Discover® Small Business WatchSM: Confidence among Small Business Owners Rebounds in January

Click to Enlarge

January 31, 2011 09:00 AM Eastern Time 

Index Rises to Highest Point in Three Years

RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After falling in December, confidence among small business owners rebounded in January as more see the economy and economic conditions for their businesses improving, according to the Discover^® Small Business Watch^SM. The monthly index rose to 91.0 this month, up 9.4 points from December 2010 and 5.5 points higher than one year ago, the highest the index has been since December 2007 when it stood at 92.7.

“A cautious optimism among small business owners has emerged over the last five months with the index rising 18 points during this time period”

Thirty-one percent of small business owners say the economy is getting better this month, up from 25 percent in December; 41 percent say it is getting worse, down from 51 percent last month; 24 percent say it’s the same, up from 22 percent; 3 percent were unsure.

Small business owners’ views of economic conditions for their businesses in the next six months are also improving. Thirty-one percent of small business owners say economic conditions for their businesses are getting better, up from 25 percent the month prior; 38 percent see conditions getting worse, down from 43 percent in December; 26 percent say they are the same, even with December; 5 percent were unsure.

“A cautious optimism among small business owners has emerged over the last five months with the index rising 18 points during this time period,” said Ryan Scully, director of Discover’s business card. “‘Cautious’ should be emphasized though, as over half of those business owners surveyed still rate the economy as poor. It’s too early to call this current rise in confidence a distinct trend, but confidence is steadily improving.”

January Confidence Indicators

• 30 percent of small business owners said they will increase spending on business development such as advertising, inventories and capital expenditures in the next six months, jumping 9 points to its highest point since March 2008. Forty percent will decrease business development spending, down from 42 percent last month; 27 percent do not plan any changes, down from 32 percent.
• 57 percent of small business owners are reporting the economy as “poor”, down 5 points from last month. More small business owners report the economy as “fair”, up 4 points to 34 percent, and those who rate the economy as “good” is up 2 points to 7 percent. Just 2 percent report the economy as “excellent”, down from 3 percent last month.
• 43 percent have encountered temporary cash flow issues within the last 90 days that have impacted their ability to pay bills on time, down from 45 percent last month, while 49 percent still are not encountering cash flow issues, flat with last month; 8 percent were not sure.

Health Care Poll: 55% of Small Business Owners Favor Repeal of Health Care Reform Law

Fifty-five percent of small business owners favor the repeal of the health care reform law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last year. Thirty-six percent of small business owners oppose the repeal and 9 percent are unsure.

At its highest point since Discover began the Small Business Watch four years ago, 47 percent of small business owners who provide health insurance to their employees say they are considering discontinuing health insurance because the costs are too high. Fifty-one percent of small business owners who offer health insurance to their employees say they are not considering discontinuing the insurance, and 2 percent are unsure.

Additional Health Care Sentiment Points

• While 46 percent say the new health care reform will hurt their small business, 27 percent say the new plan will help, 16 percent say it will have no impact, and 11 percent are not sure.
• 38 percent of small business owners report health care costs having a major impact on their ability to grow business. Twenty-one percent report a minor impact, 32 percent report no impact and 8 percent are not sure.
• 70 percent of small businesses owners report it is at least somewhat difficult to obtain affordable health care for themselves and employees. Just 11 percent say it is “not very” difficult, while 5 percent report no difficulty and 15 percent are not sure.

About the Small Business Watch

The Discover Small Business Watch is a monthly index measuring the relative economic confidence of U.S. small business owners who have less than five employees, a segment that consists of 22 million businesses producing more than a trillion dollars in annual receipts. The Watch is based on a national random survey of 750 small business owners. It is commissioned by Discover Business card, which strives to offer the best business credit card for American small businesses, and is conducted by Rasmussen Reports, LLC (www.rasmussenreports.com), an independent survey research firm. The numeric index is calculated by assigning values to responses to a set of five consistent questions. The base value of the Watch was established at 100.0 based on surveys conducted in August 2006. In addition to generating the index, the Small Business Watch surveys small business owners every month on key issues, and polls 3,000 consumers four times per year to gauge purchasing behavior and attitudes towards small businesses. For past results and survey data, visit www.discovercard.com/business/watch. For information on Discover Business card, visit www.discovercard.com/business.

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 www.discoverfinancial.com.

The views and opinions expressed by small business owners and consumers who participate in the Small Business Watch survey are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Discover Financial Services or its affiliates.

Contacts

Discover Financial Services
Matt Towson
224-405-5649
matthewtowson@discover.com
or
Burson-Marsteller
Jessica Douglas
312-596-3441
jessica.douglas@bm.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110131005236/en/Discover%C2%AE-Small-Business-WatchSM-Confidence-Small-Business

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Square Patent Not "Squarely Held"

Storefront Backtalk's Frank Hayes reports that agreeing on who own's Square's Patent is more difficult than...well...putting a square peg in a round hole...

Here's a snippet from an article entitled: Who Created Square’s Technology? Why Retailers Have Reason To Be Nervous 

The last thing an alternative mobile payments vendor needs is to discover that someone else holds the patent to key technology. In the case of Square, the alternative payments vendor with the little card-swiper that plugs into an iPhone, it’s worse: Square’s founders are now in the early stages of a lawsuit over a patent for technology they not only thought they had invented but for which they actually paid the filing fee of said patent, which actually ended up with someone else’s name on it.

Read more: http://storefrontbacktalk.com/securityfraud/who-created-squares-technology-why-retailers-have-reason-to-be-nervous/#ixzz1CLN0pugY

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Related articles

• Dispute over Square card reader patent gets litigious (engadget.com)

eWise payo: New Payments System Makes Online Shopping Safer and Faster

eWise payo Is the First and Only Bank Inclusive UK Online Banking ePayments Solution

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Jan. 26, 2011) -

Attention buy side analysts, technology, banking, retail and financial editors:

Today sees the launch of eWise payo in the UK, the first and only bank inclusive Online Banking ePayments (OBeP) solution. Launched by the financial service firm eWise, eWise payo presents the safest and fastest online payment solution. 

eWise payo enables the consumer to initiate secure and private payments for goods and services or bills online, without having to provide personal financial information to any third parties⁽¹⁾. To use eWise payo, customers are directed straight to their bank's website where they will log in using their existing account credentials. Once in their online banking application, consumers select from any account with available funds and confirm the payment. eWise technology enables the secure payment, leveraging the UK's Faster Payments network, thereby generating a near immediate payment for the merchant.

John France, managing director at eWise payo, commented: "Security remains the key concern for people when purchasing goods and services online. Statistics from the UK Card Association showed that over just 12 months £118.2m was lost to fraudsters for card-not-present fraud in the UK alone⁽²⁾. And, despite all of the good work that the International Card Schemes have done with respect to PCI, merchant websites are still being hacked and consumer card details are still being compromised.

"eWise payo is the answer to the industry's demand for improved security; the bank demand for innovation; the consumer demand for control and the merchant demand for lower costs."

For the financial industry, eWise payo presents the opportunity for banks to build upon and capture market share. And, for retailers it enables the opportunity for lower transaction costs, and increased sales via reduced shopping cart abandonment.

Consumers throughout Europe and in the US have been paying this way for years. eWise brings experience of implementing OBeP networks, through the successful Secure Vault Payments network in the United States, and as a founding member of the International Council of Payment Network Operators (ICPNO).

Commenting on the launch of eWise payo in the UK, Andrew McClelland, director of operations at IMRG⁽³⁾, said: "Over half the population of the UK are now shopping online and the e-retail industry continues to grow impressively every year, but fears about cyber crime and fraud can prevent some people from taking advantage of the value and availability that online offers. Removing the need to provide account details to each retailer purchased from will greatly improve consumer convenience and trust, particularly in smaller online businesses."

On February 1^st, 2011, eWise payo mobile will be unveiled at Finovate Europe 2011⁽⁴⁾. The application brings a safe and fast way to pay face-to-face or online through a mobile device.

eWise is currently in advanced discussions with a number of the high street banks, merchant acquirers, PSPs and merchants. As a result of which, the company has brought forward its initial launch – planned for 2012, and hopes to make an announcement in Q2/Q3 2011. 

http://payo.com.

About eWise:

eWise is a payments and online financial management solutions provider with a reputation for providing innovative solutions that make transacting online easier and more secure. eWise offices in UK, US, China and Australia support some of the world's top 50 financial institutions with solutions delivering outstanding, proven ROI for its customers and a better online experience for millions of end-users worldwide. For more information, visit www.ewise.com.

⁽¹⁾ The online retailer or eWise

⁽²⁾ UK Card Association 2010

⁽³⁾ Interactive Media in Retail Group – membership community for the UK retail sector

⁽⁴⁾ http://finovate.com/europe2011/

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Boku and BilltoMobile Collaborate to Offer Secure Mobile Payments for Verizon Wireless customers.

Two of the leading mobile payment companies in the world have agreed to provide merchants and consumers with a seamless and secure mobile payment experience on one of the top US carrier networks, Verizon Wireless. The deal essentially means BOKU will route its Verizon traffic through BilltoMobile, the San Jose, Calif.-based company that securely integrates direct with carriers

San Jose-based BilltoMobile and San Francisco based BOKU will offer BOKU merchants and customers the industry leading features and security through the BilltoMobile Direct Mobile Billing (DMB) payment service which is directly connected into the Verizon Wireless billing system.

BOKU is a leader in mobile payments and will be processing payment transactions for their many high profile merchants -- including Facebook -- through the BilltoMobile payment service on Verizon. BOKU's industry leading mobile payments platform is live in 65 countries worldwide, with direct billing connections to carriers around the world including AT&T in the US, Vodafone UK, Globe in the Philippines and many more. BOKU offers their merchants and more than 2 billion consumers the ability to transact across 230 carriers. BOKU is backed by VCs that include Andreesen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. 

BilltoMobile and its strategic investor, Danal Co., Ltd (Seoul, Korea) are also one of the global leaders in processing eCommerce mobile payments and have processed over $4 Billion in mobile billing transactions. Their service is leading the way globally for financial grade mobile payment standards that are revolutionizing the mobile billing space. 

Jim Greenwell, BilltoMobile CEO, and Mark Britto, BOKU CEO, issued a joint statement: "BilltoMobile and BOKU's cooperative agreement is a landmark in US mobile payments cooperation. The real winners today are the many wireless subscribers who are excited about access to convenient, secure online mobile payments and the merchants who provide these consumers with a wide array of digital goods, content and services." Boku and BilltoMobile merchants benefit from attractive merchant fees that are significantly lower than traditional PSMS rates. 

About BilltoMobile:
BilltoMobile is the premier provider of mobile payments for eCommerce purchases in the U.S., and the only mobile payments company that has integrated its payment gateway directly with both Verizon Wireless' and AT&T's billing platforms. With a growing list of carriers, direct merchants and resellers moving to adopt BilltoMobile's "Carrier Billing 2.0" approach, the company is emerging as the North American leader in mobile payments processing for direct-to-carrier payments. In 2010 BilltoMobile began offering mobile payments on behalf of both of the top two U.S. carriers via its proprietary Direct Mobile Billing (DMB) service -- a convenient, secure financial-grade payment service that dramatically improves upon long-standing mobile carrier and merchant issues. DMB offers merchants significantly lower fees coupled with improved authentication, chargeback/refund rates, back office tools and settlement support. BilltoMobile enables mobile payments for digital goods on both computer and mobile web browsers, and the service is currently available to more than 65% of all U.S. wireless subscribers via a fast growing list of prominent digital goods and services merchants. BilltoMobile is a privately-held U.S. company headquartered in San Jose, California. Its strategic investor and majority shareholder, Danal Co., Ltd (Seoul, South Korea), pioneered DMB technology, and has integrated DMB with 14 mobile carriers in Korea, Taiwan and China. Danal leads the e-commerce mobile payment segment globally, having processed an unmatched $4 billion in eCommerce mobile payments with its 10,000+ online merchant partners since the company launched with its first mobile carrier partner in Korea in 2000. For more information, please visit www.BilltoMobile.com.

About BOKU:
BOKU is creating the standard for online payments using your mobile phone, making it easy to pay for digital goods and social experiences across the web. With a strong focus on reliability and security, BOKU is bringing bank-grade payments technology and mobile users together on the web, creating a trusted, viable and accessible market for consumers, publishers and carriers alike. Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe and Asia, BOKU reaches more than 2 billion consumers worldwide, and is funded by leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures, and Khosla Ventures. With direct connections to premier carriers like AT&T, Vodafone, Globe and many others, BOKU offers mobile payment services in 65 countries, across more than 230 carriers. For more information, please visit www.BOKU.com. 

BOKU and Pay by Mobile are registered trademarks or trademarks of BOKU, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. BOKU reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Useful Links:BOKU website: http://www.BOKU.com
BilltoMobile website: https://www.billtomobile.com
BOKU Media Kit: Media Kit: http://www.BOKU.com/press/media/ 

BilltoMobile Media Kit: https://www.billtomobile.com/about/press/media_kit.aspx 

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Mercator Report: Debit Cardholders: Calm Before the Storm

Fourth of Eight Consumer-Based Finding Reports from the
Mercator CustomerMonitor Survey Series

Boston, MA -- Could 2010 be the year of Debit Past? A high water mark for the industry? The peak of consumer usage? As of December 2010, we cannot answer these questions, but we do know that 2011 is likely to be some sort of turning point, as the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act begins its long march toward implementation.

Fourth in a series of eight topical consumer survey reports examining payment and banking topics,Debit Cardholders: Calm Before the Storm highlights consumers growing use of debit cards, just prior to the significant impending changes to debit pricing for consumers, issuers, and merchants.

Based on a national sample of 1,009 online consumer survey panel survey responses focused on payment topics completed between May 10-14, 2010, this data driven report outlines consumer patterns of debit card ownership, usage, preferences for PIN versus signature transactions, awareness of overdraft reform legislation, participation in alternative and decoupled debit programs, and participation in debit card rewards programs.

Highlights of the Debit Cardholders: Calm Before the Storm report include the following:

• This 2010 consumer survey documents a sort of high-water mark for consumer debit programs, as the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act begins to re-write program economics for debit issuers, and pricing changes begin to affect consumers and merchants.
• At the same time general purpose credit card ownership by households dropped, debit cards became the most widely held type of payment card.
• Cardholders are almost evenly split in their preference for PIN transactions, signature transactions, and no preference." But when requested by the merchant, a majority say they comply with a request to enter their PIN.
• Private label (decoupled) debit programs sponsored by retailers have gained just a small foothold among debit cardholders.
• Debit reward program participation is not dominant among cardholders, and a minority of participants have ever redeemed rewards.

Ken Paterson, VP for Research Operations at Mercator Advisory Group and the author of the report comments,

"Looking at the positive achievements of consumer debit programs through our newly acquired Durbin Amendment lens, we must highlight the attributes most likely to change (e.g. rewards programs), procedures potentially causing confusion (e.g. PIN vs. signature transactions), or programs that may experience collateral damage (decoupled debit programs).Many of our 2010 survey results would have been positive indicators for the debit business, but must now be considered candidates for change under debit's emerging pricing realities."

One of the 17 exhibits included in this report.

The report is 35 pages long and contains 17 exhibits.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits.

Please visit us online at www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com.
For more information and media inquiries, please call Mercator Advisory Group's main line: (781) 419-1700, send E-mail to info@mercatoradvisorygroup.com.
Follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/MercatorAdvisor.

About Mercator Advisory Group 
Mercator Advisory Group is the leading, independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors.

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

TSYS to Present Live, Online at RetailInvestorConferences.com on February 3, 2011

Company invites investors and analysts to attend interactive real-time virtual conference

COLUMBUS, Ga., Jan. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Total System Services, Inc.(NYSE: TSS) today announced that Shawn Roberts, Director of Investor Relations will present at RetailInvestorConferences.com.

DATE: February 3rd, 2011 TIME:  10:00 AM EST LINK: www.retailinvestorconferences.com

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time both in the presentation hall as well as the company's "virtual trade booth." If attendees are not able to join the event live in real-time, an on-demand archive will be available for 90 days.  It is recommended that investors pre-register to save time and receive event updates.

About Total System Services, Inc.

TSYS (NYSE: TSS) is reshaping a new era in digital commerce, connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Through unmatched customer service and industry insight, TSYS creates a better experience for buyers and sellers globally, supporting cross-border payments in more than 85 countries. Offering services in credit, debit, prepaid, mobile, chip, healthcare, installments, money transfer and more, TSYS makes it possible for those in the global marketplace to conduct safe and secure payment transactions with trust and convenience.

TSYS' global headquarters are located in Columbus, Georgia, with other local offices spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. TSYS serves approximately 400 clients in 85 countries, including relationships with more than half of the Top 20 international banks. For more information, please visit us at www.tsys.com.

About RetailInvestorConferences.com

RetailInvestorConferences.com, created by BetterInvesting (NAIC), PR Newswire and MUNCmedia, is the first monthly virtual investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for presenting companies to meet directly with retail investors using a graphically-enhanced online platform.

Designed to replicate the look and feel of location-based investor conferences, Retail Investor Conferences unites PR Newswire's leading-edge online conferencing and investor communications capabilities with BetterInvesting's extensive retail investor audience network and MUNCmedia's sophisticated retail investor targeting.

SOURCE Total System Services, Inc.

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Is Jumio One of the "Hottest Payments Startups of 2011"?

January 27th, 2011 from the Jumio Blog

Jumio has been dubbed one of the “hottest start-ups of 2011” and are currently in the final stages of development. Today, they announced parts of their high profile advisory board.

The board reads like a who’s who of Internet pioneers.

“We are extremely pleased that our ideas and technology attract such talent. It shows me that we are right on track with our approach to make online and mobile payments easier and more secure.” (Mattes)

says Daniel Mattes, founder and CEO of Jumio Inc.

Daniel invited – amongst others – Internet pioneers Zain Khan (formerGoogle executive), Mark Britto (former Amazon executive) and Maarten Linthorst (former NASA partner):

Zain Khan, former Google executive known as the “Ops guy”, built Googles impressive infrastructure from the scratch in 1999. Zain, turned private investor, says about Jumio:

“It’s mainly the technological brilliance and the complexity that lies in this payment solution that excites a tech-person like me. Add a proven team and the product is bound to be successful.” (Khan)

Mark Britto, board member of Bill Me Later (acquired by eBay) and founder of accept.com (acquired by Amazon) was responsible for building the main payment infrastructure for Amazon, sees Jumio as the solution to one of the few remaining Internet problems:

“The challenge of fully securing online payments has been an ongoing one. Jumio is perfectly prepared to solve the problem.” (Britto)

Maarten Linthorst, who paved the way for the Internet as we know it back in 1969 for NASA when he interconnected the first two servers to become the ARPANET, who also developed the X25 protocol which is used for every credit card transaction worldwide, believes that

“Jumio will revolutionize the way we think about online payment – both from a technological and a social point of view.” (Linthorst)

Bjorn Evers, former CEO of one of the largest online gambling groups worldwide, sees

“Jumio as a definite game changer and the answer to online payment fraud.” (Evers)

Our mission is to make payments simpler, faster, more convenient and – above all – more secure. Daniel dishes out the numbers.

“$191 billion are the annual costs caused by credit card fraud in the United States, time to act. With our advisory board of brilliant minds, we are well prepared.” (Mattes)

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

UK Consumers in Fear of Security Breach When Shopping Online

LEEDS, England, January 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Over Half of Consumers Persist With Purchases Despite Card Fraud Concerns

- Call Centres Not Doing Enough to Protect Personal Details

A new report from Connected World, leading provider of inbound communication solutions for businesses, has revealed that concerns about credit and debit card fraud are at an all time high amongst UK consumers.

What's more, people are putting themselves at risk by continuing with transactions despite card fraud concerns.

The report commissioned by Connected World surveyed 1,000 consumers across the UK about their thoughts about the security of their telephone transactions and the role that merchants play.

The vast majority (71%) of those surveyed said they felt uncomfortable about giving out their details to a call centre operative. Two thirds (62%) said that they are worried about the security of their personal data when shopping, with nearly half (42%) feeling sufficiently concerned to pull out of a purchase as a result.

Connected World's report has revealed that although security of our personal details is a pressing concern, over half (58%) of us still get frustrated when our call is redirected to a third party as a payment authorisation security measure. The ideal for the majority (88%) would be a phone based payment system that would enable them to pay over the phone, but would prevent their details from being exposed to the operative handling the call.

Jamie Price, Director at Connected World, said: "The findings have revealed that identity theft is a huge concern for consumers, particularly in call centres where over half of respondents believe it to be common place. Alarmingly, personal experience of identity theft and credit card fraud reinforce this belief in 27 per cent of those surveyed. These are frightening figures and it is now vital that organisations using call centres take immediate action to tighten their security and reassure their customers.

"The world's leading payment businesses, Visa and Mastercard, have set the bar for businesses by introducing the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Standard. Any vendors using Visa and Mastercard facilities must comply with the standard, and are subject to spot inspections, so call centres can no longer afford to be complacent. Those that fail to secure consumer data face heavy penalties. Our new PCI TeleSafe product for call centres has been designed to assuage consumer fears and ensure telephone transaction security. It works by providing a solution that masks consumer's personal credit and debit card data, so it is never exposed to the call centre operative."

A TalkTalk Enterprise business, Connected World are specialist providers of inbound call handling solutions, providing network and cloud-based automated technology to assist organisations in call handling, workforce management and efficiency.

For more information about, or to see a video presentation on TeleSafe, visit http://www.connectedworld.co.uk, or see TeleSafe Video Overview (http://www.connectedworld.co.uk/products-and-services/inbound-ngn%27s-servic es/network-service-features/telesafe.aspx)

(Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the space if one exists.)

About Connected World

Launched in 2007 under the TalkTalk Enterprise brand and in partnership with Carphone Warehouse, Connected World are specialist providers of inbound call handling solutions, providing network and cloud-based automated technology for call handling & workforce management. Based in Warrington, Cheshire, Connected World provide bespoke services to a wide variety of organisations across the UK, including call centre operators, premier league football clubs, hoteliers, groups within the NHS and other areas of the public sector.

For more information please contact

    Paul Rogers on +44(0)113-237-2827 or email
    paul.rogers@ptarmiganbp.co.uk

    Sian Fletcher on +44(0)113-237-2824 or email
    sian.fletcher@ptarmiganbp.co.uk

SOURCE Connected World

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Visa Declares Dividend and Approves Release of All Remaining Class C Shares

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --  Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) announced that its Board of Directors had declared a quarterly dividend in the aggregate amount of $0.150 per share of class A common stock (determined, in the case of class B and class C common stock, on an as-converted basis) payable on March 1, 2011, to all holders of record of the Company's class A, class B and class C common stock as of February 11, 2011.

The Company also announced that its Board of Directors had approved the release from transfer restrictions of all remaining class C shares.  The shares will automatically become eligible for public sale on February 7, 2011.  Approximately 55 million class C shares not previously released are to be released from transfer restrictions.  The release of the class C shares will not increase the number of outstanding shares of the Company, and there will be no dilutive effect to the outstanding class A share count.  Class C shares sold into the public market automatically convert to class A shares.

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi

Related articles

• Visa declares dividend, releases C shares (marketwatch.com)
• Want to know what a VC term sheet looks like? Sample here. (technologystartuplaw.com)

Visa Inc. Announces Results of Annual Meeting Stockholder Vote

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) today held its annual meeting of stockholders in San Francisco, California.

The Company is pleased to announce that the stockholders:

• Approved amendments to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation to declassify the Board of Directors, effective at the 2011 annual meeting;

• Approved amendments to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation to implement a majority vote standard in uncontested elections of Directors, effective at the 2012 annual meeting;

• Elected Gary P. Coughlan, Mary B. Cranston, Francisco Javier Fernandez-Carbajal, Robert W. Matschullat, Cathy E. Minehan,Suzanne Nora Johnson, David J. Pang, Joseph Saunders, William S. Shanahan and John A. Swainson to serve as members of the Company's Board of Directors for a one year term until the 2012 annual meeting;

• On an advisory basis, approved the compensation of the Company's named executive officers as described in the Company's proxy statement;

• On an advisory basis, selected an annual advisory vote on executive compensation;

• Approved the amended and restated Visa Inc. Incentive Plan; and

• Ratified the appointment of KPMG LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for its fiscal year 2011.

During fiscal year 2010, Visa's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Board of Directors undertook a review of the board's size and composition. After careful consideration, in October 2010, the board, acting on the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, decided to reduce its overall size from 17 directors to ten directors, effective from and after the day of the 2011 annual meeting. As a result, Directors Hani Al-Qadi, Charles T. Doyle, Peter Hawkins, David I. McKay, Charles W. Scharf and Segismundo Schulin-Zeuthen, whose terms expired at the annual meeting, did not stand for re-election at the annual meeting.

"Messrs. Al-Qadi, Doyle, Hawkins, McKay, Scharf and Schulin-Zeuthen have served as valuable members and trusted advisors to our Board of Directors for many years," said Joseph Saunders, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Visa Inc. "We are very grateful to them for their contributions and accordingly, they have been named honorary Founding Directors.”

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visitwww.corporate.visa.com.

www.ePINDebit.com www.e-PINDebit.com www.iPINDebit.com www.PINDebit.mobi