Thursday, May 5, 2011

Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference Day One -- EMV and the United States


SOURCE: The Smart Card Alliance
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - May 4, 2011) - -- Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference -- U.S. credit card issuers considering EMV bank cards for their international traveler customers should be very encouraged based on the results of the first U.S. EMV issuer, the United Nations Federal Union (UNFCU), presented at the Smart Card Alliance 2011 Annual Conference taking place this week in Chicago.
"We've never seen numbers like this before," said Merrill Halpern, assistant vice president card services and the driving force behind the UNFCU program. He reported customer satisfaction with the program is very high, and that new account applications are up 158 percent, new credit line requests are up 382 percent, existing line increase requests are up 275 percent, revolving balances are up 20 percent and purchases are up 18 percent, compared to the prior period. Halpern attributed the growth to the EMV chip UNFCU now offers on its Elite credit cards, which have rapidly become very popular with the international travelers who make up much of the credit union's members.
The main focus of the payments track at the conference is the U.S. evolution to EMV credit and debit cards. Toni Merschen, the former group head of chip for MasterCard international and now principal of his own consulting firm, directly refuted what he called the "myths" about EMV -- popular, but inaccurate, opinions held by many U.S. bankers.
Myth number one is that EMV does not work. "Not only does it work, contrary to everything else out there, EMV actually prevents fraud. Everything else is after the fact," said Merschen, citing fraud statistics from EMV countries. Myth number two is that there is no business case. He stated there is a clearly positive business case, basing his position on Visa studies that show fraud management costs are at least as high as direct fraud losses, and that the opportunity cost, including behavior changes in fraud victims, adds another 15 percent to the true cost of fraud.
Merschen also reported that the European Payment Council (EPC), which is the voice of European banks, is now supporting the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) recommendation to remove magnetic stripes from bankcards in Europe. EPC has passed a resolution asking European payment scheme operators to give banks the option to remove magnetic stripes from the cards, making them chip only. They also requested the right to refuse magnetic stripe transactions. A second resolution proposes that all Card Not Present (CNP) transactions including Internet payments be strongly authenticated before the end of 2013. These moves have significant implications for U.S. issuers that only issue magnetic stripe cards and do not provide customers with the ability to strongly authenticate e-commerce transactions.
The leading U.S. merchant in EMV implementation is Walmart Stores, Inc. Jamie Henry, senior director Payment Services, told attendees Walmart is implementing EMV globally including the UK, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. In the U.S., 100 percent of terminals now accept chip cards and they are rolling out the software. "We see 200 million customers a week so if you're looking for a place in the U.S. to use your EMV chip and PIN card, come to Walmart," said Henry.
Henry expressed Walmart's commitment to U.S. EMV migration and encouraged the industry to move forward. "Let's get rid of the mag stripe and adopt the global standard," said Henry. He also advocated leveraging lessons learned and best practices from other EMV implementations around the world. "Let's make the most out of being last," he said.
Looking at the long term payments market, Dave Birch, director Consult Hyperion, said, "Everyone knows the endgame is mobile. What you need is a plan to get there." Birch presented his version of a roadmap, and stressed it is important to ultimately converge all of the technologies and standards -- contactless, EMV and NFC - and to get it right for all of the stakeholders.
The Federal Reserve Bank agrees. Richard Oliver, executive vice president with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the retail payments product manager for the Federal Reserve System, began working with his colleagues in the Boston Fed in 2010 to convene the Mobile Payments Industry Forum. The organization is working to bring together all of the stakeholders to discuss and help define the characteristics that would be necessary to successfully implement mobile payments. The organization recently published a mobile payment white paper that captures the content of discussions from the several meetings that have taken place, indicating where there is consensus and where there are differences of opinions. Notably, Oliver reported there is a consensus that it is absolutely critical to emulate the EMV experience as we move to mobile payments, with global standards, rules and clear regulatory authority. Setting up a formal organization to define and manage the approach to mobile, however, is not a proposition to which all parties in the discussions agreed.
All of the presenters at the Alliance conference raised the significant problem of CNP fraud with Internet payment, and the potential to use EMV chip cards to strongly authenticate ecommerce purchases as a solution. Hyperion's Birch said he can envision a scenario where CNP fraud gets so bad in the United States that banks start to issue EMV cards just to use them to secure CNP transactions, even if there are no EMV-ready payment terminals installed in U.S. merchants.
Countering the massive problem of stolen credit card information from data breaches is another benefit of migrating to EMV. EMV makes stolen credit card information useless, because every EMV transaction carries dynamic data and that prevents fraud. By using EMV cards and individual readers to authenticate Internet transactions, as 30 million Europeans already do according to Merschen, you can prevent CNP fraud on the Internet, and that would remove the value to cyber criminals of stealing credit card numbers.
"If you cannot prevent credit card data from being stolen, you need to make it useless. And it should be clear to everyone you can't prevent that data from being stolen," said Merschen.
The Smart Card Alliance Annual Conference continues May 4th and 5th in Chicago. An audio recording of the presentations from the conference will be available for purchase late next week at www.smartcardalliance.org.
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.

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Bank of Internet Launches Debit Card Cash Back Rewards Program


SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - May 4, 2011) - Bank of Internet USA (NASDAQBOFI) announced today a New Purchase Rewards Program designed to give customers money-saving offers across a network of popular merchants including restaurants and retail stores nationwide.
Bank of Internet's Purchase Rewards Program is a free program that offers rewards based on the customer's individual spending patterns. Relevant offers are displayed based on how the customer uses their card and new offers appear at log in. There are no coupons to print or special codes to remember, Bank of Internet customers simply click to electronically load the offers onto their Visa® Debit card(s). Customers take advantage of the offer by using their card for the transaction at the merchant point of sale and Bank of Internet credits the customer's account for the redemption of each offer at the end of the month.
"We strive to add value to every interaction we have with our customers," said Greg Garrabrants, President and CEO of Bank of Internet. "Purchase Rewards allows us to deliver offers from recognizable companies that people interact with everyday, so we're providing our customers with a simple way to earn relevant rewards based on their individual spending patterns. Keeping the offers and savings electronic is a simple and convenient way for our customers to save time and money."
Visit Bank of Internet www.bankofinternet.com to learn more about our account offerings and the new Purchase Rewards Program.
About BofI Holding, Inc.
BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQBOFI) is the holding company for Bank of Internet USA (the "Bank"), a nationwide savings bank that operates primarily through the Internet. The Bank provides a variety of consumer and wholesale banking services, focusing on gathering retail deposits over the Internet, and originating and purchasing single and multifamily mortgage loans, and purchasing mortgage-backed securities. BofI operates its Internet-based bank from San Diego, California. For more information on Bank of Internet USA, please visit www.bankofinternet.com.
For up-to-date company information and facts and figures about BofI Holding, Inc. visit www.bofiholding.comor contact Kristi Procopio at (858) 704-6239.

Mitek Systems' Drew Hyatt, Senior Vice President of Sales, to Speak on Company's Innovations at Finovate Spring 2011 Conference

SAN DIEGOMay 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitek Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MITK, www.miteksystems.com), the leader in mobile-imaging applications using smartphone cameras for check deposits, bill payments and ACH enrollments, said today that Drew Hyatt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, will demonstrate the company's innovative mobile-bill-payment application May 11 at the Finovate Spring 2011 conference in San Francisco.)

SAN DIEGO
May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitek Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MITK, www.miteksystems.com), the leader in mobile-imaging applications using smartphone cameras for check deposits, bill payments and ACH enrollments, said today that Drew Hyatt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, will demonstrate the company's innovative mobile-bill-payment application May 11 at the Finovate Spring 2011 conference in San Francisco.

Mitek's Mobile Photo Bill Pay™ enables users to pay their bills from anywhere at any time, simply by snapping photos of paper bills with their camera-equipped iPhone or Google Android smartphones. The technology allows customers to "Point, Shoot and Pay" any bills, regardless of format, via their mobile-banking accounts.  
"Mobile Photo Bill Pay is a bill-present transaction and the most convenient, safest way to pay a bill from your smartphone," says Hyatt.
To pay bills, users initiate mobile-banking sessions with their financial institutions on their smartphones, then align their bills within the cameras' viewfinders, snap photos of their bills and, responding to the application's prompt, confirm details of their transactions. Mitek's patented image-analysis and data-extraction processes capture and relay all the data required for the financial institutions to pay bills electronically.
Another Mitek innovation for mobile payments is Mobile Deposit®, the leading mobile Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) application that allows users to deposit checks using the same processes.  The app offered by banks, credit unions and payment facilitators eliminates consumers' trips to bank branches or ATMs to deposit checks.  
About Mitek Systems
For more than 20 years, Mitek Systems (OTC:MITK.OB) has provided financial institutions with advanced imaging and analytics software to authenticate and extract data from imaged checks and other financial documents.  Mitek's patented technology has created the Gold Standard for Mobile Check Deposit and is currently used by leading financial organizations in the United States to process more than 10 billion items per year.  
Today, Mitek is applying its patented technology and extensive expertise in image correction, optical character recognition and intelligent data extraction to mobile devices.  Using Mitek Mobile Apps, smartphone users can now deposit checks, pay bills, save receipts and fax documents while on the road or sitting at a desk -- eliminating trips to the bank, Post Office and file cabinet.  Simply take a picture of the document and Mitek does the rest -- correcting image distortion, extracting relevant data, routing images to their desired location, and processing transactions through users' financial institutions.  
For more information about Mitek Systems, contact the company at 858-503-7810 or visit www.miteksystems.com.
Contact:
Bud Leedom
Finance Director
858.503.7810 x309
SOURCE Mitek Systems, Inc.

Merchant Warehouse to Demo CB App Express, Allowing Agents in the Field to Sign Accounts in Real-Time, at ETA Annual Meeting

Company CEO and compliance officer will also join panel discussions on building successful sales programs, security and compliance
Add caption
ETA 2011 Annual Meeting & Expo
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merchant Warehouse®, a premier provider of merchant accounts and credit card processing solutions, in partnership with CurveNorth, a software solutions company based in Orange County, Calif., announced today that it will introduce an online application process allowing agents to sign merchants up for accounts in real-time, without the hassle of paper faxes. CB App Express, powered by CurveNorth Merchant –Flo 2.0, will be demonstrated by Merchant Warehouse at its booth, No. 232, at the ETA Annual Meeting and Expo, May 10-12 in San Diego, Calif.
“As one of the first ISOs to provide this type of mobile solution, we feel it is important to develop tools that allow agents to continuously grow their portfolios and evolve with industry changes”
Through the demonstration, CB App Express will show agents in the field how to maximize their time when working with customers. The merchant simply completes the application online (currently iPad compatible), signs the document electronically and once the merchant confirms receipt of the completed application, it is submitted to be processed.
“As one of the first ISOs to provide this type of mobile solution, we feel it is important to develop tools that allow agents to continuously grow their portfolios and evolve with industry changes,” said Michael Gavin, VP of Third Party Sales at Merchant Warehouse. “The capability of performing face-to -face transactions out of the office gives agents another avenue to pursue business and allows them to be more flexible for merchants. CB App Express is a great addition to Merchant Warehouse’s collection of online business management tools and we are pleased to be able to offer this to agents.”
Along with the new product demo at the conference, Henry Helgeson, co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse will participate in a panel discussion offering insight into building a successful sales program. Helgeson will detail how using an ear-to-ear sales strategy has helped Merchant Warehouse create a sales program that grows year over year. Markiyan Malko, PCI security compliance officer at Merchant Warehouse, will also participate in a panel, prior to the event at ETA University, to discuss Level 4 merchant security and compliance. The interactive panel will explain PCI programs, strategies, challenges and approaches to rolling out an effective program.
      
Details:
 
Who:
Henry Helgeson, co-CEO, Merchant Warehouse;Tony Abruzzio, business development executive, Isis; and Joe Natoli, SEVP of business development, NPC
What:
How to Build a Successful Sales Program
Where:
ETA Annual Conference
San Diego Convention Center, Session Room 2, San Diego, Calif.
When:
May 12, 9:30 a.m. PT
 
 
Who:
Markiyan Malko, PCI security compliance officer, Merchant Warehouse; Nicole Palella, chief risk officer, BluePay Processing, LLC; and Craig Tieken, director of product, TransFirst
What:
PCI Compliance Fundamentals for Small Merchants
Where:
ETA Annual Conference
San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, Calif.
Meeting Room 11A/B
When:
May 9, 1:00 p.m. PT
 
About Merchant Warehouse
Merchant Warehouse offers secure, award-winning payment processing solutions and merchant account services to merchants and partners nationwide. Since 1998, Merchant Warehouse has helped over 100,000 merchants to securely process all forms of electronic payments. The company continues to lead the industry with groundbreaking technology initiatives: MerchantWARE®;BINsmart™; and MerchantWARE Mobile. Merchant Warehouse has been named the ETA 2009 ISO of the Year, Business Solutions’ Best Channel Vendor three years in a row (2009-2011) and is a four-time recipient of the Boston Business Journal Pacesetter Award (2008-2011). Merchant Warehouse co-CEO, Henry Helgeson, was also named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009 for New England. The company is committed to community and charitable involvement and maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information, please visit merchantwarehouse.com or follow Merchant Warehouse on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MWarehouse and follow MerchantWARE at http://twitter.com/MerchantWARE. Visit their blogs at http://blog.merchantwaresolutions.com/ and http://blog.merchantwarehouse.com/.

Contacts

Merchant Warehouse
Marianne Rocco, 800-941-6557 x2051
Marketing Director
mrocco@merchantwarehouse.com
or
PAN Communications
Mike Sullivan, 978-474-1900
merchant@pancomm.com

National Processing Company Extends Multi-Year Contract With COCARD Marketing Group, LLC

COCARD Marketing Group, LLC Powered by National Processing Company Delivers Superior Service and Technology Designed to Give ISOs World-Class Service to Their Customers


CINCINNATIMay 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- National Processing Company (NPC), a Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC company, is pleased to announce that it has recently entered into a multi-year Independent Sales Organization (ISO) contract renewal with COCARD Marketing Group, LLC for the provision of debit and credit card processing services to merchants.  
Offering a collective approach and an unequaled exit strategy to their partners, COCARD Marketing Group, LLC, has charted a proven course to provide bank card professionals a way to achieve greater success by leveraging buying power and competitive pricing.  COCARD, a quickly growing company, recognizes the value of the combined capabilities and expertise that Fifth Third Processing Services Solutions and NPC bring to meeting the unique payment processing needs of experienced sales agents and ISOs.
"COCARD Marketing Group, LLC has partnered with NPC since the founding of our company in 2000," said Rick Pylant, President, COCARD Marketing Group, LLC and Board President of the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA). "We have a solid, long-term relationship based upon their ongoing ability to provide outstanding customer service with unparalleled industry support.  Above all, NPC truly understands the nuances of our business. We look forward to continuing our relationship with NPC for many years to come."
"COCARD's contract renewal signals trust in NPC and confidence in our new organization, Fifth Third Processing Solutions," commented Adam Coyle, President of NPC.  "Especially in this highly competitive market, we are excited to renew our long term partnership with COCARD to provide support for card processing services to their valued merchant customers and strategic partners."
About COCARD Marketing Group, LLC
COCARD was formed in early 2000 by a group of banking and bank card professionals. With over 100 years of combined payment processing experience, the organization is dedicated to providing unparalleled merchant processing solutions.  COCARD is a registered ISO/MSP with some of the industry's largest payment processors allowing COCARD the ability to present an entirely customized, state-of-the-art processing solution, including the latest, most technologically advanced products and software offerings available today.
COCARD has over 90 offices across the country and along with its partners, supports Visa®, MasterCard®, Discover®, American Express®, gift and loyalty card, and check processing. Learn more at www.cocard.net.
About National Processing Company
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, with additional facilities in Houston, Texas and Chicago, Illinois, National Processing Company (NPC) is the largest provider of payment processing services exclusively focused on the small-to-medium merchant processing market. NPC provides a wide range of payment processing services, from point-of-sale credit card and debit card processing to integrated e-commerce solutions.  NPC is a subsidiary of Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC. Learn more at www.npc.net.
About Fifth Third Processing Solutions
Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC delivers innovative payment transaction processing and acceptance solutions to create and support complex payment strategies for merchants, businesses, and financial institutions around the world. A pioneer in card payment acceptance in the early 1970s, Fifth Third Processing Solutions is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a joint venture with Advent International and Fifth Third Bank, a subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB).
As a premier full service payment solutions provider, the Company provides servicing solutions and product engineering for financial institutions' and retailers' credit card, debit card, merchant and private label programs, processing over 11.4 billion ATM and point of sale transactions and over $378 billion in debit and credit card sales volume annually. Its subsidiary, NPC, is the largest provider of payment processing services exclusively focused on the small-to-medium merchant processing market.  The Company supports over 406,000 merchant and financial institution locations and 12,000 ATMs in 46 states and 8 countries. According to the Nilson Report (March 2011), the Company is the largest PIN Debit U.S. acquirer and third largest U.S. merchant transaction acquirer ranked by general purpose transaction volume. Learn more at www.FTPSLLC.com.
CONTACT:
Lynn M. Rhoads, Senior Vice President
Communications Director
513.534.7742
lynn.rhoads@53.com
www.ftpsllc.com
SOURCE Fifth Third Processing Solutions

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Michaels Alerts Customers of Potential Debit and Credit Card Fraud

IRVING, TexasMay 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Michaels Stores, Inc. has learned that PIN pad tampering may have occurred in itsChicago-area stores and that customer credit and debit card information may have been compromised. 
The company was contacted this week by banking and law enforcement authorities after some fraudulent debit card transactions were reported over the weekend. Authorities believe the fraudulent transactions may be linked to legitimate transactions in Chicago-area Michaels stores.
Consumers who have purchased items from a Michaels store with a debit or credit card are encouraged to monitor their statements, report any suspicious account activity, and change any PIN numbers and other account security settings. Consumers who believe their accounts were used without authorization should contact the card issuer directly. More consumer protection tips are available at the Federal Trade Commission website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt150.shtm.
The company is working to assist authorities in the investigation.  For additional information and updates, visit Michaels website at www.michaels.com.
About Michaels
Irving, Texas-based Michaels Stores, Inc. is North America's largest specialty retailer of arts, crafts, framing, floral, wall decor, and seasonal merchandise for the hobbyist and do-it-yourself home decorator. The company currently owns and operates more than 1,045 Michaels stores in 49 states and Canada, and over 140 Aaron Brothers stores, and produces ten exclusive private brands including Recollections®, Studio Decor™, Bead Landing®, Creatology®, Ashland™, Celebrate It®, Art Minds®, Artist's Loft®, Craft Smart® and Loops & Threads™. For more information visit www.Michaels.com
Media Contact:
Kristen Kauffman
Kristen@spmcommunications.com
817-329-3257
SOURCE Michaels Stores, Inc.

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Merchant e-Solutions Launches PayEverywhere Mobile Payment Suite

PayEverywhere™ Platform for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Merchant e-Solutions, Inc. (MeS), a global leader in payment processing services, today announced the roll out of a suite of mobile payment apps on their new PayEverywhere™ platform.
Merchants who have tested the new payment applications for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry devices, rave about the ease of processing credit card sales any time and any place.  
PayEverywhere offers mobile merchants a secure way to accept all major cards, whether card-swiped or key-entered. Merchants can view their recent activity in a transaction log, check batch totals, and settle batches from their mobile device.
Additional features include the ability to send email receipts, connectivity with Bluetooth printers and card readers, tip processing, the ability to create customer records, and establish recurring billing records. Transactions processed through these mobile apps will appear in a merchant's PayEverywhere Virtual Terminal reporting, allowing extended management and reporting capabilities.
"Success for us is seeing our merchants ring in sales with maximum speed and minimum fuss.  Closing sales should be easy whether you're at the office or on the road.  Now, with PayEverywhere, it is," said Jim Aviles, Merchant e-Solutions COO.
Early adopters of PayEverywhere mobile products include Mark Larson, Owner of Marblesoft, LLC.  "We use the PayEverywhere iPhone payment solution at trade shows to take orders on the floor.  For ease and reliability, it surpasses any other system we've tried."
"This app is amazing!," enthused Scott Santorio, Director of Operations at TT New York who has deployed the PayEverywhere iPhone application at a number of stores. "Having tested and tried many different apps and technologies, hands down this is the most solid.  I am actually considering buying 10 3G enabled iPads and using this. I couldn't be happier."
To learn more about the PayEverywhere Mobile Payment Applications, visit Merchant e-Solutions at http://www.merchante-solutions.com/merchants/mobileref.html or call 1-866-663-6132.
About Merchant e-Solutions (MeS)
Merchant e-Solutions, founded in 1999, provides Internet-based payment processing solutions for merchants and banks. Merchant e-Solutions currently processes more than $14 billion dollars in payments for more than 65,000 merchants, supporting 150 global currencies and all major credit, debit and alternative payment solutions. The company specializes in services for e-commerce and card-not-present merchants and provides a comprehensive suite of payment solutions that are PCI compliant and designed to reduce merchant risk exposure. Merchant e-Solutions is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with operations in Spokane, WA, and satellite offices in Minneapolis, MN, and Columbus, GA. For more information, go to http://www.merchante-solutions.com.
SOURCE Merchant e-Solutions

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