Monday, April 18, 2011

Apple Squared not Exponentially Secure

Apple selling Square mobile payments reader--NFC plans in doubt
(from Fierce Mobile on 4-18-2011)
Apple is now selling mobile payments startup Square's credit card reader unit via the online Apple Store, casting further doubt on the computing giant's plans to integrate Near Field Communications-based payment technologies into future iterations of its iPhone.   Apple's decision to embrace Square further calls into question the company's commitment to NFC-based contactless payment technologies. Last month, The Independent reported Apple has told executives at several U.K. mobile operators that it will not embed NFC technology into the forthcoming iPhone 5, citing apprehension over the absence of clearly defined industry standards. It is believed that Apple engineers continue to work on an NFC solution, however--earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that the computing giant's mobile wallet efforts likely will leverage Apple customer information already on file, e.g., credit card account numbers, iTunes gift card balances and bank data.

Read more: 
Apple selling Square mobile payments reader--NFC plans in doubt - FierceMobileContent http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/apple-selling-square-mobile-payments-reader-nfc-plans-doubt/2011-04-18#ixzz1Jt5E7yfc 



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PayPal to Offer Digital Credentials to Online Consumers

18 April, 2011 - 11:46

Finextra
PayPal is gearing up to play a part in a new US identity initiative which seeks to replace multiple password and user name log-ins with an interoperable set of commercially-supplied digital identities for consumers transacting online.
Read More 

2011 Contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile Payments: Framing Mobile Payments on the Foundation of Mobile Banking

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets has announced the addition of Javelin Strategy & Research's new report "2011 Contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile Payments: Framing Mobile Payments on the Foundation of Mobile Banking" to their offering.
Mobile payments have been the source of much excitement for over half a decade, with the latest focus being on near field communication (NFC) payments, which uses short-range wireless technologies to allow a consumer to tap or wave a supporting mobile phone to complete an in-store payment. Late 2010 experienced of a flurry of NFC-related mobile payments announcements, detailing pilot initiatives from numerous financial institutions (FIs), payment networks, mobile phone carriers, technology giants, and third-party developers.

Despite this activity, mobile contactless/NFC is a payment option that is battling limited availability of contactless-ready merchant terminals and mobile technology, as well as low consumer demand. In order to ensure the greatest opportunity for success, FIs should integrate NFC mobile payments with their existing mobile banking platform. Javelin data shows that mobile bankers are the prime financial demographic to jumpstart mobile payments, and FIs should promote the service accordingly.
Key Topics Covered:
  • The State of U.S. Contactless and Mobile Commerce
  • The Consumer Roadmap to Mobile Payments
  • Mobile Banking as the Springboard for Mobile Contactless Payments
  • Demographic Trends - Who Are the Likely Mobile Contactless Users of Today?
  • Mobile Contactless Payments: The Proverbial Chicken and the Egg Dilemma
Companies Mentioned:
  • AT&T
  • Bank of America
  • MasterCard
  • M-Com
  • Citibank
  • PayPal
  • Samsung
  • T-Mobile
  • Google
  • Visa

Contacts

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

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SIX Card Solutions Chooses TNS for Global Payment Services

SIX Card Solutions Boosts Global Payment Services with TNS Agreement

FRANKFURT, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Luxembourg based payment provider SIX Card Solutions can now provide its merchants with a solution that gives them access to multiple acquirers across Europe via one connection to the Secure Payments Network of Transaction Network Services (NYSE:TNS).
The agreement will see TNS provide SIX Card Solutions with a managed payment network service for the hospitality and car parking elements of its business, allowing the organisation to streamline its payment-related connectivity by replacing multiple local European suppliers with just one connection provided by TNS.
TNS’ single provider capabilities are expected to enable SIX Cards Solutions to streamline its processes, saving time and effort that was spent maintaining multiple supplier relationships, and provide its customers with improved levels of service. SIX Card Solutions payment transactions will be routed via TNS’ PCI-certified Secure Payments Network, providing a secure and reliable service for all transactions.
Michele Ferraris, Chief Executive Officer of SIX Cards Solutions Group Luxembourg, said: “As part of our overall growth strategy, we are keen to target high growth sectors and develop relationships with merchants in new markets. We have an existing relationship with TNS and they have proven to be a reliable partner with key strengths in operational and service excellence. The single connection service they offer to multiple banks and acquirers will streamline our technology infrastructure and enable us to offer an excellent quality of service to our customers.
“Having a secure and reliable payment facility in place is essential for SIX Card Solutions. We now have a scalable system which can handle our heavy volume of transactions, enabling us to connect to new entities quickly as we continue to expand our business. We see TNS as a company that is well positioned to partner with us to support our future growth.”
Martin Croot, Senior Vice President and General Manager of EMEA for TNS’ Payments Division, said: “SIX Card Solutions is a valuable relationship for TNS and we are proud to be their chosen partner. This agreement shows our commitment to supporting SIX Card Solutions growth objectives. Our ability to provide solutions across geographies will enable them to lower their costs and boost their operational effectiveness, while building on new relationships with merchants across Europe and in other regions.”
Through its TNSPay payment gateway services and its broad portfolio of payment network connectivity solutions, TNS connects merchants and Payment Service Providers to many of the world's leading banks, acquirers and processors to enable secure, efficient and cost-effective delivery and processing of payments. Its global expertise extends to more than 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific regions, with billions of transactions crossing its high-speed global networks each year.
As a member of the SIX Group, SIX Card Solutions Group Luxembourg SA, (formerly 3C Communications International SA) has been at the forefront of card processing for more than 20 years in 28 countries. SIX Card Solutions provides innovative payment processing solutions to a wide variety of industries, particularly hotels, restaurants, parking, retail, vending and e-commerce.
SIX Group, which resulted from the merger of the SWX, Telekurs and SIS at the start of 2008, operates Switzerland’s financial market infrastructure. With around 3‚600 employees in 23 countries, the company offers comprehensive services in the areas of securities trading, clearing and settlement, as well as financial information and payment transactions.
Ends...
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’
Statements and information contained in our press releases and newsletters that are not descriptions of historical fact may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or performance and from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods. www.tnsi.com

MasterCard Completes Travelex Prepaid Acquisition


MasterCard Completes Acquisition of Travelex’s Prepaid Card Program Management Assets

Deal Enhances MasterCard’s Global Prepaid Business
PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of the prepaid Card Program Management (CPM) operations of Travelex, at the terms previously announced.
The acquisition of Travelex’s CPM operations furthers MasterCard’s strategic business goals and strengthens the company’s suite of global prepaid business assets. It will allow MasterCard to play a greater role in the prepaid value chain supporting issuers and partners, especially outside of the United States and in the attractive cross-border payments space.

Smart Card Alliance to Offer Full Day Workshop on U.S. Path to EMV Payments



PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ--(Marketwire - April 14, 2011) - An interactive, full-day workshop on North America's path to EMV payments will open its 2011 Annual Conference, the Smart Card Alliance said today. Already a major agenda focus of the Annual Conference, the pre-conference workshop will provide attendees with a thorough understanding of the options for implementing EMV in the United States.

The workshop, "EMV Roadmap Implementation Options," is being held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 2nd at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago. The remainder of the Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference, themed "The Roadmap for EMV Payments and Secure ID" continues Tuesday, May 3rd through Thursday, May 5th.
"Building off of our recent success of our white paper on EMV implementation, this workshop assembles all of the experts on this topic in one place. It is also especially timely, with the recent announcements from Wells Fargo and Chase Card Services that they will issue EMV chip cards to U.S. customers," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "Nowhere else can all of the stakeholders in the payments industry receive such an in-depth look at the steps that can be taken to deploy EMV payments in the United States, and hear first-hand accounts from those that have implemented the technology."
Workshop presenters will discuss the impact of global EMV deployment on the U.S. payments industry and provides a detailed look at choices for EMV card interface, card authentication, cardholder verification and transaction authorization methods. Speakers will also outline actions that issuers, processers and merchants need to take to issue EMV cards, and to accept and process EMV transactions. Attendees will learn about these topics:
  • "Global EMV Implementation, Impact on Fraud, and U.S. Status" -- Oliver Manahan, MasterCard Worldwide
  • "EMV 101 -- Card and Transaction Security: EMV Options for Card Authentication, Cardholder Verification, Transaction Authorization" -- Guy Berg, Datacard Group
  • "Card Interface Choices: EMV, Contactless and NFC" -- Bengt Horsma, First Data Corporation 
  • "EMV Changes Required in the Payments Infrastructure" -- Simon Hurry, Visa
  • "Roadmap Options for the U.S. and Business Drivers" -- Deborah Baxley, Capgemini. 
  • "EMV Implementation Options and Considerations for Issuers" -- Jeff Stroud, Gemalto
  • "EMV Implementation Options and Considerations for Merchants" -- Erik Vlugt, VeriFone
  • "Implementation Lessons Learned" -- Panel including Troy Bernard, Discover; Nino Di Teodoro, Citi; Merrill Halpern, United Nations Federal Credit Union; Simon Hurry, Visa; and Oliver Manahan, MasterCard
Additional pre-conference workshops available to attendees on May 2nd have topics ranging from smart card training, contactless and mobile payments, and email authentication. All information about the conference, with links to event information and registration website containing the complete agenda, list of exhibitors and registered attendees to date, and full registration details are available on the 2011 Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference website. This Smart Card Alliance conference is open to everyone with Alliance members receiving special registration benefits and discounts. 
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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