater to consumers’ need to stay connected. It is thus not surprising that the worldwide mobile phone sales has increased. Based on Gartner research, the mobile phone sales increased by 13.8 percent in the second quarter of 2010 while the smartphone sales marked a 50.5 percent growth. Symbian was the most popular smartphone OS, accounting for a 41.2 percent share, though Android was the most popular OS in the United States.

 

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PCI Security Standards Council Releases Version 2.0 of the PCI Data Security Standard and Payment Application Data Security Standard

http://www.pcisecuritystandards.org—Feedback from global stakeholders shapes revisions; new standards and website ease implementation for merchants—
WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), today released version 2.0 of the PCI DSS and PA-DSS. Reflecting input from the Council’s global stakeholders, this latest version is designed to provide greater clarity and flexibility to facilitate improved understanding of the requirements and eased implementation for merchants. Version 2.0 becomes effective on January 1, 2011.
“The nature of the changes is a testament to the strength and growing global maturity of the standards as a framework for securing cardholder data”
The updated standards were the main topic of discussion at the Council’s Annual Community Meetings in Orlando, Florida and Barcelona, Spainwhere, in the last stage of the lifecycle process, stakeholders had the opportunity for final review of the standards. More than 1,500 people from 600 organizations around the world participated in these gatherings, adding to the thousands of pieces of feedback the Council received from merchants, banks, processors and the PCI community throughout the development process.
summary of changes to the standards was shared with the market prior to the release, highlighting the main types of revisions that include clarifications, additional guidance and evolving requirements.
Version 2.0 does not introduce any new major requirements. The majority of changes are modifications to the language, which clarify the meaning of the requirements and make understanding and adoption easier for merchants. Key revisions serve to reinforce the need for a thorough scoping exercise prior to assessment in order to understand where cardholder data resides; promote more effective log management in securing cardholder data; allow organizations to adopt a risk-based approach when assessing and prioritizing vulnerabilities that is based on their specific business circumstances; and accommodate the unique environments of small merchants to simplify their compliance efforts.
The standards, detailed summary of changes and supporting documentation can be found at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/documents.php.
“The nature of the changes is a testament to the strength and growing global maturity of the standards as a framework for securing cardholder data,” said Bob Russo, general manager of the Council. “I want to thank each and every individual and organization who contributed to the development of these standards. It’s their input that’s critical in making the PCI Security Standards an excellent baseline for protecting payment card data.”
In addition to the standards documents, the Council has also launched a new website with updated materials and navigational tools aimed at providing its diverse stakeholders with the targeted information they need to understand the standards and how to apply them in their organizations. As part of a broader initiative to help small merchants develop their PCI security programs, it also includes a dedicated site for this key group with resources to address their unique environments.
The release of version 2.0 begins the new three year lifecycle for standards development, which streamlines the development process by aligning DSS, PA-DSS and PTS on a similar three year schedule. The lifecycle also allows for minor revisions or errata to be issued throughout the cycle as necessary.
The new standards are effective January 1, 2011, but validation against the previous version of the standard (1.2.1) will be allowed until December 31, 2011. This gives stakeholders more time to understand and implement the new versions of the standards as well as provide feedback throughout the process. However, the Council encourages organizations to transition to the updated version as soon as possible. From January 1, 2012 and moving forward, all assessments must be under version 2.0 of the standards.
The Council also invites Participating Organizations and the public to a webinar that covers the updated standards in greater depth, followed by a Q&A session with representatives from the Council’s Technical Working Group. Registration details can be found here:
November 9, 3:00 p.m. ET / noon PT (Participating Organizations only)
November 11, 11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT (Participating Organizations only)
For More Information:
For more information on the PCI Security Standards Council and how to become a Participating Organization, please visit www.pcisecuritystandards.org or contact the PCI SSC Secretariat atsecretariat@pcisecuritystandards.org.
About the PCI Security Standards Council
The mission of the PCI Security Standards Council is to enhance payment account security by driving education and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard and other standards that increase payment data security.
The PCI Security Standards Council was formed by the major payment card brands American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. to provide a transparent forum in which all stakeholders can provide input into the ongoing development, enhancement and dissemination of the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS), PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS). Merchants, banks, processors and other vendors are encouraged to join as participating organizations.

Contacts

PCI Security Standards Council
Laura K. Johnson, +1-781-876-6250
press@pcisecuritystandards.org
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101028006605/en/PCI-Security-Standards-Council-Releases-Version-2.0

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

VeriFone and RSA to Deliver Comprehensive End-to-End Payment Card Security Service

http://www.verifone.comStrategic Partnership to Market VeriFone’s VeriShield Protect and RSA SafeProxy™ Architecture from EMC’s Security Division as All-Encompassing Solution Framework to Protect Data In-flight and At-Rest
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriFone Systems, Inc., (NYSE: PAY) and RSA, The Security Division of EMC (NYSE: EMC), today announced a strategic partnership to market their end-to-end encryption and tokenization solutions as an integrated payment security offering to be branded VeriShield Total Protect.
“RSA and VeriFone are combining to solve this problem and let merchants focus on meeting customer needs, not mastering security protocols. VeriFone’s and RSA’s industry pedigrees create a gold-standard offering that processors and merchants can unify around as a single, stable answer to their security concerns.”
When implemented, VeriShield Total Protect will use industry-proven security technology and leverage electronic payment systems deployed in the majority of merchants world-wide to provide a consistent, consolidated approach to protecting payment card data from end-to-end, both pre- and post-authorization.
“Until today, merchants have had to navigate among a variety of technical offerings in order to protect customers and meet compliance requirements for credit card transactions,” said VeriFone CEO Douglas G. Bergeron. “RSA and VeriFone are combining to solve this problem and let merchants focus on meeting customer needs, not mastering security protocols. VeriFone’s and RSA’s industry pedigrees create a gold-standard offering that processors and merchants can unify around as a single, stable answer to their security concerns.”
In addition to proven technology, the goal of the strategic partnership is to bring extensive implementation and business enablement resources to processors to ensure successful deployment of the service within their infrastructure and sales channels. This will ensure broad availability and a deployment model that offers the greatest degree of risk reduction and PCI DSS scope reduction.
Processors will market the solution to merchants as a means to reduce cost and effort associated with PCI compliance, gain new abilities to safely use transaction data to support customer analytics and drastically reduce their overall risk profile. VeriFone’s VeriShield Hidden Encryption (VHE) preserves both data format and data field structure, so end-to-end encryption can be implemented without major retrofit with existing retailer POS systems. Elements of RSA’s SafeProxy™ architecture tokenize card data for safe storage and use by merchants post-authorization.
RSA President Art Coviello added, “Our collaboration advances the development of a payment industry ecosystem with pervasive built-in security. Our joint solution will ensure that payment processors don’t have to make compromises and can deliver a service that confidently answers their customers data security concerns. By delivering this service, we will enable processors to focus on innovating to serve their merchant customer base, not on becoming security experts.”
VeriFone will be offering VHE algorithms royalty-free to any point-of-sale producer interested in offering their customers compatibility with VeriShield Total Protect.
About RSA
RSA, The Security Division of EMC, is the premier provider of security, risk and compliance management solutions for business acceleration. RSA helps the world’s leading organizations succeed by solving their most complex and sensitive security challenges. These challenges include managing organizational risk, safeguarding mobile access and collaboration, proving compliance, and securing virtual and cloud environments.
Combining business-critical controls in identity assurance, encryption & key management, SIEM, Data Loss Prevention and Fraud Protection with industry leading eGRC capabilities and robust consulting services, RSA brings visibility and trust to millions of user identities, the transactions that they perform and the data that is generated. For more information, please visit www.RSA.comand www.EMC.com.
RSA, SafeProxy and EMC are either registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
VeriFone Systems, Inc. (“VeriFone”) (NYSE: PAY) is the global leader in secure electronic payment solutions. VeriFone provides expertise, solutions and services that add value to the point of sale with merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service payment systems for the financial, retail, hospitality, petroleum, government and healthcare vertical markets. VeriFone solutions are designed to meet the needs of merchants, processors and acquirers in developed and emerging economies worldwide.

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VeriFone® Teams up with PayPal for Mobile Payments

Image representing PayPal as depicted in Crunc...Image via CrunchBase

PayPal™ Bets it's Future on Mobile Payments
(Don't forget PIN Debit!)

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--INNOVATE 2010 -- At its second annual developer conference today, PayPal announced new mobile technologies and business relationships that will change the way people will shop and pay.
“Mobile commerce is the most significant change in retailing in the last century, and shopping will never be the same”
PayPal is a leader in mobile payments. The company offers mobile apps for iPhone®, Android® and Blackberry®, as well as tools to help developers and merchants build mobile-commerce solutions. PayPal expects more than $700 million in mobile payments to go through its system by the end of 2010.
“Mobile commerce is the most significant change in retailing in the last century, and shopping will never be the same,” said Osama Bedier, PayPal’s vice president of platform, mobile and new ventures. “PayPal is aggressively driving this change by redefining checkout on mobile devices for millions of consumers and businesses across the world.”
Mobile Express Checkout
PayPal announced the availability of Mobile Express Checkout, a secure two-click checkout experience on a mobile device. Consumers will have the ability to opt-in and remain logged in across apps to make purchasing even faster. The solution is easy to deploy for any merchants who already have Express Checkout on their online stores. Beta merchants have reported double-digit sales growth on their mobile stores after adding Mobile Express Checkout.
Starbucks will use Mobile Express Checkout for quick and easy reload of Starbucks Cards directly from its Starbucks Card Mobile app for iPhone and iPod touch®.
Beta merchants have reported double-digit sales growth on their mobile stores after adding Mobile Express Checkout. PayPal also announced that guest payments, the ability to accept credit card payments in addition to PayPal, will be integrated into Mobile Express Checkout in the first quarter of next year.
Mobile Payments Library
PayPal is adding key functionality to the Mobile Payments Library by supporting preapproved, chain and split payments. Developers can now use preapproved payments for subscription-based business models and use split and chained payments to take a cut of transactions between buyers and sellers. As with Mobile Express Checkout, consumers can opt-in and remain logged in across apps to make purchasing even faster.
PayPal Mobile for iPhone® 3.0
A new location-based feature allows PayPal iPhone app users to find businesses accepting PayPal wherever they happen to be. Merchants can attract nearby customers to their stores by sending deals and promotions to customers’ phones, and customers can pay for goods or services at local outlets with PayPal or a BlingTag® from Bling Nation. This new local service is initially available in beta in the San Francisco Bay Area. Interested merchants or service providers can sign up at www.paypal-labs.com/local.
VeriFone®
VeriFone is joining the PayPal developer ecosystem and will be the first device manufacturer to collaborate with PayPal to offer merchants the ability to take credit card and PayPal payments anywhere using its PAYWare mobile merchant app. The new service will also let customers “bump to pay” using functionality from Bump Technologies built into the PayPal app and the PAYWare app. This will allow the millions of PayPal merchants who have both an online and offline presence to accept payments wherever they happen to be.
Appcelerator®
PayPal has teamed up with Appcelerator, the leading platform for mobile, desktop and iPad™ applications, to make it easy for PayPal’s 8 million merchants to create mobile commerce apps. Appcelerator allows merchants to build apps on all three major mobile platforms (iOS, Android™ and BlackBerry®) from one Web code base. PayPal and Appcelerator expect to launch the joint mobile commerce offering in 2011.
About PayPal Mobile
PayPal, a division of eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY), has been delivering mobile payments since 2005 and has a mobile app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones, as well as SMS and WAP-based payments solutions. PayPal offers merchants an easy way for shoppers to checkout on mobile websites via Mobile Express Checkout and mobile developers can use PayPal for in-app payments using PayPal's Mobile Payments Library. In 2009, $141 million in payments were transacted over PayPal's mobile applications and PayPal expects to close out 2010 with more than $700 million in mobile payment volume from 5 million PayPal members worldwide.
eBay Inc. launched its first application for the iPhone in July 2008 and has since become a leader in mobile commerce. Its core iPhone application, which is available free via iTunes® in eight languages and 190 countries, has been downloaded more than 12 million times and allows users to fully browse and buy without leaving the application. The eBay app for the iPad debuted in the top ten most downloaded free iPad apps in the iTunes Store and delivers a dramatically different, visually compelling shopping experience to browse and purchase the vast selection of products available on eBay. eBay’s suite of mobile apps, including Selling, Classifieds, StubHub and Deals, make selling and buying possible virtually anywhere, anytime. In 2009, eBay’s mobile gross merchandise volume (GMV) – the value of all goods sold – was more than $600 million. eBay expects to generate $1.5 billion in GMV through mobile commerce in 2010. For more information on eBay mobile, visit www.ebay.com/mobile.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements relating to the future performance of eBay’s businesses that are based on its current expectations, forecasts and assumptions. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future growth in mobile commerce. Those statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, consumer acceptance and use of eBay’s mobile applications.
More information about potential factors which could affect our business and results is included in eBay's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, its Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other periodic filings. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to eBay on the date hereof, and eBay assumes no obligation to update such statements.
All designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

PayPal
Anuj Nayar, 408-967-5730
Director, Global Communications at PayPal
anayar@paypal.com
or
Access Communications for PayPal
Meagan McCrystle, 415-516-3029
mmccrystle@accesspr.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101026006316/en/PayPal%E2%84%A2-Developers-Push-Mobile-Mainstream

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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Acculynk Announces Eric M. Hoffman as Executive Vice President of National Merchant Sales

Acculynk Announces Executive Vice President of National Merchant Sales

Atlanta, GA, October 20, 2010 –ePayment News Blog-  Acculynk today announced that Eric M. Hoffman, former Senior Vice President at Bank of America Merchant Services, has joined the company as Executive Vice President of National Merchant Sales.



Acculynk is the first provider of a software-only service for Internet PIN debit, PaySecure®, which is implemented directly into the merchant checkout page and gives online shoppers the option of using their bank-issued PIN to authenticate their debit card transaction.

Acculynk distributes PaySecure to Internet merchants through partnerships with leading payment processors, ISOs and pay page providers. As Executive Vice President of National Merchant Sales, Mr. Hoffman will manage Acculynk‟s primary distribution channels and develop new business in the form of reseller partnerships and acquisition of top-tier eCommerce merchants.

“PaySecure‟s lower fees, lower fraud and incremental volume has created a high demand with U.S. merchants. Leading acquirers who are working to retain current clients and gain new business are seeing PaySecure as an ideal „product‟ hook,” said Mr. Hoffman. “I am excited to be a part of what has quickly become the standard for Internet PIN debit.”

As Senior Vice President at Bank of America Merchant Services, Mr. Hoffman was responsible for leading the company‟s eCommerce sales organization and developing corporate strategy within the recenlty formed joint venture between First Data & Bank of America. Previous to the joint venture Mr. Hoffman held the role of Senior Vice President, Strategic Accounts at First Data where he managed many of the company‟ largest issuer relationships. Prior to First Data, Mr. Hoffman held senior leadership positions at WildCard Systems, Inc., and Kessler Financial Services.

“Eric comes to Acculynk with substantial experience managing channels and selling to the most premier eCommerce merchants,” said Ashish Bahl, CEO of Acculynk. “His knowledge, skills and personality are an exact fit with what we were looking for in this newly created role, and we are pleased he has chosen to join our progressive team.”

About Acculynk

Acculynk secures online transactions with a suite of software-only services backed by a patented authentication and encryption framework provide greater security for issuers, EFT networks, merchants and payment processors. Acculynk has introduced the first product for Internet PIN debit payments, PaySecure®, which utilizes a graphical PIN-pad for the secure entry of a consumer‟s PIN. PaySecure is currently enabled on over 1,000 merchant websites. Acculynk has partnerships with 9 EFT networks to process PaySecure transactions and with six leading payment processors to distribute the product. Visit http://www.acculynk.com.

Contact:

Danielle Duclos, Acculynk

(678) 894-7013, press@acculynk.com
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VeriFone Extends Mobile Payments Acceptance with PayPal

Traditional Card Payments to Integrate with PayPal Mobile Payments

PayPal Mobile App to Work with VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile for iPhone
VeriFone’s App to Support Bump
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced that it will expand PayPal payment acceptance in the mobile environment and further integrate the worlds of online and traditional card-based payments.
http://www.verifone.com“VeriFone is a proven leader in payments point of sale and we're excited to have them in the PayPal ecosystem”
During PayPal X Innovate 2010, the companies showcased the planned integration of PayPal payment with VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile card encryption sleeve for iPhone and announced:
  • PayPal’s merchant acceptance application will be enhanced to support traditional card-based payments using VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile card encryption
  • The PAYware Mobile App will be enhanced to support PayPal Bump technology that enables iPhone users to bump their phones together to transfer money between them
  • VeriFone will, upon integration, promote PayPal and Bump acceptance to its vast reseller channel
  • PayPal will market VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile to its user base
  • The planned integration by VeriFone will enhance its PAYware Connect payment gateway service to provide merchants with integrated transaction reports for PayPal and traditional card payments
“Rapid adoption of mobile payments makes it possible to further align PayPal payments with traditional card-based transactions at the physical point of sale,” said Jeff Dumbrell, VeriFone executive vice president.
“VeriFone is a proven leader in payments point of sale and we're excited to have them in the PayPal ecosystem,” said Osama Bedier, PayPal’s vice president of platform, mobile and new ventures. “Online and offline are quickly converging and, with this new business relationship, both merchants and consumers will benefit, upon integration, from the ability to use the mobile wallet anytime, anywhere.”
The integrated capabilities are expected to be available next year.
About VeriFone Systems, Inc. (www.verifone.com)
VeriFone Systems, Inc. (“VeriFone”) (NYSE: PAY) is the global leader in secure electronic payment solutions. VeriFone provides expertise, solutions and services that add value to the point of sale with merchant-operated, consumer-facing and self-service payment systems for the financial, retail, hospitality, petroleum, government and healthcare vertical markets. VeriFone solutions are designed to meet the needs of merchants, processors and acquirers in developed and emerging economies worldwide.

Contacts

VeriFone
Pete Bartolik, 508-283-4112
pete_bartolik@verifone.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101026005862/en/VeriFone-Extends-Mobile-Payments-Acceptance-PayPal

Discover Financial Services and Moneris Solutions Announce Canada Agreement

http://www.discoverfinancial.comDeal to expand Discover acceptance footprint in Canada
RIVERWOODS, Ill. & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Discover Financial Services and Moneris Solutions, Canada’s largest merchant acquirer, today announced the signing of an agreement to expand Discover acceptance in Canada. Beginning next year, the deal will provide Moneris Solutions merchant customers with access to the millions of cardmembers and billions in spending of the Discover and Diners Club International networks.
“We are excited to be the first payments processor to offer Discover acceptance to the merchant community in Canada”
"This relationship with Canada’s largest merchant acquirer marks a significant merchant growth opportunity for Discover in Canada,” said Gerry Wagner, Vice President of Global Acceptance at Discover. “We plan to aggressively expand our acceptance footprint in the coming years throughout Canada – a popular travel destination for our cardmembers – and provide cardmembers from all over the world with the ability to use their cards at merchants throughout the country.”
"We are excited to be the first payments processor to offer Discover acceptance to the merchant community in Canada,” said David Ades, SVP, Sales and Marketing at Moneris Solutions. “Discover provides a way for merchants to maximize their business growth opportunities through the millions of international travelers that enter Canada every year.”
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company operates the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal and student loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its Discover Bank subsidiary. Its payment businesses consist of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit http://www.discoverfinancial.com.
About Moneris Solutions
As one of North America’s largest providers of payment processing solutions, Moneris offers credit, debit, wireless and online payment services for merchants in virtually every industry segment and processes more than three billion transactions annually. Through its Ernex division, Moneris offers electronic loyalty and stored-value gift card programs. With more than 350,000 merchant locations, Moneris provides the hardware, software and systems needed to improve business efficiency and manage payments. For more information, visit http://www.moneris.com.

Contacts

Discover
Laura Gingiss, 224-405-0185
lauragingiss@discover.com
or
Moneris Solutions
Santo Ligotti, 416-734-1583
santo.ligotti@moneris.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101026005424/en/Discover-Financial-Services-Moneris-Solutions-Announce-Canada

Credit Services Industry Posting Surprising Profits

The Bedford Report Provides Analyst Research on MasterCard & Capital One

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - October 25, 2010) -  Investors have been watching the Credit Services Industry very closely this earnings season as companies have been adjusting to new regulatory laws. Legislation has restricted fees garnered by transactions when consumers use their cards for purchases. With consumers borrowing less and new legislation poised to negatively affect the credit card industry, companies have had to develop new revenue drivers. Then earlier this month, the Justice Department threw another set of hurdles at the industry. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Credit Services Industry and provides research reports on MasterCard, Inc. (NYSEMA) and Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSECOF). Access to the full company reports can be found at:
Earlier in the month, the Justice Department filed suit against Visa, MasterCard and American Express, accusing them of violating antitrust laws. Visa and MasterCard agreed to settle, and will let merchants offer discounts to consumers who use cheaper types of credit or debit cards. Unbeknownst to many card holders, the fees that merchants must pay to processing networks can vary depending on the type of card being used. The Department of Justice claims that the credit card processors' practice of preventing merchants from giving discounts to customers who use smaller fee cards is an anti-competitive manoeuvre.
The Bedford Report releases regular market updates on the Credit Services Industry so investors can stay ahead of the crowd and make the best investment decisions to maximize their returns. Take a few minutes to register with us for free at www.bedfordreport.com and get exclusive access to our numerous analyst reports and industry newsletters.
Not mentioned in the Justice Department's suit was Capital One. Last week, COF announced third quarter earnings of $803 million, or $1.76 a share, compared with net income of $394 million, or 87 cents a share, in the year ago period. The company claimed that a decline in U.S. credit-card delinquencies helped boost profits.
The Bedford Report provides Analyst Research focused on equities that offer growth opportunities, value, and strong potential return. We strive to provide the most up-to-date market activities. We constantly create research reports and newsletters for our members. The Bedford Report has not been compensated by any of the above mentioned publicly traded companies. The Bedford Report is compensated by other third party organizations for advertising services. We act as an independent research portal and are aware that all investment entails inherent risks. Please view the full disclaimer at http://www.bedfordreport.com/disclaimer
Contact:
The Bedford Report
Email Contact

First Data and CardinalCommerce Launch New System for Alternative Payments

Source: CardinalCommerce Corporation
MENTOR, Ohio, Oct. 25, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CardinalCommerce and First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today announced a new payment system for merchants using First Data's Compass payment processing solution. This new system will allow online merchants to use their existing credit and debit systems to seamlessly accept and process alternative payments transactions through services like PayPal Express Checkout.

This new system will significantly reduce the work required by merchants to accept PayPal and other alternative payment types in eCommerce environments. Previously merchants were required to maintain separate payment systems outside of their core credit and debit processing. By integrating with First Data's Compass solution and CardinalCommerce, merchants that accept PayPal now have the ability to process payments through their existing credit card infrastructure. In addition to streamlined processing, merchants are also able to easily combine order management, customer service and reporting of each alternative payment type within their core business.

"Success in the eCommerce marketplace requires the ability to seamlessly accept a broad range of payment types, including alternative payments like PayPal," said Souheil Badran, SVP and division manager, First Data. "First Data's integrated solution expedites implementation, adheres to compliance requirements and minimizes shopping cart abandonment."

First Data's Compass payment solution provides card-not-present merchants with a comprehensive suite of payment methods to accommodate the diverse needs of eCommerce merchants and their customers. The Compass solution delivers advanced capabilities designed to expand business globally, protect against fraud, lower cost, and simplify management and reporting.

"We are pleased to bring PayPal to online merchants utilizing CardinalCommerce and First Data's Compass solution," said Eddie Davis, senior director of strategic alliances at PayPal. "First Data enables payment processing for its millions of customers, and Cardinal Commerce is a PayPal-Certified Integration Partner. Together, we're providing merchants with the products and services they need to deliver a world-class transaction experience to their customers."

About First Data
First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the aggregate data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.

About CardinalCommerce
CardinalCommerce Corporation is the global leader in enabling authenticated payments, secure transactions and alternative payment brands for both eCommerce and mobile commerce.


The Cardinal Centinel® software platform enables payment brands, such as Verified by Visa, MasterCard® SecureCode™, Amazon Payments™, Bill2Phone™, Bill Me Later®, ClickandBuy®, Cred-Ex®, Ebates™, eBillme™, eLayaway™, Google™ Checkout, Green Dot® MoneyPak®, Mazooma™, Moneybookers, MyECheck, NACHA® Secure Vault Payments (SVP), NYCE® SafeDebit™, OneTouch Online Purchasing™, Paymate, PayPal™, paysafecard, RevolutionCard™, Rialto Pay SM, SafetyPay™, TeleCheck®, and Ukash™ , to a network of thousands of merchants and merchant service providers.
The Cardinal MAX™ mobile platform provides retailers, financial institutions and processors the ability to extend traditional commerce, marketing and banking into the mobile channel. Cardinal MAX™ Customers are able to safely and securely conduct business in the mobile space via SMS, mobile internet and mobile applications.


CardinalCommerce is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. With facilities in the United States, Europe and Africa, Cardinal services a worldwide Customer base. For more information, visitwww.cardinalcommerce.com.
The CardinalCommerce logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=697

CONTACT:  CardinalCommerce Corporation
          Media Contact:
          Tim Sherwin, Co-Founder, EVP, CMO
          877.352.8444
          Tsherwin@cardinalcommerce.com

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