Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Kaspersky Co-Founder Eugene Kaspersky Recommends using Peripheral Card Readers for ALL Internet Banking Users

Feature Story:

Finally, a major player in the world of web security has gone on the record stating what I have stated on this blog since Day One.

Eugene Kaspersky: introduce ID system for all Internet users

According to an interview conducted by PC Authority, Eugene Kaspersky is advocating the use of hardware confirmation, known better as 'hardware IDs', for Internet banking, saying that some Baltic countries and some British banks already have them in use today. (Editor's Note: 29 out of 100 Europeans use a card reader for online banking)

"They need to have these hardware IDs for everyone," Kaspersky says, calling for mass adoption of peripheral card readers for all internet banking users. The idea sounds simple, but the setup could be "costly" for banks.

Editor's Note: "Costly" is relative. How costly is fraud? How costly are the measures used to combat phishing? How costly is it to lose the trust of consumers? How costly is each customer they lose? How much do attorneys cost to defend cases such as the PlainsCapital vs.Hillary Machinery? How costly are promotional programs that give away $100 to open an online banking account? I guarantee you that at the end of the day, issuing a card reader costs exponentially less. In addition the card reader can be branded with the bank's name and creates recurring revenue to the bank in the form of interchange. (each transaction conducted with our device earns the bank revenue they are NOT earning using the antiquated username/password fiasco.

The writing is on the wall. Online banking is dangerous and the only way to securely authenticate the online banking customer is to replicate the same process used by banks to disperse funds from ATM's. Swipe your bank-issued card and enter your bank-issued PIN into a bank-issued card reader. Based on the fact that HomeATM manufacturers the ONLY PCI 2.0 Certified PIN Entry Device designed specifically for online banking, eCommerce and mCommerce, the decision on who to use becomes easy.

Kaspersky envisions a world where many of us, whether we like it or not will use ID card readers as a type of digital passport.

The idea behind these devices is that physical counter-measures are much harder for a cyber criminal to infiltrate. "Banks could be big drivers of this kind of hardware", says Kaspersky. In Australia, hardware tokens have been introduced in the past by some banks as a security measure.

Kaspersky Co-Founder Eugene Kaspersky Recommends using Peripheral Card Readers for ALL Internet Banking Users

Feature Story:

The idea behind these devices is that physical counter-measures are much harder for a cyber criminal to infiltrate. "Banks could be big drivers of this kind of hardware", says Kaspersky. In Australia, hardware tokens have been introduced in the past by some banks as a security measure.

Clicks Out Pace Bricks 4:1 in Q1

E-retail puts together back-to-back double-digit growth quarters

Internet Retailer: The double-digit growth in e-commerce in the fourth quarter was no fluke: The U.S. Commerce Department reported today that e-commerce sales grew 14.3% in the first quarter, following the fourth’s quarter 14.6% gain. It was the first time since the first quarter of 2008 that e-commerce sales grew by more than 10% year over year for two quarters in a row.

The Commerce Department figures also show the continuing shift of retail sales to the web. While e-commerce grew 14.3% compared to the first quarter of 2009, after adjusting for seasonal variations, total retail sales grew only 6.3%. Sales at stores, excluding grocery stores, grew only 3.42%, meaning that e-retail grew at more than four times the rate of the stores that web retailers mainly compete against.

Put another way, 7.95% of Q1 retail sales took place online, not counting purchases of groceries, automobiles, fuel oil and restaurant meals that rarely take place on the web. That was up from 7.20% in the first quarter of 2009.

Continue Reading at Internet Retailer.com

Clicks Out Pace Bricks 4:1 in Q1

E-retail puts together back-to-back double-digit growth quarters

The Commerce Department figures also show the continuing shift of retail sales to the web. While e-commerce grew 14.3% compared to the first quarter of 2009, after adjusting for seasonal variations, total retail sales grew only 6.3%. Sales at stores, excluding grocery stores, grew only 3.42%, meaning that e-retail grew at more than four times the rate of the stores that web retailers mainly compete against.

Put another way, 7.95% of Q1 retail sales took place online, not counting purchases of groceries, automobiles, fuel oil and restaurant meals that rarely take place on the web. That was up from 7.20% in the first quarter of 2009.

Continue Reading at Internet Retailer.com

Online Phishing Scams Get Personal, Experts Caution

If we swiped vs. typed there would be nothing to phish phor...

We offer the only PCI 2.0 Certified PIN Entry Device

designed specifically for online banking authentication,

eCommerce and mCommerce use. (USB & DTMF)

	Online Phishing Scams Get Personal, Experts Caution
	(from Yahoo at 5-18-2010)
	In a new phishing trend, spammers are focusing on individualized attacks. Recipients may be deceived into thinking the message is from a friend, but these spammers want access to their credit card accounts. Phishing is a common scamming practice that involves emailing users under false pretenses with the aim of tricking them into revealing their private information. The emails feature the recipients' names in the subject lines, claim to have seen them at Starbucks, and ask them to click on... read more»

Online Phishing Scams Get Personal, Experts Caution

	Online Phishing Scams Get Personal, Experts Caution
	(from Yahoo at 5-18-2010)
	In a new phishing trend, spammers are focusing on individualized attacks. Recipients may be deceived into thinking the message is from a friend, but these spammers want access to their credit card accounts. Phishing is a common scamming practice that involves emailing users under false pretenses with the aim of tricking them into revealing their private information. The emails feature the recipients' names in the subject lines, claim to have seen them at Starbucks, and ask them to click on... read more»

Card Industry May Face Rate Caps in ‘Volcanic’ Senate Eruption

By Peter Eichenbaum

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Credit-card firms caught off-guard by U.S. Senate passage of curbs on debit fees are facing what one executive sees as a “volcanic” eruption of legislation, including possible curbs on interest rates.

Continue Reading at Bloomberg Businessweek

Card Industry May Face Rate Caps in ‘Volcanic’ Senate Eruption

Central Bank of Oman Selects ACI BASE24-eps for National ATM/POS Switch

Source: ACI Worldwide, Inc.

NEW YORK, May 17, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACI Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACIW), leading international provider of electronic payments software and solutions, today announced that Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has selected BASE24-eps® as the foundation for the new national switch in Oman. BASE24-eps is ACI's market-leading software for online payments processing. The CBO has also selected ACI Simulation Services for Enterprise Testing™ (ASSET) which will be used by the bank internally for testing, as well as by the national switch member banks for the certification process with CBO. BASE24-eps will be the retail payments engine for the debit processing platform, providing intelligent transaction authentication, authorisation and routing capabilities. The project involves consolidating the previous two independent switches into one central solution under the ownership of the Central Bank, and migrating all financial institutions onto the common platform. It will be processing volumes of approximately 5 million ATM and POS transactions per month. The new system will be able to handle EMV transactions, and the project includes a national roll-out of EMV technology for all financial institutions in Oman. A senior official from CBO said, "This is a significant investment in the infrastructure of Oman, and we wanted to invest in the best technologies in the market to deliver a future-proof system. It needed to provide multi-currency and multi-institution support, as well as the essential real-time message switching for authorization and international network connections. The state of the art BASE24-eps has shown it is capable of supporting the very largest systems, and was the obvious choice for a project of this importance." Ralph Dangelmaier, president, global markets and services at ACI Worldwide, said, "The Central Bank of Oman outlined its plans for a national payment system in 2003, and this final project is the culmination of that work. The CBO recognises the vital role technology can play, and the agility, reliability and scalability of BASE24-eps will help the bank deliver the solution it needs to the entire country." ACI will be delivering the project, with support from HP, the prime contractor for the services, along with Industrial Management Technology and Contracting (IMTAC) LLC as a local partner. For more information about BASE24-eps please visit www.aciworldwide.com/BASE24-eps. For more information on ASSET please visit www.aciworldwide.com/ASSET. About ACI Worldwide, Inc. ACI Worldwide is a leading provider of software and services solutions to initiate, manage, secure and operate electronic payments for financial institutions, retailers and processors around the world. ACI offers a vision for the future of an integrated solution that can meet all their payment needs – from a single service to a complete toolset. ACI products deliver payment processing, online banking, fraud prevention and detection, and back-office services, providing agility, reliability, manageability and scale to customers around the world. Visit ACI Worldwide at www.aciworldwide.com. CONTACT: ACI Worldwide Catherine Eyres +44 (0) 1923 812741 Catherine.eyres@aciworldwide.com

Central Bank of Oman Selects ACI BASE24-eps for National ATM/POS Switch

Source: ACI Worldwide, Inc.

NEW YORK, May 17, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACI Worldwide, Inc. (Nasdaq:ACIW), leading international provider of electronic payments software and solutions, today announced that Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has selected BASE24-eps® as the foundation for the new national switch in Oman. BASE24-eps is ACI's market-leading software for online payments processing. The CBO has also selected ACI Simulation Services for Enterprise Testing™ (ASSET) which will be used by the bank internally for testing, as well as by the national switch member banks for the certification process with CBO. BASE24-eps will be the retail payments engine for the debit processing platform, providing intelligent transaction authentication, authorisation and routing capabilities. The project involves consolidating the previous two independent switches into one central solution under the ownership of the Central Bank, and migrating all financial institutions onto the common platform. It will be processing volumes of approximately 5 million ATM and POS transactions per month. The new system will be able to handle EMV transactions, and the project includes a national roll-out of EMV technology for all financial institutions in Oman. A senior official from CBO said, "This is a significant investment in the infrastructure of Oman, and we wanted to invest in the best technologies in the market to deliver a future-proof system. It needed to provide multi-currency and multi-institution support, as well as the essential real-time message switching for authorization and international network connections. The state of the art BASE24-eps has shown it is capable of supporting the very largest systems, and was the obvious choice for a project of this importance." Ralph Dangelmaier, president, global markets and services at ACI Worldwide, said, "The Central Bank of Oman outlined its plans for a national payment system in 2003, and this final project is the culmination of that work. The CBO recognises the vital role technology can play, and the agility, reliability and scalability of BASE24-eps will help the bank deliver the solution it needs to the entire country." ACI will be delivering the project, with support from HP, the prime contractor for the services, along with Industrial Management Technology and Contracting (IMTAC) LLC as a local partner. For more information about BASE24-eps please visit www.aciworldwide.com/BASE24-eps. For more information on ASSET please visit www.aciworldwide.com/ASSET. About ACI Worldwide, Inc. ACI Worldwide is a leading provider of software and services solutions to initiate, manage, secure and operate electronic payments for financial institutions, retailers and processors around the world. ACI offers a vision for the future of an integrated solution that can meet all their payment needs – from a single service to a complete toolset. ACI products deliver payment processing, online banking, fraud prevention and detection, and back-office services, providing agility, reliability, manageability and scale to customers around the world. Visit ACI Worldwide at www.aciworldwide.com. CONTACT: ACI Worldwide Catherine Eyres +44 (0) 1923 812741 Catherine.eyres@aciworldwide.com

CardinalCommerce And EVERTEC Partner To Bring Online Merchants Access To Caribbean And Latin American Customers

MENTOR, Ohio, May 18, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CardinalCommerce Corporation, the worldwide-leading payment brand enabler, is pleased to announce its partnership with EVERTEC, Inc. and their recent certification with Verified by Visa and MasterCard® SecureCode^™. CardinalCommerce has integrated its Cardinal Centinel® Platform with EVERTEC's services to provide EVERTEC merchants with continued, strengthened support for Verified by Visa (VbV) and MasterCard SecureCode.

"We are pleased to add EVERTEC to the Centinel platform," said Janet Kapostasy, VP of Global Financial Institution Services at CardinalCommerce. "With its enhanced security and international market presence, EVERTEC is a highly attractive payment offering for Caribbean and Latin America customers."

Through the partnership, EVERTEC is able to leverage Cardinal's team, which provides active monitoring and quality assurance so participating merchants receive the maximum benefits of VbV and SecureCode -- including the potential for fraudulent chargeback protection and interchange savings. By utilizing Cardinal's hosted platform, EVERTEC customers will also have the benefit of improved reliability and speed for VbV and MasterCard SecureCode transactions, as well as the more than 25 alternative Payment Brands that Cardinal offers.

About EVERTEC, Inc.

EVERTEC, Inc. is a leading provider of transaction processing and outsourcing services including application processing, business process outsourcing and IT consulting to customers in 16 countries in a variety of industries. Other services also include payment, cash and item processing. EVERTEC's commitment with their business partners is to provide the highest quality solutions, adding value and operational efficiency to the financial, government, manufacturing, telecommunications and services institutions it serves.

Operating in nine countries within the Caribbean and Latin America, EVERTEC supports a variety of production platforms ranging from portable payment devices to high-end mainframe systems. EVERTEC's experience and knowledge make its offering the most comprehensive in these regions, enabling them to deliver single-source solutions to complex business problems through the integration of best-in-class components.

About CardinalCommerce

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

Cardinal Centinel^® enables payment brands such as Verified by Visa, MasterCard^® SecureCode^™, Amazon Payments^™, Bill Me Later^®, ClickandBuy^®, Cred-Ex^®, Ebates^™, eBillme^™, eLayaway^™, Google^™ Checkout, Green Dot^® MoneyPak^®, Mazooma^™, Moneta^®, MyECheck, NACHA^® Secure Vault Payments (SVP), NYCE^® SafeDebit^™, OneTouch Online Purchasing^™, paysafecard, PayPal^™, RevolutionCard^™, SafetyPay^™, TeleCheck^®, Ukash^®, and more to a network of thousands of merchants and merchant service providers.

Cardinal's mobile commerce platform, Cardinal MAX^™, makes it simple for retailers to sell and market products through the mobile channel. Cardinal's proprietary and easily deployable technology provides consumers, merchants, credit/debit card issuers, and processors the ability to conduct authenticated Internet, wireless and mobile transactions safely and securely.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with facilities in the United States, Europe, and Africa, Cardinal services a worldwide Customer base.

For more information, visit www.cardinalcommerce.com.

The CardinalCommerce logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=697

CONTACT:  CardinalCommerce Corporation
          Media contact:
          Janet L. Kapostasy, VP of Global Financial Institution Services 
          877.352.8444
          
 jkapostasy@cardinalcommerce.com

CardinalCommerce And EVERTEC Partner To Bring Online Merchants Access To Caribbean And Latin American Customers

About EVERTEC, Inc.

About CardinalCommerce

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

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with facilities in the United States, Europe, and Africa, Cardinal services a worldwide Customer base.

For more information, visit www.cardinalcommerce.com.

The CardinalCommerce logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=697

CONTACT:  CardinalCommerce Corporation
          Media contact:
          Janet L. Kapostasy, VP of Global Financial Institution Services 
          877.352.8444
          
 jkapostasy@cardinalcommerce.com

Web Site User Experience 2010: US Banks/Canadian Banks

For several years, Forrester has published annual reports that ranked public-facing bank sites from the perspective of an eBusiness professional. This year, their customer Experience research team collaborated with their eBusiness research team to create their own grading reports tailored to the unique needs of Customer Experience professionals. Here's a quick overview and links to learn more:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Forrester evaluated the user experience at the public-facing Web sites of the six leading US banks by assets: Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, PNC Financial Services, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. Overall scores were high, compared with the average for US sites in general. Bank of America led the pack, and Citibank followed close behind. The most common usability flaws we uncovered across all of the banks included inefficient task flows, illegible fonts, wasted space, and hard-to-find privacy and security policies. To improve the online user experiences they offer, and in the process differentiate from competitors, banks should follow the principles of Scenario Design, emphasize design basics, and move toward an online future where site content is customized, aggregated, relevant, and social.

Web Site User Experience 2010: US Banks

Harley Manning evaluated the user experience at the public-facing Web sites of the six leading US banks by assets: Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, PNC Financial Services, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. Overall scores were high, compared with the average for US sites in general.

Web Site User Experience 2010: Canadian Banks

Also in this report series, Ron Rogowski grades the user experience at the public-facing Web sites of Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust.

Web Site User Experience 2010: US Banks/Canadian Banks

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Web Site User Experience 2010: US Banks

Web Site User Experience 2010: Canadian Banks

mopay Becomes the First Provider to Enable Mobile Payments for the Purchase of Physical Goods Around the Globe

May 18, 2010 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Mobile Payment Leader Supports Mobile Payments for Physical Goods in 28 Countries

MUNICH & PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--mopay, a leading provider of mobile payment solutions worldwide, today announced that it now supports the purchase of physical goods in 28 countries. The announcement comes in response to an increase in consumer demand and the growing number of connected carriers that support physical goods billing.

“mopay’s ultimate goal is to not only be a major payment option for digital and virtual goods, but for all kinds of purchases”

The scope of mobile payments varies significantly between global markets. As of today, mobile payments in the western hemisphere are primarily used to purchase digital and virtual goods – such as music and in-game items – via a mobile phone account. In selected Asian and European countries, mobile phone users are able to purchase virtually everything from tickets to movie downloads to physical goods through their phone bill.

In most countries today, purchases through mobile payments are limited to a maximum value of around $25. Any purchase above that value would be regarded as credit and therefore require a banking or e-money license. A raise of these limits enables carriers – and ultimately mobile payment providers like mopay – to expand the range of offerings that can be purchased with a mobile phone.

According to a recent report from ABI Research, mobile payments in the U.S. could reach $2.4 billion in 2010, growing by 100 percent in one year but still representing only eight percent of the total projected ecommerce market. In Japan, where physical goods billing is a commodity, mobile payments make up almost 20 percent of ecommerce. Adding physical goods billing in the U.S. would easily double ABI’s predictions.

There is a significant financial opportunity for physical goods to be purchased via mobile payments. As this trend continues to grow in these markets and demand increases in other countries, mopay is answering the call with a mobile payments solution that facilitates the purchase of physical goods. Currently, 28 of the 75 countries in which mopay is available as a form of payment support billing physical goods to a mobile phone account.

“mopay’s ultimate goal is to not only be a major payment option for digital and virtual goods, but for all kinds of purchases,” said Kolja Reiss, managing director of mopay, Inc. “The Asian market is once again leading the way in purchasing physical goods via mobile phones and other markets are hot on their heels. By constantly adjusting our offering to keep pace with new developments, mopay actively pushes mobile payments to essentially become a replacement for cash and other intricate methods of payment, foreseeably eliminating the need for the traditional ‘wallet’ as we know it.”

About mopay

mopay is one of the world’s leading solutions for network provider-based billing of small amounts. Reaching more than 3.3 billion people with SMS-enabled mobile phones in 75 countries around the globe, mopay brings unprecedented mobile payments experience to U.S. and European consumers, offering a clear advantage over its competitors. The company has a blue-chip customer base including major brands such as Bigpoint, Gameforge, Innogames, Sulake and Travian. mopay, part of the MindMatics group, has close to 100 employees at locations in Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, visit www.mopay-inc.com.

Contacts

PAN Communications

Lisa Astor, 001-978-474-1900

mopay@pancomm.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100518005354/en/mopay-Provider-Enable-Mobile-Payments-Purchase-Physical

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

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E-retail puts together back-to-back double-digit growth quarters

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Mobile Payment Leader Supports Mobile Payments for Physical Goods in 28 Countries

Contacts

Disqus for ePayment News