Payments Industry News Headlines Through March 26th

Introducing M-Commerce to Direct Selling Organizations BigNews.biz (press release) The introduction of M-commerce is no exception. Remember, sales consultants typically don't bring their computers with them to their parties

Is Google greater than God?

Zee News China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest telecom service provider with 527 million subscribers, uses Google for mobile search and maps.

Credit card fraud stats should make you nervous

Anchorage Daily News  It was followed by identity theft; credit/debit card fraud; auction fraud; computer damage; miscellaneous frauds; advanced fee fraud (the old Nigerian

Verizon Wireless Plans eCommerce Mobile Payment Service

PR Newswire (press release)  Danal, Inc. is a privately held, majority-owned company of Danal Co., Ltd – the global pioneer and leader in direct mobile billing for eCommerce.

iPad will revolutionise mobile commerce, says expert

Velti News  The world of mobile commerce will be revolutionised by the impending launch of the iPad, an industry expert has claimed. Apple's mobile internet browsing

CHARGE Anywhere(R) and Verizon Wireless Announce Mobile Payment Processing ...

PR Newswire (press release)  CHARGE Anywhere® is the developer of proprietary Payment Card Industry PA-DSS certified CHARGE Anywhere® v2.0.0 Mobile Payment/POS software solution

Verizon Will Allow $25 in M-Commerce

NewsFactor Network  In a move to build mobile commerce, Verizon Wireless on Monday announced a deal with Danal's BilltoMobile payment service. Beginning later this spring

Comparing online buying risks

Minneapolis Star Tribune  Payment services and bill payment: Using services like PayPal, Google Checkout and BillMeLater offer additional security because sensitive information goes

PayPal forges an alliance with China's largest payment card network

Hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers will be able to buy goods online from foreign merchants and pay through PayPal as a result of the agreement with China UnionPay.

New fraud alerts available for Wells Fargo cardholders

The News Journal  ... control identity fraud, a broader crime category that includes misuse of payment cards, according to James Van Dyke, of Javelin Strategy & Research

Credit card companies play security catchup

Stuff.co.nz  But a 20 per cent increase in credit card fraud in recent years particularly involving online transactions has prompted the move

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM BUYS CLICKANDBUY

Deutsche Telekom has agreed a deal to buy Internet payment service provider ClickandBuy. Financial terms were not disclosed.  More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21223

MasterCard, PayPal reveal conflicting views of mobile financial services

Mobile-Financial.com  The panelists included representatives from MasterCard, PayPal, First Data, and ClairMail. The panel was a lively one with different perspectives shared

Security flaw found in new chip credit cards

3News   A British university has identified security flaws in new chip and Pin credit cards that banks in New Zealand are about to introduce. ...

Mobile Commerce Trends 2010: Opportunities to Create New Revenue

TechLINKS (press release) ... 40% mobile phone penetration, it is easy to see that the opportunities for mCommerce and mobile money services will be from Asia's emerging markets.

FEATURED ARTICLE:

Regulating Debit Cards: The Case of Ad Valorem Fees

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Economic Review for 1Q2010 includes an article titled "Regulating Debit Cards: The Case of Ad Valorem Fees" by Zhu Wang. From the abstract:

Debit cards have become an indispensable part of the U.S. payments system, accounting for more than a third of consumer payments at point of sale. With this development has come controversy: Card networks charge merchants fees that merchants believe are too high. And most of the fees are ad valorem―that is, based on transaction value―rather than fixed fees per transaction.

Given that debit cards incur a fixed cost per transaction, why do networks charge ad valorem fees? How do ad valorem fees affect payment market participants, including consumers, merchants, and card networks? And should policymakers consider regulating debit cards by requiring fixed per-transaction fees?

Wang explores this controversy about debit card fee structures. His analysis shows that, when card networks and merchants both have market power, card networks earn a higher profit by charging ad valorem fees than fixed per-transaction fees. At the same time, merchant profits are reduced―yet both consumer surplus and social welfare are increased. As an alternative, policymakers might consider regulating the debit fee structure simply by requiring fixed per-transaction fees (but allowing card networks to freely set the fee levels). Wang suggests, however, that this alternative may increase merchant profits at the expense of card networks, consumers, and social welfare. Therefore, caution should be taken when policymakers consider intervening in the debit card market."  

Payments Industry News Headlines Through March 26th

Introducing M-Commerce to Direct Selling Organizations BigNews.biz (press release) The introduction of M-commerce is no exception. Remember, sales consultants typically don't bring their computers with them to their parties

Is Google greater than God?

Zee News China Mobile Ltd, the world's largest telecom service provider with 527 million subscribers, uses Google for mobile search and maps.

Credit card fraud stats should make you nervous

Anchorage Daily News  It was followed by identity theft; credit/debit card fraud; auction fraud; computer damage; miscellaneous frauds; advanced fee fraud (the old Nigerian

Verizon Wireless Plans eCommerce Mobile Payment Service

PR Newswire (press release)  Danal, Inc. is a privately held, majority-owned company of Danal Co., Ltd – the global pioneer and leader in direct mobile billing for eCommerce.

iPad will revolutionise mobile commerce, says expert

Velti News  The world of mobile commerce will be revolutionised by the impending launch of the iPad, an industry expert has claimed. Apple's mobile internet browsing

CHARGE Anywhere(R) and Verizon Wireless Announce Mobile Payment Processing ...

PR Newswire (press release)  CHARGE Anywhere® is the developer of proprietary Payment Card Industry PA-DSS certified CHARGE Anywhere® v2.0.0 Mobile Payment/POS software solution

Verizon Will Allow $25 in M-Commerce

NewsFactor Network  In a move to build mobile commerce, Verizon Wireless on Monday announced a deal with Danal's BilltoMobile payment service. Beginning later this spring

Comparing online buying risks

Minneapolis Star Tribune  Payment services and bill payment: Using services like PayPal, Google Checkout and BillMeLater offer additional security because sensitive information goes

PayPal forges an alliance with China's largest payment card network

Hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers will be able to buy goods online from foreign merchants and pay through PayPal as a result of the agreement with China UnionPay.

New fraud alerts available for Wells Fargo cardholders

The News Journal  ... control identity fraud, a broader crime category that includes misuse of payment cards, according to James Van Dyke, of Javelin Strategy & Research

Credit card companies play security catchup

Stuff.co.nz  But a 20 per cent increase in credit card fraud in recent years particularly involving online transactions has prompted the move

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM BUYS CLICKANDBUY

Deutsche Telekom has agreed a deal to buy Internet payment service provider ClickandBuy. Financial terms were not disclosed.  More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21223

MasterCard, PayPal reveal conflicting views of mobile financial services

Mobile-Financial.com  The panelists included representatives from MasterCard, PayPal, First Data, and ClairMail. The panel was a lively one with different perspectives shared

Security flaw found in new chip credit cards

3News   A British university has identified security flaws in new chip and Pin credit cards that banks in New Zealand are about to introduce. ...

Mobile Commerce Trends 2010: Opportunities to Create New Revenue

TechLINKS (press release) ... 40% mobile phone penetration, it is easy to see that the opportunities for mCommerce and mobile money services will be from Asia's emerging markets.

FEATURED ARTICLE:

Regulating Debit Cards: The Case of Ad Valorem Fees

The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Economic Review for 1Q2010 includes an article titled "Regulating Debit Cards: The Case of Ad Valorem Fees" by Zhu Wang. From the abstract:

Debit cards have become an indispensable part of the U.S. payments system, accounting for more than a third of consumer payments at point of sale. With this development has come controversy: Card networks charge merchants fees that merchants believe are too high. And most of the fees are ad valorem―that is, based on transaction value―rather than fixed fees per transaction.

Given that debit cards incur a fixed cost per transaction, why do networks charge ad valorem fees? How do ad valorem fees affect payment market participants, including consumers, merchants, and card networks? And should policymakers consider regulating debit cards by requiring fixed per-transaction fees?

Wang explores this controversy about debit card fee structures. His analysis shows that, when card networks and merchants both have market power, card networks earn a higher profit by charging ad valorem fees than fixed per-transaction fees. At the same time, merchant profits are reduced―yet both consumer surplus and social welfare are increased. As an alternative, policymakers might consider regulating the debit fee structure simply by requiring fixed per-transaction fees (but allowing card networks to freely set the fee levels). Wang suggests, however, that this alternative may increase merchant profits at the expense of card networks, consumers, and social welfare. Therefore, caution should be taken when policymakers consider intervening in the debit card market."  

BilltoMobile: Verizon Wireless Plans eCommerce Mobile Payment Service

Coming This Spring, Customers Can Choose to Bill Online Digital Purchases to their Wireless Accounts Using BilltoMobile(TM) from Danal





BASKING RIDGE, N.J., SEOUL, Korea, and SAN JOSE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and Danal, Inc., the global pioneer and leader in charging eCommerce transactions directly to mobile phone accounts, said today that Verizon Wireless plans to launch Danal's BilltoMobile™ payment service later this spring, enabling Verizon Wireless customers to charge online purchases of digital goods directly to their monthly Verizon Wireless bills.



Verizon Wireless customers will be able to pay for online content and digital goods that are downloaded and consumed on their personal computers from Danal's participating network of popular eCommerce merchant partners. A secure connection and integration between Verizon Wireless and Danal will provide features important to online consumers and merchants, including robust subscriber authentication and fraud protection, among others.



The mobile payment service will feature a $25-per-month spending limit for these purchases, along with content and parental controls for individual accounts, giving account owners the ability to manage their BilltoMobile usage. When available, customers with text messaging-enabled phones will be able to shop quickly, securely and conveniently for Verizon Wireless-approved content at online stores, including game sites, social networks and virtual worlds. Users will also be able to purchase subscriptions to popular online games.



"Verizon Wireless strives to bring its customers services and features they want and that make their lives simpler," said Ryan Hughes, vice president of business development at Verizon Wireless. "Working with Danal will give our customers the opportunity to make direct online mobile payments with the most secure, feature-rich, convenient method available."



"Verizon Wireless is combining the convenience of the mobile phone and its strong billing platform to provide their customers with a convenient mobile payment option," remarked Jim Greenwell, chief executive officer of Danal, Inc. in the United States. "Verizon Wireless is the bellwether service provider in this space, and we see this agreement will likely be the beginning of a change in the industry's approach to online mobile payments -- one that involves ease of use and strong security for subscribers' mobile payments, as well as robust user controls that will help individual subscribers and families manage their digital purchases and digital lives."



The BilltoMobile payment service is simple for consumers. To conduct a transaction, consumers click on the BilltoMobile button during checkout at a participating online Web site and then input their mobile numbers and mobile billing zip codes for subscriber authentication. A text message is then sent to consumers' mobile phones with a one-time passcode. Once consumers input this passcode into the online checkout window, the transaction is completed. The entire process takes about 15 seconds, and there is no pre-registration or links to credit cards or bank accounts required. In Korea, where Danal is the dominant mobile payments provider -- and where credit card penetration rates are even higher than in the United States -- 80 percent of all mobile subscribers have chosen to use direct mobile billing, and up to 60 percent of all online digital content purchases in Korea are now billed directly to mobile accounts.



BilltoMobile is now partnering with prominent online merchants in the United States, including popular online game publishers, virtual worlds, social networks, and other sites selling digital items, content and services online. The attractive merchant fees associated with the BilltoMobile payment service, which are significantly lower than traditional mobile billing rates, along with strong security and merchant back office tools, is creating a major network of participating online sites. Danal will be announcing some of its signed merchant agreements in the near future.



About Verizon Wireless



Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.



About Danal, Inc. and BilltoMobile™



Danal, Inc. is a privately held, majority-owned company of Danal Co., Ltd – the global pioneer and leader in direct mobile billing for eCommerce. Based in the Silicon Valley, Danal, Inc. also gained early investment support from Morgenthaler Ventures, one of the oldest and premier US venture capital firms. BilltoMobile™ is an alternate payment technology providing mobile subscribers with the ability to charge online purchases from approved merchants to their mobile phone bill. Established in 2000, Korea-based Danal Co., Ltd has launched the direct mobile billing service globally with 14 mobile carrier integrations throughout South Korea, Taiwan, and China that have together processed over $2 billion dollars in transactions with over ten thousand merchant partners.



SOURCE Verizon Wireless Back to top RELATED LINKS

http://www.verizonwireless.com