Dynamic Card Solutions, Now Part of Datacard Group, Awarded Patent for Printing Method of Instantly Issued Unembossed Financial Cards

Patent Further Enhances Company’s Portfolio of End-to-End Instant Issuance Solutions

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dynamic Card Solutions (DCS), recently acquired by DataCard Corporation (Datacard Group), and the leading provider of instant issuance and PIN selection solutions for banks, credit unions and retailers that issue magnetic strip, EMV® compliant and contactless cards, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted the company a patent encompassing proprietary instant issuance printing technology for unembossed “flat” financial cards, further enhancing Datacard Group’s portfolio of end-to-end instant issuance solutions.

“We are pleased to have obtained this patent, as it demonstrates our ongoing innovation in the marketplace and the fact that we continue to pioneer strategic technology for instant card issuance”

Filed in 2007, the patent entitled ‘Real Time Card Printing Systems and Methods’ (U.S. Patent No. 7806338) describes the ability to produce—at the branch level—financial cards from blank card stock, including the ability to print unembossed financial cards instantly using reverse retransfer film with inhibitor panels.

The CardWizard® software platform enables the instant issuance of permanent financial cards, including debit, credit, ATM or prepaid cards, at the branch level. This patent specifically outlines the CardWizard software’s ability to print standard background designs, custom images, cardholder’s name, expiry date, logos, PAN and CVV/CVV2 codes in real time on full, over-the-edge retransfer film instead of directly on the card, using inhibitor panels to inhibit the retransfer film from transferring to the card on such areas as the signature panel, magnetic stripe or contact chip.

"We are pleased to have obtained this patent, as it demonstrates our ongoing innovation in the marketplace and the fact that we continue to pioneer strategic technology for instant card issuance,” said Ron Zanotti, senior vice president of financial instant issuance for Datacard Group. As debit and credit cards continue to be the convenient payment method of choice, many financial institutions are instantly issuing card products with multiple background images to associate their cards with affinity programs and/or institutional branding. This type of personalization at the branch level is an affordable way that financial institutions can increase service levels, increase revenue generation on cards, and cross-sell other card products.”

With the acquisition of DCS and the CardWizard software, Datacard Group offers a true Secure Issuance Anywhere™ infrastructure, which includes scalable, flexible hardware, software, supplies, and consultation and project management for any card issuance environment. The company’s expertise and intellectual property create an unmatched resource for financial institutions looking to implement a card issuance program that aligns with their business strategy and drives revenue and profitability. These card programs can include central or instant issuance, PIN selection and PIN change, embossed or unembossed cards, and contactless, NFC and EMV® compliant personalization applications.

For more information, please visit www.instantissuance.com or www.datacard.com.

About Datacard Group

Datacard Group is building on a 40-year heritage of innovation and customer success. Our portfolio of solutions, backed by expert service and support, enable card and secure ID programs for financial, government and other markets worldwide. With an unmatched commitment to customer satisfaction, Datacard remains the industry’s leading brand of secure ID and card personalization solutions. www.datacard.com

About Dynamic Card Solutions

Dynamic Card Solutions (DCS), recently acquired by Datacard Group, is the leading provider of instant issuance and PIN selection solutions for banks, credit unions and retailers that issue EMV® compliant, contactless and magnetic stripe cards. DCS currently has more than 550 financial institution customers supporting thousands of active branches globally. For additional information, call +1 303.754.2000 or visit the Dynamic Card Solutions Web site at www.instantissuance.com.

http://www.ePINDebit.com http://www.iPINDebit.com http://www.e-PINDebit.com http://www.PINDebit.mobi

Jack Dorsey's Square Roll Out Delayed over "Security Concerns"

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Finextra Reports that Jack Dorsey's Square is back to...Square One?



Square roll-out delayed over security concerns

Much-hyped payments start-up Square has been forced to delay shipping its product that turns mobile phones into payment card readers because of emerging fraud concerns, with founder Jack Dorsey admitting parts were released "before they were fully baked".



Unveiling his new firm to much fanfare in December, Twitter founder Dorsey predicted Square would be available for customers in the US early this year.



Now, in a letter to customers (see below), he admits "we've let our excitement get the best of us" and says "we realize the amount of time we've taken to ship our Square readers has been frustrating, sometimes confusing, and has generated a number of questions".  The start-up initially suffered from hardware shortages but says this has been resolved with manufacturers in China.



However, a new problem has emerged. According to a letter to users from the Square support team: "We need to strengthen our underwriting infrastructure so that we can handle the huge demand for readers and still manage the risk of chargebacks and fraud."



Dorsey says Square initially moved to negate the risks by setting transaction limits but these have been set too low according to customers, prompting "rethinking and expanding" of the underwriting infrastructure.



The letter provides no details on when the product may be ready to ship, with Dorsey signing off: "We thank you for your continued patience as we work to deliver a utility you can use every day and for allowing us the time to get it right."



Finextra verdict: Reality bites for Square. Overly-hyped by the starry-eyed Silicon Valley tech press, Jack Dorsey and Co are discovering the hard way that payments processing is not as easy or as simple as it might first appear. Innovation has its place, but in the money-changing business it has to be backed up by a resilient infrastructure and water-tight contracts. There's no place for a fail-whale in the payments sphere.



Editor's Note:  Want PIN Transaction Capability?  Take a look at our SLIM POS with a built-in PCI Certified PIN Entry Device. (below)  

Conduct Secure End-to-End-Encrypted PIN Debit Transactions with our SLIM PCI Certified PIN Entry Device

Here's a copy of the letter sent by Jack Dorsey:

"Dear Square user,



We announced Square with the phrase: "0 to $60 in under 10 seconds."



Square's goal is to enable people to accept payments immediately, everywhere. We realize the amount of time we've taken to ship our Square readers has been frustrating, sometimes confusing, and has generated a number of questions. When we announced the company last December, we estimated Square would be ready in the U.S. sometime in early 2010. Since then, we've let our excitement get the best of us and have released parts of Square before they were fully baked.



A recent email from our support team to a Square user sums up where we are:



Until recently, we were facing a big hardware shortage, but that is now resolved (we sent our co-founder Jim to China for a couple weeks to arrange better manufacturing, and that did the trick). The problem has transitioned to something we've been working on simultaneously, a credit processing and risk issue. We need to strengthen our underwriting infrastructure so that we can handle the huge demand for readers and still manage the risk of chargebacks and fraud. This is the last thing preventing us from shipping readers as fast as we'd like, and we have pretty much the entire team working on it.



The way we are handling the risk of chargebacks and fraud is through transaction limits, but we have received feedback that those limits are too low. We are rethinking and expanding our underwriting infrastructure to address this issue. As soon as we finish, we will send you an email to confirm that you would like us to run a credit check (or you can cancel your request to process cards with Square which will securely remove your personal information). We will then ship your free card reader and activate your account to accept card payments.



We thank you for your continued patience as we work to deliver a utility you can use every day and for allowing us the time to get it right.



Jack Dorsey

Square CEO"

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Magnetic Stripes Being Made More Secure

Computerworld - As news of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s plan to convert its U.S. payment terminals to smartcard-compatible systems surfaced, there was also news of efforts to make existing magnetic stripe cards more secure.

One effort that appears to have made considerable progress involves a card authentication technology that uses information from the magnetic stripe on the back of each card to create a unique digital fingerprint of the card. Each time the card is used, information from its magnetic stripe is matched with its fingerprint. The technology is designed to use data about stolen cards to detect and stop the use of counterfeit cards at the payment terminal.

A major U.S. retailer will be announcing its support for the technology within the next one month or so, said Tom Patterson, chief security officer at MagTek Inc., a Seal Beach, Calif.-based vendor of card readers, check scanners, PIN pads and other electronic payment and identification products. Patterson said the unnamed retailer is equipping about 30,000 of its outlets with payment terminals featuring a MagTek technology that captures specific magnetic stripe information and compares it to a baseline "fingerprint," stored by the card issuer, for that card. Fifth Third Bank piloted similar technology with Visa last year.

Continue Reading at Computerworld 

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• Wal-Mart:: "It's Time For Chip-And-PIN In The U.S." (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• First FI in US to Issue Globally Compliant EMV Dual Interface Chip Card (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Gemalto Introduces Globally Accepted Payment Card for U.S. Travelers (pindebit.blogspot.com)

Magnetic Stripes Being Made More Secure

Computerworld - As news of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s plan to convert its U.S. payment terminals to smartcard-compatible systems surfaced, there was also news of efforts to make existing magnetic stripe cards more secure.

One effort that appears to have made considerable progress involves a card authentication technology that uses information from the magnetic stripe on the back of each card to create a unique digital fingerprint of the card. Each time the card is used, information from its magnetic stripe is matched with its fingerprint. The technology is designed to use data about stolen cards to detect and stop the use of counterfeit cards at the payment terminal.

A major U.S. retailer will be announcing its support for the technology within the next one month or so, said Tom Patterson, chief security officer at MagTek Inc., a Seal Beach, Calif.-based vendor of card readers, check scanners, PIN pads and other electronic payment and identification products. Patterson said the unnamed retailer is equipping about 30,000 of its outlets with payment terminals featuring a MagTek technology that captures specific magnetic stripe information and compares it to a baseline "fingerprint," stored by the card issuer, for that card. Fifth Third Bank piloted similar technology with Visa last year.

Continue Reading at Computerworld 

Related articles by Zemanta

• SmartMetric Plans Significant Penetration of EMV Credit and Debit Payment SmartCard Market (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Powdered rust reveals magstripe data (makezine.com)


• Wal-Mart:: "It's Time For Chip-And-PIN In The U.S." (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• First FI in US to Issue Globally Compliant EMV Dual Interface Chip Card (pindebit.blogspot.com)


• Gemalto Introduces Globally Accepted Payment Card for U.S. Travelers (pindebit.blogspot.com)

World EFT POS Terminals Market - Frost and Sullivan

Accent on Security Standards to Drive Reterminalization and Growth of the World Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale Terminals Market, Finds Frost & Sullivan

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The world electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFT POS) terminals market grew at a rate of 10.3 percent in unit shipment in 2008 over 2007. Security concerns are the major factors driving EFT POS terminal uptake globally. The alarming increase in payment fraud worldwide has led to renewed interest in establishing security standards that include end-to-end encryption of data and compliance with directions from the major card issuers. The switch toward Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) and payment card industry-pin entry device (PCI-PED) has upped terminal sales growth, particularly in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

When everyone realizes what Kapersky knows

millions will need PCI PED's.  The version above is

for the USA.  We also have an EMV Version pictured below 

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.kiosks.frost.com), World EFT POS Terminals Market, finds that the market earned revenues of over $2 billion in 2008, and estimates this to exceed $3.4 billion in 2014.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure on this study, please send an e-mail to Sarah Saatzer, Corporate Communications, at sarah.saatzer@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

"The EMV guidelines require all magnetic stripe cards be replaced by chip-based ones as per the deadlines set for each geographic region, failing which the liability of fraud would shift from card issuers to banks and financial institutions," saysFrost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Aravindh Vanchesan. "As a result, legacy terminals that are incapable of handling smart cards are being replaced by newer systems on a large scale in countries such as the UK, France, Brazil, China, etc."

Vendors in this domain are continuing to innovate and offer greater functionality at the point of sale, encouraging retailers to upgrade their legacy systems.

The current economic crisis, which started in late 2007, has resulted in prolonged recession in some of the major POS markets in the United States, Western Europe, and parts of Asia and Latin America. As the eventual recovery cycle is unpredictable, all participants in the POS industry will continue to be negatively affected by the disruption in credit markets and macro-economies in the short term.

Global credit markets have also been affected by declining consumer confidence and spending worldwide. Hundreds of retail chains and several high-profile financial institutions have filed for bankruptcy in recent times. Many promising projects have been either shelved or delayed due to the lack of access to credit or capital. Apart from lower sales volumes, the steep discounts offered by manufacturers to tide through this crisis erode profit margins further.

With growing awareness on the latest technologies and multi-application capabilities of the new generation of terminals, the focus on price is expected to diminish and result in significant investments.

"Merchants need to take advantage of the new state-of-the-art payment terminals that go beyond the basic secure credit/debit functions by enhancing the customer experience and generating new revenue streams," says Aravindh. "Vendors should be pushing it as the key value proposition – transforming the payment terminal into a customer relationship management (CRM) device that is critical to the merchant's business."

At present, EFT terminals are capable of running a range of concurrent applications such as money transfer, bill payment, age verification, mobile top-up, couponing, and so on. Loyalty programs and gift cards applications are the most popular worldwide. This allows merchants to identify the profiles of potential customers and segment them according to their lifestyle and buying behavior. Moreover, it also enhances the overall shopping experience for consumers.

World EFT POS Terminals Market is part of the Kiosks & Retail Systems Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: Payment Systems in the Petroleum Market, World Self-Checkout Systems Market, World ATM Market, World Retail Software Market, and World Retail Printers Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visithttp://www.frost.com.

World EFT POS Terminals Market
N6BD
Contact:
Sarah Saatzer
Corporate Communications – North America
P: 210.477.8427
E: sarah.saatzer@frost.com
http://www.frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

World EFT POS Terminals Market - Frost and Sullivan

Accent on Security Standards to Drive Reterminalization and Growth of the World Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale Terminals Market, Finds Frost & Sullivan

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The world electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFT POS) terminals market grew at a rate of 10.3 percent in unit shipment in 2008 over 2007. Security concerns are the major factors driving EFT POS terminal uptake globally. The alarming increase in payment fraud worldwide has led to renewed interest in establishing security standards that include end-to-end encryption of data and compliance with directions from the major card issuers. The switch toward Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) and payment card industry-pin entry device (PCI-PED) has upped terminal sales growth, particularly in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

When everyone realizes what Kapersky knows

millions will need PCI PED's.  The version above is

for the USA.  We also have an EMV Version pictured below 

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.kiosks.frost.com), World EFT POS Terminals Market, finds that the market earned revenues of over $2 billion in 2008, and estimates this to exceed $3.4 billion in 2014.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure on this study, please send an e-mail to Sarah Saatzer, Corporate Communications, at sarah.saatzer@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

"The EMV guidelines require all magnetic stripe cards be replaced by chip-based ones as per the deadlines set for each geographic region, failing which the liability of fraud would shift from card issuers to banks and financial institutions," saysFrost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Aravindh Vanchesan. "As a result, legacy terminals that are incapable of handling smart cards are being replaced by newer systems on a large scale in countries such as the UK, France, Brazil, China, etc."

Vendors in this domain are continuing to innovate and offer greater functionality at the point of sale, encouraging retailers to upgrade their legacy systems.

The current economic crisis, which started in late 2007, has resulted in prolonged recession in some of the major POS markets in the United States, Western Europe, and parts of Asia and Latin America. As the eventual recovery cycle is unpredictable, all participants in the POS industry will continue to be negatively affected by the disruption in credit markets and macro-economies in the short term.

Global credit markets have also been affected by declining consumer confidence and spending worldwide. Hundreds of retail chains and several high-profile financial institutions have filed for bankruptcy in recent times. Many promising projects have been either shelved or delayed due to the lack of access to credit or capital. Apart from lower sales volumes, the steep discounts offered by manufacturers to tide through this crisis erode profit margins further.

With growing awareness on the latest technologies and multi-application capabilities of the new generation of terminals, the focus on price is expected to diminish and result in significant investments.

"Merchants need to take advantage of the new state-of-the-art payment terminals that go beyond the basic secure credit/debit functions by enhancing the customer experience and generating new revenue streams," says Aravindh. "Vendors should be pushing it as the key value proposition – transforming the payment terminal into a customer relationship management (CRM) device that is critical to the merchant's business."

At present, EFT terminals are capable of running a range of concurrent applications such as money transfer, bill payment, age verification, mobile top-up, couponing, and so on. Loyalty programs and gift cards applications are the most popular worldwide. This allows merchants to identify the profiles of potential customers and segment them according to their lifestyle and buying behavior. Moreover, it also enhances the overall shopping experience for consumers.

World EFT POS Terminals Market is part of the Kiosks & Retail Systems Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: Payment Systems in the Petroleum Market, World Self-Checkout Systems Market, World ATM Market, World Retail Software Market, and World Retail Printers Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visithttp://www.frost.com.

World EFT POS Terminals Market
N6BD
Contact:
Sarah Saatzer
Corporate Communications – North America
P: 210.477.8427
E: sarah.saatzer@frost.com
http://www.frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan