Smart Card Alliance Adds Multimedia, Enhanced Search Capabilities to Popular Website

SOURCE: The Smart Card Alliance

 

Apr 11, 2011 08:47 ET

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ--(Marketwire - April 11, 2011)    The Smart Card Alliance has unveiled exciting new resources, including multimedia and expanded search capabilities, to its website at www.smartcardalliance.org. With an average of over 117,000 site visits per month and over 480,000 report accesses in 2010, the website is already a popular destination for industry professionals. Now, the new features will give visitors easier access to the Alliance's vast amount of content on the latest trends in technology for payments, healthcare, physical access, identity and transportation markets.

One of the highlights of the Smart Card Alliance's enhanced website is the new multimedia center. Here, the Smart Card Alliance features video interviews of experts talking about the industry's hottest topics. The first set of interviews cover a wide range of topics, including: NFC and mobile payments; transit agency acceptance of open bank card payments; the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace; healthcare information exchange; biometrics and smart card technology; and the use of Personal Identity Verification (PIV)-Interoperable identity credentials. 

Also new to the site are slideshows, where the Alliance presents important industry topics in an interesting and succinct fashion. Some of topics of the slideshows on the site include: "Smart Card Technology and the National Cybersecurity Strategy," "Chip-Enabled Mobile Marketing," and "What Are Chip-Enabled EMV Payment Cards?" Planned slideshows include: medical identity theft, PIV-I, NFC, and open bank cards in transit.

The Alliance has also introduced enhanced search capabilities so visitors can access the timeliest news, white papers, industry publications, market research reports, industry certification and education resources, and more. Site visitors can search Alliance publications, member-only resources and industry news and see results sorted by date and page. They can further use the Google search tool to search all content on the site, including all Alliance white papers.

The Smart Card Alliance home page has also been re-organized so that visitors can find the information they want more easily and quickly. This includes "quick links" to information on the most sought-after topics, the latest news from Alliance members, popular reports, and industry information, primers and FAQs. For members, the Alliance makes available all studies, conference proceedings, member-restricted Alliance reports, and other general membership mailings in the members-only area of the site.

"All of the new features and capabilities on our website are the result of careful consideration about the best way to organize and present the vast array of content we have to offer. We're confident that the site is now structured in such a way that all visitors and members will be able to access our entire library of resources effortlessly," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.

All new capabilities, features and resources are available on the Smart Card Alliance website today. You can also keep up with the Alliance by visiting them on Twitter @SmartCardOrgUSA, onFacebook, and on LinkedIn. Visitors can sign up for the free Smart Card Talk monthly e-newsletter, by registering their email address at Smart Card Talk Newsletters: Sign Up. (http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/newsletter-signup)

About the Smart Card AllianceThe Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology. 

Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.

Contact:
Deb Montner
Montner & Associates
203-226-9290
dmontner@montner.com

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Financial Institutions Focused on Mobile Payments Business Case, Says Fiserv Survey

April 11, 2011 09:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

• Fiserv-commissioned survey of financial institutions reveals “wait and see” attitude toward mobile payments
• Despite challenges, a few financial institutions are building the business case for mobile payments
• A whitepaper with detailed survey findings and recommendations can be downloaded at www.fiserv.com/mobilestrategy

BROOKFIELD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, recently commissioned an in-depth survey of 15 top U.S. banks and credit unions that revealed a “wait and see” attitude toward mobile payments. While most financial institutions have clear-cut strategies for mobile banking, they indicated that the market will need to mature further before they make any sizable investments to support mobile payments. A white paper that outlines the survey findings, including how the most forward-thinking financial institutions are building a business case for mobile payments, is available at www.fiserv.com/mobilestrategy.

“Ten North American Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy Trends To Watch In 2011”

The Fiserv commissioned survey, conducted by independent research firm Forrester Consulting, revealed that banks and credit unions have clear long-term mobile banking strategies. Through the remainder of 2011 financial institutions plan to enhance the value of mobile banking by enabling support for newer operating platforms and devices and adding more robust functionalities. In contrast, very few of the surveyed financial institutions have clear mobile payment strategies in place, leaving them at risk of falling behind other companies that are rapidly entering the space.

“Mobile payments were a hot media topic in 2010, but not all mobile payments are created equal,” writes Brad Strothkamp, Principal Analyst, eBusiness and Channel Strategy, Forrester Research, Inc. in the March 2011 independent report, “Ten North American Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy Trends To Watch In 2011”, “In 2011, bill payment and transfers via mobile devices will undoubtedly increase as availability and utilization of mobile services grow. Contactless payments will not have the same success…these types of mobile payments have major impediments to success, including technology, merchant, consumer, and issuer issues.”

Banks and credit unions are keeping a close eye on these variables and want to make sure they have a business case in place before committing to significant mobile payment investments. The factors that would prompt banks and credit unions to act more quickly and increase their investments include more defined technology and process standards, merchant readiness, increasing competitive pressure from other companies or financial institutions and the emergence of a clear value proposition.

“While financial institutions are reluctant to invest heavily in mobile payments today, this is the right time to be developing a strategy for the future,” said Erich Litch, division president, Digital Channels, Fiserv. “Waiting for all the pieces to fall into place before starting to think about mobile payments will leave the door open for third parties to take business away from financial institutions. Taking the time to map out a strategy will ensure that decisions and infrastructures being put in place today will facilitate support a broad range of mobile payments in the near future.”

Building a business case for mobile payments

While there are distinct challenges associated with building a business case for mobile payments, several of the survey respondents recognize the potential of mobile payments and have moved to put a strategy in place. When building a business case, these respondents considered the impact mobile payments would have on business lines beyond the typical online and mobile channels. Factors evaluated across these business lines included customer retention and profitability, cost reduction, revenue generation and retention, increased customer engagement and competitive parity.

The Fiserv-commissioned survey was conducted by Forrester Consulting in October 2010. A total of 15 decision makers from top U.S. banks and credit unions were surveyed via phone.

Additional Resources:

• Fiserv White Papers - www.fiserv.com/white-papers.htm
• Mobile Banking and Payments Roadmaps (Slideshare) - http://ow.ly/4xfYD

About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) is the leading global provider of information management and electronic commerce systems for the financial services industry, driving innovation that transforms experiences for financial institutions and their customers. Fiserv is ranked No. 1 on the FinTech 100 survey of top technology partners to the financial services industry. For more information, visitwww.fiserv.com.

TNS Unveils New TNSPay Capabilities

April 11, 2011 06:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

One of the World’s Most Widely Used Payment Services Adds Additional Security and Fraud Features

SHEFFIELD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eCommerce merchants across the globe can now take advantage of a series of new and innovative features to improve security, combat fraud, and ease their PCI compliance efforts. These capabilities are now integrated into the TNSPay payment management platform, a leading payment service offered by Transaction Network Services(NYSE: TNS).

The enhancements to the TNS platform come as part of a recent release that coincides with the global launch of TNSPay for eCommerce, the new global brand for the PCI DSS certified service. TNSPay provides eCommerce merchants with a simple way to authorize and settle card transactions, combat fraud, enhance card data security, and simplify their PCI DSS compliance efforts.

The TNSPay gateway, which processes more than a quarter of a billion transactions a year for over 30,000 merchants, is part of a comprehensive range of payment services TNS has developed since entering the card transaction processing market as a Payment Service Provider (PSP) over 20 years ago. Through TNSPay and the other solutions in its broad portfolio of payment services, TNS technology now connects well over a million merchants and retailers to the world’s leading banks, acquirers and processors, enabling secure, efficient and cost-effective delivery and processing of payments.

Ray Low, TNS’ Payments Division President, said: “The continued development of the TNSPay platform is a key priority for TNS. We believe the innovations we are adding to the platform itself, combined with our leading position as an independent provider of network solutions, connecting some of the largest payment service providers to global payment acquirers, makes TNS unique in the marketplace.”

New features available in TNSPay include:

Stored Card Tokenization

Stored card tokenization enhances a merchant’s data security by providing a cost-effective alternative to managing card details in-house. Cardholder information is securely exchanged using tokenization and stored remotely in TNS’ secure encrypted database, away from a merchant’s system and files, thereby greatly simplifying their complex PCI DSS compliance requirements.

Hosted Payment Forms

TNS’ hosted payment form is easily integrated within a merchant’s web payment page and allows a shopper’s card details to be posted directly to a secure hosted server within a TNS PCI DSS certified processing environment. Merchants retain full control over the presentation and branding of their payment pages, but are freed from the time, effort and expense of managing many PCI compliance tasks since card data is never entered into their environment.

When hosted payment forms are combined with stored card tokenization, TNSPay provides powerful capabilities for reducing PCI DSS scope and improving data security, allowing merchants to collect payment information and process repeat payments using this information without ever bringing card data inside their environment.

Risk Management

TNSPay’s risk management functionality provides fraud prevention capabilities through customizable transaction checks and business rules. These capabilities, which are directly integrated into the platform, are simple to use and can quickly help merchants reduce their fraud rates. The platform also supports integration with third-party fraud prevention services for merchants who wish to utilize specialized applications or data sources.

All of these capabilities are accessible via an easily configurable REST-based API, which provides a simple interface into the TNSPay platform.

Mr Low continued: “We have deployed physical instances of the TNSPay platform in the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific region in order to support the continued growth of the service. In 2010 we experienced 30%+ annualized transaction growth on these platforms and our global infrastructure now gives us a unique capability to support the demanding needs of online merchants that are increasingly looking to grow their businesses via entry into new geographic markets.”

The core TNS Secure Payments Network is leveraged by the TNSPay platform. This high-availability network spans the globe and has connections into the world’s leading processors and acquirers. With the ability to provide the TNSPay solution directly to merchants or to distribute it via partnerships, TNS has been able to assist companies, including leading card associations, retailers such as Westfield Group, and travel companies such as Continental Airlines, expand and grow their businesses.

For more information about TNS, please visit www.tnsi.com or www.tns-pay.com

About Transaction Network Services

Transaction Network Services (TNS) is a leading global provider of data communications and interoperability solutions.

TNS’ offers a broad range of networks and innovative value-added services which enables transactions and the exchange of information in diverse industries such as retail, banking, payment processing, telecommunications and the financial markets.

Founded in 1990 in the United States, TNS has grown steadily and now provides services in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, with our reach extending to many more. TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks which support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods.

For further information about TNS, visit www.tnsi.com. ‘One Connection, A World of Opportunities’

The University of Georgia Named Finalist for SACUBO Award for Implementation of Secure Vault Payments

April 11, 2011 08:04 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Recognition Demonstrates Value of Online Banking ePayments Among Educational Institutions

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--eWise, a payments and online financial management solutions provider, today announced that the University of Georgia (UGA) has received recognition for its implementation of Secure Vault Payments^® as a finalist for the Southern Association of College and University Business Officers (SACUBO) 2010 Best Practices award. Winners will be announced this week at the SACUBO Annual Meeting, April 10-12 in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

“This recognition demonstrates the value of Online Banking ePayments like Secure Vault Payments among educational institutions to simply payment options for their students”

eWise is partnering with NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association, to provide the Secure Vault Payments network linking consumers, financial institutions, merchants and billers, providing value to all stakeholders in the payment chain. It gives universities and other organizations the only online payment option that provides real-time authorization of funds and guaranteed payments for ACH transactions at costs typically lower than traditional and other alternative payment methods.

“Secure Vault Payments is a smarter electronic payment option that lowers our risk, allows us to receive money faster, and helps us keep costly and wasteful paper out of our system,” said Lisa McCleary, bursar, University of Georgia. “We are honored to be named a finalist for this award.”

Since implementing Secure Vault Payments, UGA has seen strong utilization rates among enabled students with 17 percent using Secure Vault Payments to pay their tuition and 48 percent using SVP more than five times.

“This recognition demonstrates the value of Online Banking ePayments like Secure Vault Payments among educational institutions to simply payment options for their students,” said Alex Grinberg, CEO, eWise. “We are seeing increased interest from universities that are looking to streamline the process for online tuition payments.”

As a result of being a finalist, McCleary will present at the SACUBO Annual Meeting explaining why they chose to deploy Secure Vault Payments, the benefits of the solution and how other schools can achieve the same success.

The University of Georgia was also recognized by the University of Georgia Regents with the Silver Award for Improvement Initiative last year for its use of Secure Vault Payments.

About Secure Vault Payments

Secure Vault Payments^® enables consumers to initiate private and secure payments for purchases and bill payments through their financial institutions’ online banking platforms, using the ACH Network and eWise’s Online Banking ePayments technology. Financial institutions authenticate consumers and provide businesses with real-time authorization and confirmation of payment (ACH credit). Secure Vault Payments™ is a trademarked offering of NACHA — The Electronic Payments Association. To learn more, visit www.securevaultpayments.com.

About eWise

eWise is partnering with NACHA to provide the Secure Vault Payments network, utilizing its Online Banking ePayments (OBeP) technology and account management services. 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 US, UK, 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.

Contacts

104 West
Johanna Erickson, 720-407-6077
Johanna.Erickson@104west.com