Friday, June 26, 2009

Simple Steps to Keep Your Identity Safe Online

Simple steps to keep your identity safe online

June is Internet Safety Month, and simple identity theft protection steps such as shredding your mail and keeping careful tabs on your bank accounts and credit cards are essential first layers of protection against identity thieves. But there is an open door in many homes that is inviting criminals into personal information, and it is often left unprotected - the computer.

A recent study by online security provider Tiversa found more than 13 million online files have been breached over the last year, and P2P sharing services seem to be a popular way for criminals to get in.

There are steps consumers can take to reduce their risk for identity theft through the use of P2P file sharing services. LifeLock offers the following online safety tips:

Install file-sharing software carefully, taking special note of default settings and permissions placed on shared folders
Use security software and make sure you keep it up-to-date. You can set most anti-virus and anti-spyware protection programs to update automatically and regularly
Be sure to close your connections when you are done with a file-sharing session. Closing the window doesn't automatically close the connection, which could leave your computer's information vulnerable
Maintain backups of all important documents. This will ensure your information is maintained for your personal use should you need to delete it from your computer or any file
Talk with your family about safe file-sharing practices, and create separate user accounts for others who may use your computer. By separating accounts you can prevent others from installing software on your computer that may expose your information
Before providing personal information to your doctor, attorney, insurance company, employer or anyone else make sure to ask for details on how they will keep this data secure

Identity theft is costing Americans more than $1.8 billion annually, according to the Federal Trade Commission, and the latest FTC reports show the number of identity theft complaints has grown by 80 percent since 2000. Among the forms of identity theft and fraud reported to the FTC in 2008 are credit card fraud, medical benefit fraud and falsified government or employment documents.

VisaNet IPO: $4.3 Billion, Worlds Largest in Over a Year

Finextra: VisaNet IPO totals $4.3m

VisaNet IPO totals $4.3m
Visa's Brazilian affiliate VisaNet is raising around $4.3 billion in its initial public offering, the biggest in the world for over a year.

The Sao Paulo-based credit card company's shareholders - including Visa, Banco Bradesco, Banco do Brasil and Banco Santander - sold 559.81 million shares at a price of 15 reais each.

Book-building in the IPO closed out yesterday with shares set to begin trading on the Brazilian Stock Exchange on Monday.

According to a Reuters report, on Wednesday 19 brokerages were banned from participating in the IPO for allegedly releasing unapproved advertising material about the sale.

VisaNet was the first Brazilian IPO of the year and the country's biggest ever.

VisaNet, IPO

How Convenient is it when 20% of Fraud Victims Can't Get Their Money Back?

When "Convenience creates Inconvenience" is it time for a Change?

I know that everyone is pushing convenience over security when it comes to financial transactions, but did you know that 1 out of 5 victims of credit/debit card fraud never see their money again?

New research has found that one in five victims of financial fraud have not managed to retrieve the money they have lost. Some one in four people surveyed by Which? said they had been a victim of financial fraud and while most had managed to reclaim the lost money from their bank or credit card provider, 20 per cent of victims said they had been left out of pocket.

There is a rule that banks are enforcing which statesthat if a customer acts without "reasonable" care to limit risks, theywill have a hard time getting their money back.
For example, if a customer enters their PIN while a criminal is overlooking their shoulder, the banks could argue that you should have covered the keypad with your hand. Question is, when will that rule apply to consumers who "type" their numbers into a box on the web?

It seems to me (although one could make a "Post hoc ergo propter hoc" case against this argument) that if banks refuse to refund money because you "typed/entered" your PIN without taking proper precaution to cover it with your hand, then consumers should known better than to "type/enter" their credit/debit card number on the web.

My point is, that it is NOT reasonable to believe that your card numbers won't be intercepted by hackers, when there are stories saying that it happens every day. My point is also that card companies assume the risks of "insecurity" because they make so much money on "convenience." (that and the fact that insecure transactions have higher interchange and thus higher profit) The card companies have consumers trained to "type vs. swipe" and they have them trained to believe in zero-liability, but according to this article, the facts are that consumers actually stand a 20% chance of having that zero liability transformed into 100% liability.

Martyn Hocking, the editor of Which?, said: "Identity fraud is"inconvenient" and stressful, and can also be costly if you're unable torecover your losses.

As consumers become more aware of this fact, will they choose security over "inconvenience"? If so, I predict it won't be long before we'll see a major behavioral change/shift in the way consumers shop online. So the question begsto be asked, how convenient is it when the so-called convenience actually causesinconvenience? If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,then how long before consumers "weigh in" on the pros and cons of convenience and tip the scalestoward security?

Here is an excerpt from an article from Compare and Save dot com:

"Clever" criminals cause credit card fraud rise

Which? has issued best-practice credit card guidance. Many people who suffer from a certain type of credit card fraud are facing difficulty with reclaiming their money, according to the consumer group.

Which? said in new analysis released today that one in five ID theft victims do not get a refund from their bank or credit card provider.

ID theft occurs when a fraudster impersonates a cardholder in order to gain access to their accounts.

It is commonly achieved through criminals looking over a victim's shoulder while they are entering their pin at a cash machine or in a shop and then stealing the card.

Victims can have a hard time getting the money back, as bank rules state that claims can be turned down if the customer acted without "reasonable" care to limit risks.

Continue Reading

Twitter CEO Says No Advertisements will Target Tweeters

Twitter CEO pours cold water on ecommerce ad claims

The chief executive of Twitter has denied that the website will soon launch a service allowing companies to push product recommendations to users.

Rumors of the new ads began last week after Todd Chaffee, a partner at Institutional Venture Partners which has invested in Twitter, told the New York Times Bits blog that such a service is likely to be launched to help the site generate revenues in the near future.

The recommendations would aim to take advantage of the fact that Twitter is used by many people to ask friends and followers for product advice and would take the form of automatic replies to individual tweets containing ecommerce links and money off vouchers, he said.

Evan Williams, chief executive of Twitter, responded to the claims in a comment on a Business Insider article by stating: "Todd ... is not actually on Twitter's board and, in this article, he's brainstorming on his own.

"These are not in the least bit concrete plans of the company."

A study recently conducted by Harvard Business School found that 90 per cent of all posts on Twitter are generated by the top ten per cent of users sending the highest number of tweets.

This news story was brought to you by Bluhalo, a leading UK

Twitter, Todd Chaffee, Venture Partners, Evan Williams

Whitepaper - How To Defend Against New Botnek Attacks

According to Symantec's MessageLabs Intelligence, botnets were responsible for 90% of spam in 2008. More importantly, these compromised "robot" computer networks do not seem to be going away anytime soon.

The ever changing nature of botnets make them hard to detect and even harder to defend against. MessageLabs' latest industry white paper, "How to Defend Against New Botnet Attacks" aims to help you understand how to fight them.

About Bots or A Bout w/Bots

A "bot" is a type of malware that allows an attacker to take control over an affected computer. Also known as “Web robots”, bots are usually part of a network of infected machines, known as a “botnet”, which is typically made up of victim machines that stretch across the globe.

Since a bot infected computer does the bidding of its master, many people refer to these victim machines as “zombies.”

The cybercriminals that control these bots are called botherders or botmasters.

Some botnets might have a few hundred or a couple thousand computers, but others have tens and even hundreds of thousands of zombies at their disposal. Many of these computers are infected without their owners' knowledge. Some possible warning signs? A bot might cause your computer to slow down, display mysterious messages, or even crash.

How Bots Work

Bots sneak onto a person’s computer in many ways. Bots often spread themselves across the Internet by searching for vulnerable, unprotected computers to infect. When they find an exposed computer, they quickly infect the machine and then report back to their master. Their goal is then to stay hidden until they are instructed to carry out a task. After a computer is taken over by a bot, it can be used to carry out a variety of automated tasks.

To download the whitepaper from ZDNet, click here

How to Defend Against New Botnek Attacks, Symantec

NRF and RILA Call Off Merger

NRF, RILA End Merger Discussions
For Immediate Release

Contact: Scott Krugmanor krugmans@nrf.com

NRF, RILA End Merger Discussions
Associations Continue to Work Together to Represent Retail Industry

Washington,June 24--The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail IndustryLeaders Association (RILA) today announced that the two organizationshave ended merger discussions.

“Following a deliberativeprocess, RILA and NRF have ended discussions aimed at merging the twoorganizations. NRF and RILA will devote all resources to continuing thework they are each doing to address the serious issues that America’sconsumers and retailers are facing in today’s economic environment,”said the two boards of directors in a joint statement.

TheRetail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) promotes consumer choice andeconomic freedom through public policy and industry operationalexcellence. RILA members include the largest and most successfulcompanies in the retail industry. RILA provides its members with uniqueeducational forums, effective public policy advocacy, and advancementof the retail industry.

The National Retail Federation is theworld's largest retail trade association, with membership thatcomprises all retail formats and channels of distribution includingdepartment, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores,chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores as well as theindustry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF'smission is to advance and protect the interests of the retail industryand to help retailers achieve excellence in all areas of theirbusiness.

###

UK Spy Chief Warns of Blackberry/iPhone Threat

UK Spy chief warns of terrorism threat to Blackberrys and iPhones (he won't even have one)

By Tim Shipman, Deputy Political Editor
Last updated at 11:13 PM on 25th June 2009

Editors Note: It's not that the phones themselves are unsafe, it's the fact that the new phones use web browsers. So, more e-vidence that you might want to think twice about typing your credit/debit card numbers into a smart phone. Guess what? Same goes for typing your credit/debit numbers into a box on a merchant website. Here's a story from the UK"s Mail Online:

Security Minister Lord West has warned that BlackBerrys and iPhones are vulnerable to attack from spies, criminals and terrorists. He said Britain must be alert to the growing threat of cyber attacks on computers and internet-enabled smart phones, which costs the country several billion pounds a year.

Lord West, unveiling the UK's first Cyber Security Strategy yesterday, said: 'With an email, more people see what you have written than if you wrote a postcard.

Security Minister Lord West has revealed that he refuses to have a smartphone because of fears of internet hacking

'When you get a new phone you open yourself up to all the internet issues. Suddenly, people can get access to all sorts of data. We know terrorists use the internet for radicalisation, but there is a fear they will move down that path.

'As their ability to use the web grows, there will be more opportunity for these attacks.'

The initiaitive, which will feature an M15-run Office for Cyber Security to coordinate Government policy, will also see teenage computer hackers drafted in to the GCHQ listening post in Cheltenhamto hunt down cyberterrorists attempting to infiltrate Whitehall computer systems.

Officials refuse to say how many times government computers are targeted, but admit that BT alone faces 1,000 attacks every day.

Lord West has revealed he is personally refusing to use any of the new generation of multi-media phones that are on the market.

Security experts have already warned that some mobile phone owners who use text messages to access bank account details face the risk of having confidential information stolen.

Lord West, who has a Nokia business mobile, said today: It's one reason why I have this Stone Age phone.'He said fashionable smart mobiles are at risk if linked to the internet.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Why Interchange Fees Should Come Down

Felix Salmon writes that he believes Interchange Fees Should Come Down in an article he wrote for Seeking Alpha: Here's an excerpt:

Juan Lagorio is right. The various proposed bills regulating interchange fees — the fees that merchants pay whenever a customer uses a credit card to pay for something — could definitely hurt Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA), despite the fact that Visa and Mastercard don’t actually charge those fees and claim that they would not be impacted by the legislation.

How do we know that Visa and Mastercard are worried? Well, for one thing, Shawn Miles, the head of global public policy at Mastercard, has written an essay arguing against them:

No matter how loudly the big box merchants claim the mantle of “Protector of Consumer Interests,” granting big box merchants a collusionary antitrust exemption will have the opposite effect: less credit availability, higher prices, and reduced choice for consumers.

Miles points to the precedent of Australia, which saw credit-card fees rise after the government mandated lower interchange fees. But the post hoc ergo propter hoc argument is weak: For-profit card companies will naturally raise fees as much as they can no matter how much or how little money they make on interchange. It’s the same mechanism driving penalty rates of interest. And indeed the base case in the US is for a slow yet inexorable rise in interchange fees: One purpose of this legislation is to try and put an end to interchange-fee inflation (up 14% last year to about $48 billion, averaging an eye-popping 1.75% of total purchases).

Continue Reading at Seeking Alpha

Sheets to Offer First Data GO-Tag at 250 Locations

Sheetz Offers Latest Payment Technology from First Data
Submitted by PIN Payments Blog on June 25, 2009

The GO-Tag Contactless Payment Sticker to Be Introduced at All 350 Convenience Store Locations

DENVER--(AllPayNews.com)--First Data, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing services, today announced Sheetz, Inc. as a new customer of the First Data® GO-TagTM payment technology solution. The GO-Tag solution is First Data’s latest innovation that allows consumers to make purchases simply by tapping their sticker on a contactless reader. Sheetz will begin to sell the First Data GO-Tag solution at all of its 350 locations across the U.S. by the end of July.

The First Data GO-Tag solution allows consumers to use contactless payment technology to make purchases easier and faster. The GO-Tag solution deployed by Sheetz is configured as an open-loop, reloadable prepaid payment sticker and can be used wherever Visa payWave is accepted. For those merchant locations that do not accept contactless payments, the GO-Tag solution includes a separate magnetic-stripe Visa prepaid card.

“We are pleased to partner with Sheetz on providing consumers a more innovative way to pay for their purchases,” said Barry McCarthy, general manager of Mobile Commerce and Point of Sale Solutions at First Data. “With First Data’s GO-Tag solution, Sheetz customers no longer have to carry cash or go through the hassles of storing loose change. By simply tapping their GO-Tag on a contactless reader, the transaction is completed instantly – no waiting or signature required.”

Sheetz convenience stores operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. As one of America’s fastest growing convenience store chains, Sheetz is committed to using technology to enhance the customer experience whether it is their award-winning menu items ordered through unique touch-screen order points, Wi-Fi access in most locations, or contactless payment options at the pump.

“We are always looking for ways to improve the in-store experience for our customers by making purchases faster and more convenient,” said Louie Sheetz, executive vice president, Sheetz marketing. “This new GO-Tag technology will make things easier for customers, as well as for our store employees. We are excited to be among the first retailers to implement this system.”

Innovations in contactless technology are creating new payment form factors for consumers and furthering the migration of payments from paper to electronic. The GO-Tag solution can virtually eliminate the need to carry cash for purchases. Consumers have the flexibility to place the contactless payment sticker on anything that they routinely carry, such as an employee badge, student ID or other personal item. To learn more about the First Data GO-Tag solution, go to www.gotag.com.

About Sheetz

Established in 1952 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, Sheetz, Inc. is one of America’s fastest growing family-owned and operated convenience store chains, with more than $4.9 billion revenue for 2008 and more than 12,000 employees. The company operates more than 350 convenience locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. Sheetz provides an award-winning menu of MTO® subs, sandwiches and salads, which are ordered through unique touch-screen order point terminals. Sheetz currently ranks 82nd on the Forbes list of largest private companies and has ranked for seven consecutive years on the list of Best Places to work in Pennsylvania. All Sheetz convenience stores are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information, visit www.sheetz.com.

About First Data

First Data powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and businesses to buy goods and services using virtually any form of electronic payment. Whether the choice of payment is a gift card, a credit or debit card or a check, First Data securely processes the transaction and harnesses the power of the data to deliver intelligence and insight for millions of merchant locations and thousands of card issuers in 36 countries. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.

Contacts

Media Contacts:
First Data
Elizabeth Grice, 303-967-8526
elizabeth.grice@firstdata.com

GO Tag, First Data, Sheetz

From The Street

: Mad About Options: The Master of Cards

The Mad About Options crew discusses FastMoney's take on Mastercard and offers options strategies for traders and investors.

HSBC Bringing Biz Banking to iPhone

Summary:

Global bank HSBC is now offering its business internet banking services to UK customers using the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

HSBC claims to be the first financial institution to offer this type of service on these mobile devices in the UK. The bank launched the service for BlackBerry devices in October last year.

Thanks to the new service, the bank's 325,000 business internet banking customers with an iPhone or iPod Touch can securely monitor their financial transactions, make payments of up to £100,000 per day, apply for overdrafts and set up and manage pensions.

Continue Reading at Silicon.com

HSBC, iPhone, Business Banking

RFID Allows V/MC to Track Users - That's LBS

RFID-Enabled Phones Could Let Credit Card Companies Track Users | Threat Level | Wired.com

RFID-Enabled Phones Could Let Credit Card Companies Track Users | by Kim Zetter | Wired.com

An Ericsson executive says all new mobile phones sold in 2010 will include an RFID chip that will allow owners to open their car or house door with their phone. A handy feature, no doubt, for some people. But the executive says the chip might also be used by credit card companies to track the location of cardholders to cut down on fraud.

Håkan Djuphammar, vice president of systems architecture for Ericsson, speaking at a conference in Stockholm this week, said credit card companies could make use of mobile user location data and IP mapping to determine if the owner of a card is in the same location where a card transaction is taking place.

Continue Reading

RFID, LBS, Location Based Services, Visa, MasterCard, Ericsson, mobile phones, mpay

Social Networking Can Cost You

Users of social network sites may be far more vulnerable to financial loss, identity theft and malware infection than they realize, according to new research from Internet security firm Webroot.

The research consulted over 1,100 users of the most popular social network sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter. Here's the Press Release:

Webroot® Survey Reveals Social Networkers’ Risky Behaviors

Two-thirds share personal information with strangers – knowingly or unknowingly

Members of online social networks may be more vulnerable to financial loss, identity theft and malware infection than they realize, according to a new survey from Webroot, a leading provider of Internet security software for the consumer, enterprise and SMB markets.

Surveying over 1,100 members of Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and other popular social networks, Webroot uncovered numerous behaviors that put social networkers’ identities and wallets at risk. Among the highlights:

Two-thirds of respondents don’t restrict any details of their personal profile from being visible through a public search engine like Google;
Over half aren’t sure who can see their profile;
About one third include at least three pieces of personally identifiable information;
Over one third use the same password across multiple sites; and
One quarter accept “friend requests” from strangers

“The growth of social networks presents hackers with a huge target. The amount of time spent on communities like Facebook last year grew at three times the rate of overall Internet growth,” said Mike Kronenberg, chief technology officer of Webroot’s Consumer business. “Three in ten people Webroot polled experienced a security attack through a social network in the past year, including identity theft, malware infection, spam, unauthorized password changes and “friend in distress” money-stealing scams. The first step to staying protected is being aware of what the threats are and knowing how to help prevent them.”

Social Networks Present New Opportunities for Cybercriminals
Cybercriminals employ various types of trickery and malware to capitalize on risky behaviors. One common tactic is phishing, which hackers use to entice victims into downloading an infected file, visiting a disreputable site outside the social network, or wiring money to a “friend in distress.”

In recent months, Webroot has seen an increase in these types of attacks on social networks, including “Trojan-MyBlot,” which targeted users of MyYearbook.com, and others targeting Facebook users including “Koobface” and several spread through the domains “mygener.im,” “ponbon.im” and “hunro.im.”

“Hackers lure users into taking actions they shouldn’t by making it appear as if a friend within their social network has sent them a message – only the message is from a hacker who’s hijacked the friend’s account,” continued Kronenberg. “We’ve seen instances where a salacious yet poorly worded message like, ‘This video of u is evrywhere’ includes a link that, when clicked, prompts the user to download a seemingly legitimate file which, once on your PC, can do a number of things -- spam your friends, monitor your online activity or record your personal information.”

Hackers can also use less sophisticated means to execute attacks on social networks: The Webroot survey respondents who reported experiencing identity theft, a hijacked account and unauthorized username or password changes may have been victimized by hackers who were able to access their profiles and guess their passwords based on the personal information they included.

Results indicate a general lack of awareness of the security risks on social networks and the tools available to protect personal information, as well as higher rates of risky behaviors exhibited by younger social networkers.

Social networkers make private information public:

80 percent allow at least part of their profiles to be searchable through Google or other public search engines; 66 percent don’t restrict any profile information from being visible through public search
Over half (59 percent) of respondents aren’t sure who can see their profile
Over one quarter (28 percent) accept friend requests from strangers; of those, one third (36 percent) do not cloak any of their profile information
About one third (32 percent) include at least three pieces of identifiable information

Privacy concerns outweigh protective actions:

78 percent expressed some concern over the privacy of the information they share in their profiles
However, 36 percent use the same password across multiple sites
And 30 percent do not have adequate protection against viruses and spyware

Younger users take more risks – 18-29 year olds are more likely to:

Use the same password across multiple sites (51 percent, versus 36 percent overall)
Accept a friend request from a stranger (40 percent, versus 28 percent overall)
Share more personal information that may compromise online privacy (67 percent share birth date, versus 52 percent overall; 62 percent share home town, versus 50 percent overall; 45 percent share employer, versus 35 percent overall)
Experience a security attack (nearly 40 percent, versus 30 percent overall)

Tips for Safe Social Networking
Webroot recommends the following actions to protect privacy and prevent threats on social networks.

Guard your personal information – Use privacy settings to restrict who can see your sensitive information, or consider omitting all personal information from your profile
Be skeptical -- E-mails, friend requests, Web site links and other items from sources you do not know could be laced with malware
Choose passwords wisely -- Use different passwords for each of your sites; select a randomized combination of numbers and letters
Have antivirus and antispyware protection – Even if you think you’re not infected, scan your machine for dormant viruses with a free scan; and protect your PC with an Internet security suite that includes antivirus, antispyware, and firewall technologies
Always install updates – If you’re already using antimalware software, be sure to install updates which include the latest malware definitions; do the same with updates to your operating system
Even with security in place, remain vigilant – Malware authors are continually writing new programs to avoid detection, so pay close attention to suspicious behavior

Webroot offers several comprehensive Internet security solutions for consumers including Webroot® AntiVirus with AntiSpyware, and Webroot Internet Security Essentials. For more information about these and other products, please visit http://www.webroot.com/En_US/consumer.html.

ABOUT WEBROOT
Webroot, a Boulder, Colorado-based company provides industry-leading security solutions to consumers, enterprises and small to medium-sized businesses worldwide. For more information visit http://www.webroot.com/ or call 800.772.9383.

©2009 Webroot Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Webroot is a registered trademark of Webroot Software, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Social Networking, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Webroot Software, Webroot Survey, ID Theft, Financial Data, social networks, Social Networking Can Cost You

PrePaid Card Regulation Next?

Should Prepaid Cards Be Regulated? - WSJ.com

By KRISTINA PETERSON

Credit cards, debit cards and gift cards are due to face tighter regulations in the coming months thanks to a new credit-card law signed by President Barack Obama, but one piece of plastic is flying under the regulatory radar.

Prepaid reloadable cards, payment cards that aren’t tethered to a traditional bank account, won’t get the same regulatory scrutiny under the recently enacted Credit Card Act of 2009.

Between 2003 and 2007, prepaid transactions jumped from less than $5 billion a year to somewhere between $39 billion and $113 billion, according to industry estimates

Consumer advocates want to change that. They are urging the Federal Reserve to strengthen guidelines affecting prepaid cards from companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Green Dot Corp., NetSpend Corp. and H&R Block Inc. while the Obama administration’s focus remains concentrated on regulating the credit-card and banking industries.

Unlike credit cards, prepaid reloadable cards aren’t covered by the federal statutes that protect credit-card holders from fraud or limit their losses when cards are lost or stolen. Though many prepaid card companies do offer some consumer protections, they do so voluntarily.

Though the new credit-card laws don’t oblige the Fed to weigh in on prepaid cards, it could choose to issue regulations. The Fed added consumer protections to payroll cards in July 2007, for example.

Continue Reading at the Wall Street Journal

Coupons.com eClips's '08 Numbers in First 5 Months of '09

Michelle Megna, from InternetNews.com writes that the sour economy has resulted in a boom for eCoupons which have eClipsed last years numbers already...

E-Coupon Use Growing at Rapid Clip

A whole new demographic is digging digital coupons, spurring huge growth in the online coupon category.
By Michelle Megna:

Online coupon sites saw strong growth for the month of May, signaling a trend being spurred on both by the recession as well as by the "modern" digital coupon demographic.

The coupon category posted a particularly strong month, surging 19 percent to 34.7 million visitors to lead as the top-gaining category in May, according to a comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) study released today researching traffic at the top 50 Web properties.

Coupons Inc., which includes Coupons.com, captured the top position in the category with more than 15 million visitors, a gain of 85 percent from the previous month. Eversave.com ranked second with 3.8 million visitors, followed by RetailMeNot.com with 3.5 million visitors.

The news comes at a time when online coupon use is experiencing unprecedented growth, as a new generation of bargain hunters -- those who do not subscribe to newspapers or clip physical coupons -- turn to the Internet for the convenience and vast selection realized by the digital format.

Coupons.com just announced that in five months, the savings printed on its digital coupon network in 2009 surpassed the $313 million in value printed for all of 2008. In 2009, the value of savings printed increased 212 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the company...

Continue Reading

Vitacost.com Latest to Accept eBillMe

Vitacost.com Expands Payment Option Offerings with eBillme

Online retailer is the latest to join the eBillme family of merchants, offering secure cash checkout.

eBillme(TM), the payment option that enables consumers and small businesses to use online banking to pay now and pay securely with available funds from their checking or savings accounts, welcomes Vitacost.com as the latest online retailer to offer shoppers the debt-free checkout option on their site. Now Vitacost customers have access to a new way to pay without credit, fees, or interest.

Vitacost.com is the Internet's leading retailer of vitamins, nutritional supplements, herbs, natural health, beauty, and organic products, offering shoppers wholesale prices on over 22,000 products from over 900 premium brands. Consumers of natural health products can save up to 80 percent off suggested retail price.

"Our customers value the quality of our products, our service, and our everyday low prices," says Ira Kerker, CEO of Vitacost. "eBillme helps us reach more consumers by offering our shoppers a secure way to pay for their purchases without credit. We are excited to be able to bring this new method of payment to our customers, and look forward to working with eBillme to meet our customers' needs for a cash checkout option."

"Vitacost helps consumers Live Longer and Save Money," says Marwan Forzley, President and CEO of eBillme. "We are thrilled to be a part of their site and to offer our debt-free payment option that helps consumers better manage their spending habits during this recession. eBillme meets the consumer need for a debt-free checkout option without any fees or interest, and with more security and protection. We continue to help online retailers attract customers and sales with secure cash checkout."

eBillme is easy to use. When shoppers choose the option at checkout, their order is confirmed with an eBill sent to their e-mail address. Consumers simply pay the eBill through their online checking or savings account--the same way they pay utilities, loans, and other bills. The transaction occurs securely, bank to bank, with no personal or financial information required or transmitted over the Internet.

Because shoppers pay directly from their online bank account, they don't release any financial information online. This helps consumers manage their spending and debt, while better safeguarding themselves from identity theft and fraud risks. eBillme's buyer protection program takes security a step further. Provided at no cost to shoppers and retailers, the buyer protection features have the same or better level of buyer protection than premium credit cards. Protection features include a return guarantee, price guarantee, in-transit protection, and fraud protection. Consumers can shop with confidence knowing their eBillme transaction is guaranteed and protected.

About eBillme
eBillme™ is the only online payment solution that extends the convenience of online banking to the merchant's checkout, reduces the security risks of shopping online, and enables merchants to increase sales while reducing transaction costs. No financial data is exposed and the payment transaction is securely transferred from the customer's bank to the retailer's bank. Consumers can shop online, by catalog or through call centers, and pay for their purchases at their bank, credit union, or bill pay portal using the security and convenience of online banking. eBillme gives retailers access to the over 110 million Americans who use online banking. For more information, please visit www.eBillme.com or eBillme's Online Debt-Free Shopping Mall, http://shopdebtfree.ebillme.com

About Vitacost:
Vitacost.com is a leading online retailer of nutraceutical, health & wellness products offering over 22,000 products from over 900 top brands at everyday discounts of up to 80 percent off MSRP. Vitacost.com provides 24 X 7 X 365 toll free customer service at

800-793-2601

and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Greater than 95% of orders ship the same day for the low flat rate price of $4.99. Vitacost.com is a proud member of the prestigious INC 500 Hall of Fame, recognized as a Top 500 Retailer by Internet Retailer, and consistently ranked by Nielsen as a top converting online retailer.

Source: Company Press Release

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Visa, NeuStar Team on Mobile Payments

Visa, NeuStar Team on Mobile Payments and Financial Services - PC World

Visa and NeuStar have joined forces and formed an alliance that it hopes will help accelerate the adoption of mobile financial services globally, they said on Tuesday.

Those services may include mobile remote payments for services such as bill payment and top-up for wireless airtime minutes, mobile transaction alerts and mobile money transfers, according to a statement.

Credit-card giant Visa comes to the table with its global payment network. NeuStar, a Virginia-based provider of services to telecom carriers, will serve as a neutral intermediary between mobile operators and other involved companies, and simplify the transfer of data between them.

Visa also announced what it calls the first mobile payment service in Latin America. Pago Móvil con Visa allows Peruvian holders of cards issued by Banco de Crédito, Interbank, BBVA Continental or Scotiabank to pay for products and services over the wireless network.

Both announcements were made at the Mobile Money Summit, which takes place in Barcelona this week and is organized by the GSM Association.

Currently, Visa and MasterCard are pushing a variety of mobile payments and financial services. Tests are now being turned into commercial services.

Last week MasterCard's MoneySend service went live in the U.S. It allows users to send and receive funds using text messages, the mobile browser, mobile apps, or over the Internet from a PC, a spokeswoman at MasterCard said via e-mail.

NeuStar, Visa, Mobile Payments

Future Bright for Online Retail, but No Need for Shades

According to eMarketer.com, the future of online retail looks "not too bad."

But my last post, a survey conducted by PayPal in the UK says that online sales growth is set to "double" within two years. That would certainly sound bright enough to wear shades.

So...that's the good news. The bad news is that the PayPal UK study also predicts that sales in physical stores will plummet by up to £8.3bn by the end of 2011. (See: Amazon Thanksgiving Day Parade?)

Editor's Note: "Surprise, Surprise". (search this blog for the term Paradigm Shift to learn why that's not surprising)

The PayPal UK Study goes on to say that online sales are expected to rise from just under £9bn to £21.3bn, resulting in modest growth for overall sales.

Here's the eMarketer story. BTW, if you don't subscribe to the eMarketer Newsletter you should. Go to their site to sign up for it.

The Future of Online Retail Doesn’t Look…Too Bad
JUNE 24, 2009 - eMarketer.com

Cautious optimism. Everyone knows the economy—online and off—is bad. What no one knows for sure is when the situation will improve. But things will get better.eMarketer forecasts that US retail e-commerce sales (excluding travel) will total nearly $132 billion in 2009, down 0.4% from 2008.

But, assuming the recession ends this year, as many economists predict, the forecast indicates that online sales will begin to rebound in 2010 and hit full stride in 2011. Declining sales growth rates do not tell the whole story.

“Everyone focuses on the downturn in the overall economy, but the recession has only accentuated the gradual decline in online sales growth over the past few years—the decline would likely have occurred even in normal economic times,” says Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Retail E-Commerce Forecast: Cautious Optimism. “It’s just simple math: The bigger online sales become, the harder it is to maintain high levels of growth.”

Greater spending by incumbent online buyers is the key to continued e-commerce growth. Some 152 million individuals ages 14 and above will shop online in 2009.“That means almost nine out of 10 Internet users will browse, research or compare products online this year,” says Mr. Grau. “This rate will grow slightly by 2013, since most Internet users predisposed to online shopping will already be doing it.”

Yet measuring e-commerce’s potential solely in terms of online sales ignores the impact of cross-channel shopping.

“The recession has made online product research an imperative,” says Mr. Grau.

According to PriceGrabber.com, the tough economy is driving consumers online to compare prices, look for retailers that do not charge sales tax or shipping fees, seek discounts and avoid impulse buying.

“Cross-channel shopping tends to fall under the radar because it is harder to measure than e-commerce sales,” says Mr. Grau.

Forrester Research estimated that store sales influenced by online research are higher than retail e-commerce sales. For 2009, Forrester projected cross-channel sales of $758.8 billion—about three times higher than online sales of $235.4 billion.

“Retailers still have plenty of work ahead to weave their channels into a single, unified presence,” says Mr. Grau. “If enough succeed, it could contribute to building greater consumer confidence in e-commerce.”

Look into the future, check out the new eMarketer report, Retail E-Commerce Forecast: Cautious Optimism.

24% of UK Believes Brick and Mortar Dead, Online Shopping the Future

Here's a story from the Telegraph regarding the PayPal UK Study I talked about a post or two back. One of the more interesting aspects of this story from the Telegraph is that nearly 1 in 4 people (24%) in the UK believe that online shopping will become the "norm" and that brick and mortar retail is a dead horse. Interesting...out of curiosity I wonder what percentage of people felt that way last year at this time?

Online sales set to double within two years - Telegraph

Online sales are expected to more than double to £21.3bn by the end of 2011, making up for the expected decline in trade in high street stores.
By James Hall, Retail Editor | Published: 7:09AM BST 24 Jun 2009

A major new survey by PayPal, the online payment system, predicts that sales in physical stores will plummet by up to £8.3bn by the end of 2011. However, online sales are expected to rise from just under £9bn to £21.3bn, resulting in modest growth for overall sales.

Carl Scheible, managing director of PayPal UK, argued that the report shows that the value of online retail "can no longer be dismissed as a sideshow". Mr Scheible said that the growth of internet shopping will prop up a declining general retail sector.

"Online's phenomenal growth is not only forecast to deliver sales of as much as £21.3bn by 2011, but a £12.3bn increase will also ensure that the entire UK retail sector is growing again by the end of 2011," he said.

"The recession has been tough for many UK retailers as they deal with the slowdown and its knock-on impact on consumer spending. Of course, many of the major high-street brands have actually enjoyed the online boom, despite facing challenges in their own stores. The improvements in online shopping will continue to drive consumers until they are spending £1 in every £14 online," said Mr Scheible.

The report, which was carried out by Experian, forecasts that from 2008 to 2011 high street sales will fall by up to 1.4pc.

Nearly 9m adults shop online at least once a week, the report shows.

Mr Scheible said: "In our experience the retail winners from this recession will be those that work hard to meet expectations. If customers have come to expect fantastic service on the high street, retailers must make sure they aren't disappointed if they head online. Customers want good value, simplicity and security when they decide where to spend their money online."

According to the report, which was based on interviews with 1,000 adults, 24% of UK adults now believe that online shopping will become the norm and that the high street will eventually die out. Over half of consumers polled believe that high-street retailers could significantly improve their websites and sales processes to "enhance the customer experience".

PayPal, Experian,

TJX to Pay Almost $10m More to Settle Data Theft Case

TJX to pay millions to settle data theft

T.J. Maxx, Marshall's parent reaches $9.75 million settlement

From Tribune staff - June 24, 2009

Discount retailer TJX Cos. reached a settlement with dozens of states, including Illinois, related to a massive data theft that occurred at the parent company of T.J. Maxx and Marshall's more than two years ago.

The Framingham, Mass.-based off-price retailer agreed to pay the states $9.75 million, of which Illinois will receive more than $440,000, for programs to enforce consumer protection laws, protect consumer data and provide consumer education.

An estimated $2.5 million of the overall settlement is earmarked to create a data security trust fund to be used by states' attorneys general to enforce and develop policy in the field of data security and personal information protection.

TJX admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The company believes it did not violate any consumer protection or data security laws.

Continue Reading at the Chicago Tribune

TJX, Marshall's, T.J.Maxx, Hackers 11, Breach, Hack, War Driving, WiFi

Metavante and FNBO Renew Prepaid Relationship

PRESS RELEASE: http://metavante.mediaroom.com/

Metavante and First National Bank of Omaha Renew Prepaid Relationship
June 24, 2009

MILWAUKEE--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Metavante (NYSE:MV), a leading provider of banking and payments technology, today announced that the smartOne Prepaid Solutions division of First National Bank of Omaha renewed its prepaid card processing agreement with Metavante Corporation.

“Metavante and First National Bank of Omaha align well with each other because both entities share broad payments industry expertise and vision”

Extending a relationship that began in 2005, First National Bank of Omaha will continue offering its smartOne Prepaid Solutions products and services with account processing and real-time account validation services from Metavante. First National Bank of Omaha’s smartOne Prepaid Solutions portfolio includes payroll, reward/incentive and corporate disbursement (travel expenses and relocation funds) prepaid cards.

“Metavante delivers the processing stability and scale we need to facilitate the growth of our smartOne Prepaid Solutions offerings, as well as the flexibility to quickly offer new functionality,” said Scott McCormack, vice president, First National Bank of Omaha. “Shared core values between our two companies are at the heart of our relationship, and those shared values allow us to quickly enhance our offerings to meet the needs of the prepaid marketplace.”

“Metavante and First National Bank of Omaha align well with each other because both entities share broad payments industry expertise and vision,” said Frank D’Angelo, president, Metavante Payment Solutions Group. “As a ‘full suite’ provider of payments solutions, Metavante focuses on the entire payments landscape, including emerging account access channels. Enabling financial institutions to grow their prepaid card relationships and help corporate clients benefit from the value-added cost and workflow efficiencies of electronic payments is one of our core competencies and part of Metavante’s dedicated client support.”

Metavante Payment Solutions drive the marketplace transition from paper to electronic payments with an integrated suite of payments solutions featuring enterprise-wide fraud prevention/monitoring and risk management. Metavante offers an ATM/PIN-debit network in NYCE, mobile financial services, online bill pay, government payments, credit and debit payment cards, merchant-issued and network-branded prepaid cards, as well as automated clearing house (ACH) and check image processing. Metavante also offers consumer healthcare payment solutions for patients, providers, plan administrators and financial institutions. Metavante offers clients the efficient and integrated resources necessary to offer their customers a broad range of payment options and touch points.

About smartOne Prepaid Solutions

smartOne Prepaid Solutions from First National Bank of Omaha offer secure, creative and innovative prepaid programs to businesses and organizations throughout the United States. Built on a half century of card issuing expertise, smartOne uses a flexible and nimble methodology to provide custom prepaid card design, branding, and program management while offering superior customer service and value. For more information, visit www.smartonesolutions.com.

About First National Bank of Omaha

First National Bank of Omaha is a subsidiary of First National of Nebraska, Inc. First National of Nebraska has grown into the largest privately owned banking company in the United States. First National Bank of Omaha and its affiliates have $21 billion in managed assets and more than 8,000 employee associates located in 35 states. Primary banking offices are located in Nebraska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Texas.

About Metavante

Metavante Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MV) is the parent company of Metavante Corporation. Metavante Corporation delivers banking and payments technologies to approximately 8,000 financial services firms and businesses worldwide. Metavante products and services drive account processing for deposit, loan and trust systems, image-based and conventional check processing, electronic funds transfer, consumer healthcare payments, electronic presentment and payment, outsourcing, and payment network solutions including the NYCE Network, a leading ATM/PIN debit network. Metavante (www.metavante.com) is headquartered in Milwaukee.

Metavante and NYCE are registered trademarks of Metavante Corporation, which is the principal subsidiary of Metavante Technologies, Inc.

Metavante, FNBO, Prepaid, First National Bank of Omaha, FIS, Smartone, NYCE, ACH, SafeTPIN

CashEdge Launches POPmoney

CashEdge Inc. (www.cashedge.com), the leader in Intelligent Money Movement™ products for financial institutions, serving 600 financial institutions including seven of the nation's top ten banks, announced today the launch of POPmoney™ (www.popmoney.com), the first person-to-person payments (P2P) service for banks, enabling banks to provide simple and secure P2P payments from their online or mobile banking applications.

POPmoney allows bank customers to "Pay Other People" (POP) anywhere, at any time, directly from within a bank's online or mobile application. With POPmoney, bank customers can send an electronic payment by simply using the email address or mobile phone number of the recipient. POPmoney includes an SMS text messaging application, as well as downloadable mobile applications, enabling banks to extend their P2P functionality to mobile phones.

Editor's Note: HomeATM launched their money transfer application at FinovateStartup09 back on April 29th. See live demo in left sidebar)

"POPmoney is a breakthrough service and represents the first real opportunity for banks to compete in the lucrative person-to-person payments space. This untapped market offers financial institutions major opportunities for new revenue and increased customer engagement," said Sanjeev Dheer, CEO and President, CashEdge Inc. "With our deep expertise in money movement, our bank-centric model and our strong risk management capabilities, this is a natural next step for CashEdge to take with its bank partners."

Spurred by the growing use of online banking, including online account opening, bill pay and online funds transfers, consumers are demanding additional online money movement services.

A 2009 CashEdge survey of nearly 1,000 consumers identified several important findings related to P2P payments including:

* 81 percent of respondents would use a P2P service if offered by their financial institution
* 77 percent of respondents would prefer to use a P2P service offered by their own financial institution over an independent online P2P service (such as PayPal or a similar service)
* 73 percent of respondents felt that a P2P service offered through their bank would be more secure than an independent P2P service
* 69 percent of respondents felt that a P2P service offered through their bank would be more convenient than an independent P2P service

POPmoney leverages the proven reliability, security and robustness of CashEdge's money movement platform, which in 2008 processed nearly $50 billion in online funds transfers for bank customers. For current CashEdge clients, POPmoney is an easily integrated extension of TransferNow™.
About CashEdge

CashEdge is the leader in Intelligent Money Movement™ services that enable financial institutions to engage customers in new ways. CashEdge's Intelligent Money Movement services provide a single point of access, through an online banking or mobile application, for multiple easy-to-use consumer and small business transfer routes. CashEdge's industry-leading products include OpenNow®/FundNow® for new account opening; TransferNow® for Consumers, which includes Me-to-Me Transfers and Third Party Transfers; POPmoney™ for person-to-person payments; and TransferNow for Small Businesses, which includes Invoicing and Payments, Me-to-Me Transfers, Employee Payments and Vendor Payments. These products are supported by industry-leading risk management capabilities that leverage comprehensive, proprietary technology, helping institutions mitigate risk and decrease fraud exposure.

CashEdge currently serves hundreds of leading financial institutions, including seven out of the top ten largest banks in the country. The Company has offices in New York, Silicon Valley and India. For more information, visit www.cashedge.com.

CashEdge, POPmoney, money transfer, HomeATM

Friday, June 26, 2009

NRF, RILA End Merger Discussions

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Vitacost.com Expands Payment Option Offerings with eBillme

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Disqus for ePayment News