Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Top 10 U.S. Retailers

RIS' Top 10 U.S. Retailers:

"Most of the retailers cited on the mega-retailer list are in the pharmacy, mass merchant or grocery verticals. The only department store to make the list is Sears, which came in at the number 10 spot. Several retailers move their historical positions on the list (for better or worse). Home Depot, which was once the number two retailer behind Walmart is now the number 4 retailer, falling behind Kroger and Costco. Sears also drops down the list, continuing a decades-long trend, while Walgreens, CVS Caremark and Best Buy continue upward momentum." - RIS

Here's a look at the Top 10 largest U.S. retailers and how they performed in 2009:

1. Walmart: $404.54 Billion

Earning nearly five times more than the second largest retailer, Walmart won't relinquish its position as the number one retailer anytime soon. Its every-day-value-based prices continue to win customers in search of a bargain, especially in tough times. The retail giant is focusing on global expansion, green initiatives and a store refresh program called Project Impact to ensure it stays on top of the retail heap with solid growth.

2. Kroger: $75.35 Billion

In a year when consumers were forced to trade down and cut discretionary purchases, Kroger benefited by providing must-have grocery staples for the household. As the operator of more than 3,550 stores nationwide, Kroger maintains its strong comp-store sales and solid growth through use of sophisticated customer segmentation analytics and offering competitive prices and private label products.

3. Costco: 71.42 Billion

As the largest membership discount warehouse operator in the U.S. Costco is well positioned to maintain and even grow market share in a recessionary economy. Store openings continue to rise and profits remain healthy for this steadily growing giant.

4. Home Depot: 67.64 Billion

Although its market segment has taken a big hit since the heyday of the housing boom several years ago, the largest home improvement chain is still a retail force to be reckoned with. Revenue has steadily fallen since the $90-billion high point of 2007. Recent cost-cutting measures include shuttering its EXPO, THD Design Center and Yardbirds stores.

5. Target: 64.74 Billion

Although still famous for cheap chic clothing and general merchandise, Target's big move in 2009 was to expand shelf space for food and grocery, especially its private label brands Archer Farms and Market Pantry. Revenue has been steadily, although slowly, growing.

6. Walgreen: 63.34 Billion

In 2009 Walgreen acquired about a dozen Rite Aid locations and 30-plus stores from New Jersey-based Drug Fair and also hit a milestone when it opened its 7,000th drugstore. Like the other drug store chain on the list, CVS, Walgreen is well positioned to maintain its strong record of growth.

7. CVS: $56 Billion

An active acquisition schedule has greatly expanded the number of retail pharmacies for CVS and the range of services it offers. Most recently, it acquired Longs Drug Stores, which added 530 retail pharmacies to its store count. Like its rival Walgreen, CVS also recently opened its 7,000th drugstore. Note that the $56 billion figure only represents the company's retail segment and estimates its fourth quarter sales for 2009. The drug-store chain's Caremark division brings in another $41 billion for a total of $97, making it the second largest organization on the list.

8. Best Buy: $47.3 Billion

Discretionary purchases were down the past year, especially for big ticket items such as TV's and electronics, however Best Buy is still riding a winning streak, partly due to picking up a huge chunk of market share from the liquidated Circuit City chain. To continue its hot streak, Best Buy is developing smaller concept stores, debuting a 24-hour store in New York City, launching Best Buy mobile and expanding its Geek Squad business.

9. Lowe's: $47.04 Billion

Like its competitor Home Depot, Lowe's is in a retail segment under financial siege. However, unlike Home Depot it has maintained year over year revenue, although it has considerably slowed its pace of store openings. When the housing and home improvement market pick up again Lowe's appears to be in a very strong position to capture market share and continue on its stated goal of opening up 2,500 new stores.

10. Sears: $44.08 Billion

While Sears/Kmart is not likely to hit its 2007 peak of $53 billion any time soon, it is moving quickly into multi-channel retailing and taking a leadership position in mobile commerce and social media. Like others in the department store segment year-over-year revenue continues to fall, even as bright spots emerge from new initiatives.

For methodology, RIS evaluated public financial figures for the 12-month trailing period for each of the retailers cited on our list. By 12-month trailing period we mean the period for which a full-year of revenue figures is available. This list is made up only of U.S.-based retailers.

Romanian Fraudster Extradited to Tennessee

Florin Muresan gets free trip to America...can stay here free for up to 10 years!

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday that Florin Muresan, a 27-year-old resident of Romania, has been extradited to Nashville from England to face charges that he fraudulently sold over 1,000 credit card account numbers, including ones stolen from people in Tennessee.

A federal grand jury in Nashville, Tenn., indicted Muresan back in May on charges of obtaining $1,000 or more by trafficking in credit card account numbers in interstate commerce.Muresan was arrested by British authorities in London, England in June of this year. U.S. marshals transported him to Tennessee over the weekend.If convicted, Muresan faces up to 10 years in prison...

More Banks Using Hardware to Secure Online Banking Sessions

European Banks Way Ahead of US Counterparts When it Comes to Providing Security for Online Banking Customers

The device pictured on the left is an online banking authentication device. (looks more like a calculator) Millions of these types of devices, from Todos, Gemalto, Vasco, etc. have been purchased (about $14 Euros each) by European banks for their online banking customers.

The customer inserts their card and the device "calculates" a One-Time-Password.

Well, according to a report released by Gartner last week, One-time-passwords are no longer enough to protect online banking transactions. So, according to my calculations, there are going to be a whole lot (millions) of OTP devices that need replacing.

The EMV version of our SLIM is currently in the lab being tested for PCI certification and can be customized with a bank's visual corporate identity. Click here to see a YouTube preview of our EMV BBPOS device.

Press Release: Banca Intesa Selects Gemalto’s Strong Authentication Solution to Secure e-Commerce in Serbia

One of the world’s first smart-card based authentication solution for securing e-commerce

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announced that Banca Intesa in Serbia has selected its Ezio Classic reader to secure e-commerce services. Banca Intesa is the leading financial institution in Serbia and is part of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s strongest banking group, the fifth largest bank in Euro zone in terms of market capitalization and one of the top 15 banks in the world. The reader, customized with Banca Intesa’s visual corporate identity, will enable users to make online purchases with the security level guaranteed by the EMV banking card. Gemalto deploys one of the world’s first smart-card based strong authentication solutions used for securing e-commerce.

“Gemalto is proud to accompany Banca Intesa in their strong authentication program, which will give their customers the freedom to shop online when and where they want, with utmost security.”

Banca Intesa determined to implement Gemalto’s strong authentication solution to protect its online customers from “card non present” fraud in e-commerce. Online shoppers will be able to buy a wide variety of goods and services such as airline and railway tickets, hotel accommodation, mobile and Internet top-up, consumer electronics, books and office supplies, with the highest level of security.

Ezio Classic reader is extremely easy to operate: users just insert their banking card into the reader and enter their PIN code on the keypad; the device then generates a One Time Password they type in to securely make e-commerce purchases. (Read what Gartner has to say about One-Time-Passwords)

“We were impressed by the ergonomics of the solution and Gemalto was the only supplier able to meet our delivery deadline,” commented Milos Nedeljkovic, Head of Payment cards and Direct Channels Department, Banca Intesa. “Furthermore, the reader has successfully been deployed in large volumes and for Banca Intesa, this is evidence that we made the right choice.”

“Increasing online payment security is key to building consumer confidence in e-commerce,” added Jacques Seneca, executive vice president of the Security Business Unit for Gemalto.

“Gemalto is proud to accompany Banca Intesa in their strong authentication program, which will give their customers the freedom to shop online when and where they want, with utmost security.” The solution is compliant with the latest industry standards - MasterCard Chip Authentication Program (CAP) and Visa Dynamic Passcode Authentication (DPA). Gemalto has already achieved major deployments of secure Ezio solutions notably in China, France, Hungary, Nigeria, the UK and USA.

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2008 annual revenues of €1.68 billion, and 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, research and service centers in 40 countries. Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure. Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM), Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals. As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.

WSJ: Citibank Hacked?

Image via Wikipedia

FBI Probes Hack at Citibank

Russian Cyber Gang Suspected of Stealing Tens of Millions; Bank Denies Breach

BY SIOBHAN GORMAN AND EVAN PEREZ

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing a computer-security breach targeting Citigroup Inc. that resulted in a theft of tens of millions of dollars by computer hackers who appear linked to a Russian cyber gang, according to government officials.

The attack took aim at Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary, which includes its North American retail bank and other businesses. It couldn't be learned whether the thieves gained access to Citibank's systems directly or through third parties.

The attack underscores the blurring of lines between criminal and national-security threats in cyber space. Hackers also assaulted two other entities, at least one of them ...

Airline Folds While Awaiting Credit Card Debt

Last year, I blogged about how Frontier Airlines was forced into bankruptcy because of credit/debit card reserves being held by First Data. See: Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! To First Data's "credit" they worked with Frontier to alleviate the problem caused by the reserves.

Now, Compare and Save is reporting that payment processor E-Clear withheld as much as £35m in fees owed to the leading Scottish airline, contributing to Flyglobespan's collapse...

Airline folded 'while awaiting credit card debt'

22 December 2009 11:43:12

Scottish airline collapsed after failing to receive credit card payments.

Payment processor firm E-Clear is being investigated over an alleged £35m debt which contributed to the downfall of Flyglobespan.

The leading Scottish airline collapsed last week, leaving as many as 4,500 holidaymakers stranded in a number of destinations in Europe, North America and north Africa.

Further confusion arose over the weekend as Allbury Travel, which is owned by E-Clear chief executive Elias Elia, also ceased its operations with immediate effect.

Continue Reading at Compare and Save

Top 10 Reasons U.S. Should Consider EMV

Date: Tuesday, January, 26, 2010

Time: 1:00PM - 2:00PM EST

Reserve your webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/649554705

The Smart Card Alliance invites you to attend a complimentary interactive webinar entitled, The Top 10 Reasons U.S. Should Consider EMV.

With so many countries in advanced stages of EMV/chip migration, the question is often raised–why is the United States not following suit and migrating to this more secure technology? Now with U.S. travelers beginning to have trouble using their magnetic stripe cards abroad, and the threat of fraud levels rising from within and from being imported from abroad, it is an ideal time for U.S. financial industry to take a thorough look at the costs and potential benefits of EMV/chip, and possibilities for implementation.

This webinar will present the current rate of EMV/chip deployment internationally, the benefits of the technology in fighting payment fraud, and implementation options for U.S. card issuers. The webinar will include a case study of EMV/chip implementation in Canada, and an analysis of how U.S. cardholders who travel abroad with non-EMV/chip cards alter their purchase behavior, resulting in lost card business and customer goodwill.

Attendees should come away with an understanding of how an accelerated effort to migrate to chip card technology will allow the U.S. payments industry to effectively reduce fraud in the long term and ensure global interoperability and acceptance

Speakers

Deborah Baxley, Management Consultant, KeyPoint Consulting

Nick Holland, Senior Analyst, Aite Group

Simon Hurry, Senior Business Leader, Visa Inc.

Dave Metcalfe, Director, Debit Payment Innovation & ScotiaCard Services, Bank of Nova Scotia

Randy Vanderhoof, Executive Director, Smart Card Alliance

Reserve your webinar seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/649554705

Obama Set (Swipe, Encrypt, Transmit) to Reveal US Cyber Security Chief

Published:22-December-2009

By Steve Evans

Former Microsoft security guru lined up

US president Barack Obama is close to naming a new cyber security chief to help protect America’s IT infrastructure, with reports suggesting that government and IT security veteran Howard Schmidt is set to land the role.

Shortly after taking office in early 2009, President Obama announced a review of America’s ability to protect itself from cyber attacks. At the time, he said that the country was not as prepared as it should be for threats from cyberspace.

Schmidt, who was previously an advisor to President Bush, also used to work for eBay and Microsoft and has significant pull in the technology industry, according to a report in The Guardian. He is currently president of the Information Security Forum and founder and CEO of R & H Security Consulting LLC.

Neil Fisher, VP global security solutions at Unisys, believes that the appointment will boost cyber security beyond the US.

Featured Video: Verifone Debut's iPhone Secure Payments Solution

From PYMNTS.com - Read the full article here

Women Shoppers Prefer Debit or Cash over Credit Cards for Holiday Purchases

CheapToday’s ‘Just Wondering’ Survey Suggests Power Moms Leading the Charge against Credit and towards Debit or Cash Options for Their Holiday Purchases

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CheapToday, Inc., the Online Shopping Network specializing in publishing quality deals from high profile brands including Sears, Kmart, Target, Kohl’s, Walmart, Macy’s, Calvin Klein and Barnes & Noble, today announced the latest results from its ‘Just Wondering’ survey of buying trends and attitudes of Power Moms.

“their primary motivation seems to be to avoid having to deal with large credit balances in 2010; reflective of a general trend away from relying on credit for holiday purchases.”

CheapToday regularly surveys its Power Mom subscribers to monitor their buying behavior, attitudes and trends. When asked, “By which payment method will you have purchased the majority of your holiday gifts this year?” 134 CheapToday Power Moms responded and the results were as follows:

43% reported using Visa for their holiday purchases, preferring the debit payment option over the credit payment option

32% reported using Cash or Check payment for their holiday purchases

14% reported using MasterCard for their holiday purchases, preferring the debit payment option over the credit payment option

3% reported using Retail Store Credit Cards such as those provided by Walmart

2% reported using their American Express Card

6% reported using Other options such as Gift Cards and the Discover Card

“Women power mom shoppers prefer debit, cash and other ‘pay as you go’ purchase options this holiday season,” said Chris Hill, President & CEO of CheapToday, Inc. Hill continued “their primary motivation seems to be to avoid having to deal with large credit balances in 2010; reflective of a general trend away from relying on credit for holiday purchases.”

About CheapToday.com:

CheapToday, Inc. is an online shopping network specializing in publishing quality deals from high profile brands including Sears, Kmart, Target, Kohl’s, Calvin Klein, Victoria Secret, and Walmart. Each day, CheapToday’s Editors answer a specific question for its readers: What’s CheapToday @ Your Favorite Store? Deals are published on CheapToday.com, through our Daily Deals Alerts & Weekly Wow Newsletters (http://www.cheaptoday.com/deal-alerts/), on Facebook (www.facebook.com/cheaptoday) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/cheaptoday).

Visa Study: Consumers Lose Track of More Than $1,000 In Cash Each Year

Shopping is Among the Highest Categories for Disappearing Cash; Majority of Consumers Agree Debit Cards Help Track Spending

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to a new survey commissioned by Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), U.S. consumers cannot account for an average of $21 per week in cash spending, adding up to more than $1,000 per year. Younger adults between the ages of 18 to 24 claim to lose track of $2,500 annually, more than twice the average amount.

The international survey of more than 12,000 adults in 12 markets around the world (including 1,000 U.S. consumers) asked respondents to estimate their “mystery spending,” or the cash they spend but cannot account for every week.

“Despite consumers’ focus on controlling spending, they are still losing track of a considerable amount of money each year — particularly when shopping or spending leisure time with friends and family – key activities during the holiday season,” said Wayne Best, Visa’s chief economist.

Where does the cash go?

U.S. consumers said they were most likely to mystery spend while:

Purchasing food and other groceries (34 percent)

Leisure shopping for non-essentials (32 percent)

Enjoying a night on the town (31 percent)

Dining out (26 percent)

Additionally, 22 percent of U.S. consumers believe that small cash purchases make it hard to track spending. “Even for the most organized spender, it can be tough to keep track of every cup of coffee, greeting card, teacher’s gift or stocking stuffer picked up at the mall and paid for with cash,” said Best. “While cash purchases can be difficult to track, the survey revealed that consumers believe debit cards can help them monitor spending more closely and stay within budget.”

Debit can help solve the disappearing cash dilemma

Debit cards can provide an easy and effective way for consumers to access available funds for purchases. And, according to the Visa survey, consumers agree:

Overall, debit cards ranked as Americans’ primary payment method for personal and household expenses (37 percent), which is considerably above cash (22 per cent).

Over two-thirds of debit card users (68 percent) prefer to use their debit card instead of cash whenever possible.

Three-quarters of U.S. consumers using debit cards (76 percent) agree the cards provide an easy way to track spending.

Three in five U.S. consumers who use a debit card (61 percent) say that using their debit card helps keep their mystery spending to a minimum.

Two-thirds of U.S. debit card users (63 percent) find that tracking their debit card spending helpful in sticking to a budget.

U.S. consumers whose primary payment method is their debit card would rather give up coffee, their MP3 player, their mobile phone, email, visiting social network sites - and even cash - for one week than they would their debit card.

The period ending December 2008 marked the first time that spending on Visa Debit cards surpassed spending on Visa Credit cards; debit now makes up approximately 70 percent of Visa’s U.S. transactions.

“For more than a decade we’ve seen a shift in consumer behavior as debit cards have taken a greater role in everyday spending,” said Stacey Pinkerd, head of global consumer products at Visa Inc. “More places that were traditionally cash only — from taxis to charities to dry cleaners — are now accepting payment cards, so consumers can enjoy convenient access to their funds by using their debit cards with a level of control and protection not offered by cash.”

Mystery Spenders Abroad

The survey data also provides insight into international trends. Heightened spending vigilance stands out as a global phenomenon while various regions showed distinct patterns in tracking spending. Consumers around the world report they are unable to account for 20 percent of their cash spending each week.

Australians reported the largest cash disappearance, both in terms of actual amount lost ($59) and also percentage of total spend (34 percent). While adults in India reported only $8 missing weekly, this is actually 31% of their total weekly cash spend.

Compared to 12 months ago, the cash-oriented countries of Russia (38 percent) and India (74 percent) believe they are losing track of more cash at a significantly higher rate than U.S. consumers do (13 percent).

Consumers in Korea (74 percent) and South Africa (71 percent) either “strongly agree” or “agree” that use of debit cards keeps mystery spending to a minimum.

Shopping for food or other groceries (43 percent), leisure shopping and/or shopping for nonessentials (33 percent) and out for the night or socializing (32 percent) were the top spending categories around the world where consumers feel they lose track of spending.

About Visa

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com

About the Survey

Ipsos MORI conducted an international study across 12 markets during September 2009. Interviews were conducted by telephone among nationally representative sample adults aged 18+ in each market. Data has been weighted accordingly to reflect the total adult population of each market (some markers to reflect the total urban population). The interviews for this survey were conducted in the following markets: USA, Canada, India, Russia, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, and GCC. MARGIN OF ERROR: using a confidence interval of 95%, a difference of plus or minus four percentage points between markets is required for the finding to be significant.

MoneyGram Makes $40 Million Debt Prepayment, CFO Resigns

MoneyGram International Makes $40 million Debt Prepayment

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a global leader in the payment services industry, today announced that it has provided notice to its debt holders that on Dec. 22, 2009, it will make an optional $40 million prepayment on its tranche B term loan under the senior secured credit facility.

“We remain focused on continuing to improve our capital structure and are very pleased to be able to make a prepayment on our term B debt to further reduce the company’s total outstanding debt obligation,” said Pamela H. Patsley, chairman and CEO.

Including this latest payment, MoneyGram International will have paid $187 million toward its outstanding debt obligation in 2009. This represents a 19 percent decrease in the company’s total outstanding debt since Jan. 1, 2009.

In related news, MoneyGram also announced the departure of their Chief Financial Officer.

MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a global leader in the payment services industry, today announced that Jeffrey R. Woods, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will be departing the company for personal reasons on Jan. 15, 2010.

“I would like to thank Jeff for the contributions that he has made to MoneyGram over the past five months. While his tenure was brief, we appreciate his efforts in helping to position the company for growth in 2010,” said Pamela H. Patsley, MoneyGram chairman and CEO. “These decisions are never easy, however, the board and I understand Jeff’s reasons and wish him well in his future endeavors."

Woods joined MoneyGram in August of 2009. Following his departure, he will be available to the company on an as-needed basis. The company has begun a search for his successor.

NRF Discusses $1.1 Billion V/MC Payout

National Retail Federation discusses $1 billion Visa/MasterCard lawsuit payout

NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan tells CNBC that the $1.1 billion final payout from retailers’ lawsuit over Visa and MasterCard debit card practices “could not have come at a better time than Christmas” for merchants strained by the current economy.

Read more about the lawsuit settlement at NRF's blog

Monday, December 21, 2009

American Express OPEN® Helps Solve One of Small Business Owners’ Biggest Challenges – Getting Paid Faster – with AcceptPaySM

Online Invoicing and Payment Solution Can Help Business Owners Collect Payments from Customers More Easily and Quickly

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--American Express OPEN, the small business division of American Express, today launched AcceptPay (www.acceptpay.com), an online invoicing and payment solution that can help business owners improve cash flow at a time when customers are taking a longer time to pay.

AcceptPay is a new online solution that allows business owners to create, send and track invoices - all in one place. Through AcceptPay, customers can pay the invoice through a variety of methods, including major credit and debit cards, eChecks, cash, or checks. Resulting payments are deposited directly into the business owner’s bank account.

“At a time when every dollar counts, business owners need tools and resources to help them better manage their firms’ finances, and that is why we created this innovative payment collection solution that can help them get paid faster,” said Mary Ann Fitzmaurice Reilly, Senior Vice President, American Express OPEN. “AcceptPay further demonstrates our commitment to offering entrepreneurs a full range of products and services that can help them manage through the recession and grow their enterprises.”

According to the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor, a semi-annual survey of business owners, 60% of small business owners have cash flow concerns, with 20% of business owners reporting that the ability to pay bills on time is the most significant cash flow issue. In addition, 32% of small business owners are most likely to be more aggressive in collecting accounts receivable in order to improve cash flow – the most popular tactic of those offered in the survey.

AcceptPay features and benefits include:

Faster payments: Customer payments are deposited directly into a linked bank account designated by the AcceptPay user;

Variety of Payment types: Customers can choose multiple online payment options including major credit and debit cards, eChecks, cash or checks;

Improved efficiency: Business owners can create and send invoices, as well as track and organize invoices, payments and outstanding receivables online – through a single web-based portal;

Added financial control: Business owners can track and view invoices and receivables via automated or custom reports. All of these records can be seamlessly integrated into QuickBooks® software.

Ease of use: AcceptPay does not require a software download or customer website.

Every business owner, whether or not they are an American Express OPEN Cardmember, is eligible to apply for AcceptPay from American Express OPEN. There is no set up fee, and the service is priced at $20/month. Any business owner can also register for AcceptPay Lite, which is a free invoicing-only solution that provides the opportunity to test the product.

American Express OPEN partnered with PaySimple, a leading provider of SaaS (Software as a Service) on-demand electronic payment solutions for small businesses, to design AcceptPay. OPEN and PaySimple worked with business owners to create product features and integrated feedback from product test groups.

Small Business Owners Ask “How can I get Paid Faster?” in New TV ad Featuring AcceptPay

American Express recently launched a television spot featuring real business owners asking each other questions about how to better run their businesses. The national ad underlines the primary thing small business owners want to know – how to get paid faster – and highlights AcceptPay as a solution for business owners looking to turn the page on a challenging 2009. Small business owners are also encouraged to ask their own questions and join the conversation by logging on to OpenForum.com, an online resource and networking site for business owners. The business owners featured in the ad include:

Ahmed Mady, Paragon Remodeling, Vienna, VA

Candace Nelson, Sprinkles Cupcakes, Beverly Hills, CA

John Lawson, 3rd Power Outlet, Atlanta, GA

David Hughes, Skydive Santa Barbara, Lompoc, CA

Lynn McMahan, Southern Eye Center, Hattiesburg, MS

Jasmine Takeshi, Laughing Lotus Yoga, San Francisco, CA

Rafe Totengco, Rafe New York, New York, NY

Chris McIntyre, Eagle Rider Tours, Los Angeles, CA

Chris Zane, Zane’s Cycles, Branford, CT

Dan Marino, Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Co, Jackson, WY

About American Express OPEN^®

American Express OPEN is dedicated exclusively to the success of small business owners and their companies. OPEN supports business owners with exceptional service. With tailored products and services, the team delivers purchasing power, flexibility, control and rewards to help customers run their business. Specifically, business owner customers can leverage an enhanced set of products, tools, services and savings, including charge and credit cards, convenient access to working capital, robust online account management capabilities and savings on business services from an expanded lineup of partners. To obtain more information about OPENSM, visit www.OPEN.com, or call 1-800-NOW-OPEN to apply for a card. Terms and conditions apply. American Express Company www.americanexpress.com is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850.

About PaySimple

PaySimple creates platforms that simplify and empower the lives of small business owners. PaySimple provides an on-demand Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that enables small businesses to bill, collect, and manage their customer payments under one user-friendly system. The PaySimple solution includes: recurring billing, email invoicing, ACH direct-debit, credit card processing, echeck processing, online payments, and more. For more information please go to http://www.paysimple.com.

ACS Electronic Benefit Transfer Program to Save Money and Improve Services for the State of California

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The federal government and the state of California are expected to realize a combined cost avoidance of more than $20 million dollars annually from the implementation of a state electronic benefit transfer (EBT) program deployed by Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS).

“We’ll now work equally as hard to continuously improve the program to provide the best possible experience for both the state and its citizens.”

The state’s EBT program, one of the largest in the nation, allows 1.3 million Californians to receive benefits from a number of public assistance programs on the “Golden State Advantage” card. The card can be used at more than 21,000 retailer locations or 50,000 ATMs, increasing convenience and security for recipients while reducing costs for the state.

ACS recently implemented the program for the state as part of a seven-year contract, which includes three optional one-year extensions. Benefits included in the program are food assistance, both the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the California Food Assistance Program, and cash benefit programs such as California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Refugee Cash Assistance, General Assistance/General Relief, and Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants.

ACS services under the contract include transaction processing, data center services, training of state and county staff, reconciliation and settlement, and reporting. ACS also supports Californians by providing an automated call center response unit, as well as live customer service support.

“With this on-time, on-budget implementation, ACS has again shown its ability to successfully manage complex programs,” said Joseph Doherty, executive vice president and group president of ACS Government Solutions. “We’ll now work equally as hard to continuously improve the program to provide the best possible experience for both the state and its citizens.”

As the largest provider of business process solutions and one of the largest information technology service providers to the nation’s public sector, ACS serves as an operational partner to more than 1,700 government agencies on the federal, state, county, and local level.

The work of ACS touches millions of people every day. ACS processes more than half of the nation’s child support payments; manages 24 electronic payment card programs for state and federal clients, disbursing government payments and benefits; processes nearly 570 million Medicaid claims each year totaling more than $50 billion in provider payments; saves state child care programs millions of dollars; services student loans for more than 11 million borrowers; and facilitates more than 75 million online searches for unclaimed property per year.

Is two-factor authentication now passe?

(Fierce Finance IT) In its bid to keep sensitive customer information and their money safe, many banks adopted a two-factor authentication system. Which basically boils down to a system that confirms the user is legitimate by using two checks: One could be a password, the other could be a password-generating token, or chip or something biometric. The rise of such authentication techniques was once hailed as good news from the security point of view. Unfortunately, the effectiveness seems to be on the wane.

In a new report, Gartner says that banks that deploy such authentication are still vulnerable, as the crooks have wised up to these systems. In some cases, users are tricked into forwarding a call from a bank to an unauthorized would-be crook. In other cases, malware lurks until two-factors have been allowed access and then it does its dirty work.

So banks have to keep pushing ahead toward a multi-layered approach that would include server-based fraud detection and out-of-band transaction verification that precludes call forwarding. Something to think about anyway. Some think that tokens have proven to be a failure at the consumer level. AOL for one will scrap its system.

MoneyGram Begins Mobile Money Transfers in Philippines

Minneapolis and Manila, Dec. 21, 2009 -- MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a leading global money transfer company, today announced an agreement with SMART Communications, Inc., the leading wireless services provider in the Philippines, that will make it easier and more convenient for consumers in the Philippines to receive money transfers to their SMART Money account on their mobile phones.

Today, MoneyGram will launch a pilot of the service in a select number of agent locations in San Diego, California, and Hong Kong. Consumers can send transactions from these pilot locations to any SMART Money account linked to the SMART mobile phone in the Philippines.

SMART Money is the world's pioneer in mobile wallet service and in cross border remittances into mobile wallets. Through the SMART Money platform, remittance beneficiaries have the flexibility to store the remittancevalue in their SMART Money Account linked to their phone, pay bills or withdraw the money from an ATM, a SMART Wireless Center or SMART Money Center. Beneficiaries also receive real-time text notifications after every transaction, giving them added reassurance of the successful receipt of the remittance.

"This partnership gives MoneyGram access to more than 39 million SMART subscribers in the Philippines and extends the benefits of our safe and reliable money transfer services to a new category of consumers," said John Hempsey, executive vice president for MoneyGram's Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. "The Philippines is a major global remittance market and we're pleased to offer yet another convenient choice for Filipinos working abroad to send money to their friends and family back home."

"The collaboration between MoneyGram and SMART will enable Filipinos abroad to send remittances directly to their loved ones' SMART mobile phones in a matter of minutes," said Napoleon L. Nazareno, president and CEO of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company and SMART. "This initiative reinforces our commitment to provide overseas Filipinos with more accessible, affordable and secure options to send cash to the Philippines," Nazareno added.

"With more than 4 billion mobile phones in use worldwide today, people in developing countries often have more access to mobile phones than have access to traditional bank accounts," said Hempsey. "Mobile technology will play a critical role in the remittance market, and MoneyGram brings value to partners like SMART in helping to reach new customers, expand product offerings and generate new revenue streams."

Earlier this year, MoneyGram added a U.S. dollar payout option in the Philippines and expanded its agent network to more than 7,000 locations across the country.

About MoneyGram International

MoneyGram International offers more control and more choices for people separated from friends and family by distance or those with limited bank relationships to meet their financial needs. A leading global provider of money transfer services, MoneyGram International helps consumers to safely send money around the world with funds arriving at available agent locations in as little as 10 minutes. Its global network is comprised of 186,000 agent locations in more than 190 countries and territories. MoneyGram's convenient and reliable network includes retailers, international post offices and financial institutions. To learn more about money transfer at an agent location, please visit www.moneygram.com or find us on Facebook.

About SMART Communications

Smart Communications, Inc. is the Philippines' leading wireless services provider with 39.1 million subscribers on its GSM network as of end-September 2009. SMART has built a reputation for innovation, having introduced world-first wireless data services, including mobile commerce services such as Smart Money, Smart Load and Smart Padala. SMART also offers 3G and HSPA services. Its Smart Link service provides communications to the global maritime industry. Smart Broadband, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, offers a wireless broadband service, Smart BRO. SMART is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Philippines' leading telecommunications carrier, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. For more information, visit www.smart.com.ph .

Source: Company press release.

Zong Awarded 2009 Best Practices Award for Product Innovation

New Zong⁺ Service Recognized as Leading Innovation in the Mobile Payments Industry by Frost & Sullivan

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zong (www.Zong.com), the leading mobile payment platform used by online gaming and social networking web sites, has received Frost & Sullivan’s 2009 Best Practices Award for New Product Innovation in the Mobile Payments category for its Zong⁺next-generation mobile payments platform.

“Zong+ brings benefits via significant flexibility to the merchants and the end-user, and can be an industry growth driver – an important piece of criteria for our Best Practices recipients.”

Zong+, launched in October 2009, is the first online mobile payment platform to combine the convenience of carrier-based payments with the flexibility of card payments. The new service allows merchants to significantly increase revenue by reducing transaction fees and enabling higher average purchase prices, while allowing consumers to make more convenient and secure payments using their mobile phones. In addition, Zong+ allows Zong to address new market segments, win additional merchants and accelerate its end-user adoption rate benefiting all value-chain participants.

“Being honored by Frost & Sullivan with a Best Practices award for Zong+ confirms the innovative qualities of the service and the value-add it has brought to merchants, wireless carriers and consumers alike,” said David Marcus, founder and CEO, Zong. “We are thrilled by the recognition of our ongoing commitment to our merchant partners, end users and the purchase experience.”

In order to determine the recipients of these awards, Frost & Sullivan analysts conduct a rigorous selection process, which includes evaluating industry challenges and rating companies’ abilities to address them by innovating elements of the product, leveraging leading edge technologies, adding value for key stakeholders, and increasing customer value while further penetrating the market. This industry accolade is awarded by a company that has been dedicated to the analysis and forecasting of high-tech markets since its inception in 1961.

“Zong was the clear winner in the mobile payments category, as they delivered a smooth and flexible payment mechanism -- evidence to Frost & Sullivan of their ability as a company to innovate and continue to penetrate their market,” said Vikrant Gandhi, Senior Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Zong+ brings benefits via significant flexibility to the merchants and the end-user, and can be an industry growth driver – an important piece of criteria for our Best Practices recipients.”

Frost & Sullivan is a research and consulting firm that covers 10 industries and 31 markets, and maintains 31 offices with more than 1,700 industry consultants, market research analysts, technology analysts, and economists globally.

Account-to-Account Transfers and P2P Payments Forecast: Evaluating Trends and Assessing the Future 2006-2014

DUBLIN-PIN Payments News Blog--Research and Markets has announced the addition of Javelin Strategy & Research's new report "Multi-Channel Account-to-Account Transfers and P2P Payments Forecast: Evaluating Trends and Assessing the Future 2006-2014" to their offering.

“Multi-Channel Account-to-Account Transfers and P2P Payments Forecast: Evaluating Trends and Assessing the Future 2006-2014”

Person-to-person (P2P) transfers, payments from one individual to another, may be made for a variety of purposes, including sharing a meal or the purchase of tickets, sharing rent, giving money to a student or family member, paying for events, making a donation, or even making payments for auction purchases. Such transfers have traditionally been paper-based. This report examines the potential of and growth in new transfer alternatives, including P2P transactions initiated using online or mobile channels. The report focuses on the U.S. market but also looks at the potential for global expansion in P2P services. This report includes a five-year forecast of the U.S. household market for online P2P transfers, online inter-institution account-to-account transfers, wire transfers sent using a bank or credit union, and wire transfers sent using a service such as Western Union.

Primary Questions

What is the future growth potential for the P2P market?

Which organizations currently offer P2P transfer services?

Why has the concept of person-to-person payment been talked about in the market for so long, but has yet to flourish?

What services create market readiness for online or mobile P2P transfers or may be fostered by the growth of these options?

What channel options are available and likely to be most successful for P2P delivery?

Key Topics Covered:

Overview

Primary Questions

Methodology

Executive Summary

Forecast

The Explosion of New Offerings

Market Dynamics: Person-to-Person - Again?

Account-to-Account Transfer: The Forerunner of P2PTransfers

Online Person-to-Person: Growing the Next Step

Person-to-Person: Accommodating the Mobile Channel

Enhanced Security is Essential to Drive Use of Mobile P2P

A Potent Opportunity for P2P Expansion: Global and Remittance Transfers

Appendix

Related Research

Companies Mentioned:

AOL

Mercantile Bank of Michigan

Bank of the West

Metavante

Bank One

MoneyGram

Boeing Employees' Credit Union

Obopay

CashEdge

Patelco Credit Union

CheckFree

PayPal

Citibank

PNC

eBay

Fidelity Information Services

US Bank

First Hawaiian Bank

Visa

Fiserv

Wells Fargo

iPay

Western Union

MasterCard

Yahoo!

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/c29365/multichannel

Attack of the RAM Scrapers!

Dark Reading ran a great piece on RAM Scraping,...which is what you ask? So, first a definition and then a snippet from their story:

RAM Scraper: A fairly new form of malware designed to capture data from volatile memory (RAM) within a system.

Attack Of The RAM Scrapers

Beware of malware aimed at grabbing valuable data from volatile memory in point-of-sale systems -

By Keith Ferrell DarkReading

The inclusion of RAM scrapers in a recent Verizon Business list of the top data breach attack vectors has prompted a bit of buzz about what exactly RAM scraping is and how much of a threat it poses.

"A RAM scraper as identified in the Verizon Business Data Breach Investigation report is a piece of customized malware created to grab credit card, PIN, and other confidential information out of a system's volatile memory." The RAM-scraping breaches in Verizon's report occurred in point-of-sale (POS) servers.

RAM scraping is not really what's new, but what Verizon flagged as the emergent threat trend is RAM scraping in POS devices.

Why go after the data in RAM? Because in many ways it's easier to grab there. Current PCI compliance standards require the end-to-end encryption of sensitive payment card data when being transmitted, received, or stored.

Data then is exposed at the endpoints, during processing, when the unencrypted credit card data is resident in the POS device's RAM. That's where the RAM scraper can cherry-pick the data being processed, capturing only those strings related to card identifiers rather than performing bulk data grabs. This minimizes the scraper's presence and, far from incidentally, reduces the prospects of its being detected as a result of dramatically increased server traffic or other illicit activity flags.

Continue "Dark Reading"

eBay Community Gives Record $50 Million to Nonprofits in 2009

Funds Raised on eBay Jump 17 Percent Despite Economic Downturn

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In a year that brought decreases in consumer spending globally, eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) buyers and sellers rallied to raise a record $50 million for U.S. and U.K. nonprofit organizations so far in 2009. eBay Giving Works, eBay’s marquee online fundraising program that allows individuals to donate while using eBay, has enabled users to contribute more than $162 million to their favorite causes since 2003. The program, called eBay for Charity in the U.K., has provided a new online fundraising channel to more than 21,000 organizations, from small, community-based parent-teacher associations and animal rescues to nationally recognized nonprofits like Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Oxfam, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

“Every contribution, big or small, assists us in supporting community-based breast health programs as well as groundbreaking research focused on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality.”

“The eBay community has proven time and again that small actions, when brought to scale, can have a big impact,” said eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe. “It’s what makes the eBay marketplace so unique, and what enables our community to do good things for causes they believe in. I want to thank every single buyer and seller who connected through eBay and gave back to their communities through eBay Giving Works. Your generosity this year, especially in such a tough economy, isn’t just impressive – it’s inspiring. We’re looking forward to helping you do even more good next year.”

Top donors like eBay Top Rated Seller Elizabeth Bennett have been able to use the program to donate thousands to causes that they believe in; 10 percent of the final sale price of goods bought on her eBay store, Africa Direct, goes to charity. To date, Bennett has raised nearly $40,000 for charity through the eBay Giving Works program.

By offering an out-of-the box, commerce-focused solution for online fundraising, the program has also provided nonprofit organizations around the world a creative and highly flexible new way to generate funds when charitable giving is at an all-time low. Based on their individual needs, nonprofits can adapt the program to work for their unique business models.

For example, in 2009, the San Francisco chapter of Goodwill Industries raised more than $44,000 per month through the program by selling donated goods online. The Blind Center of Nevada, a small nonprofit out of Las Vegas, developed a job skills training program that refurbishes electronics and resells them on eBay, with 100 percent of the sales going back to the Center. Since 2006, their eBay Giving Works sales have generated more than $1.2 million. Larger, more iconic nonprofits like Oxfam and Susan G. Komen for the Cure have benefitted from millions of dollars in contributions that filter in from thousands of passionate individuals who feel a personal connection with the brands, as well as via high-profile celebrity auctions that can generate thousands of dollars in revenue from a single listing.

"When times get tough, purse strings can get tight, but eBay Giving Works has allowed our donor base to continue to support our promise to save lives and end breast cancer forever by continuing to do the things that they do every day, like shop,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “Every contribution, big or small, assists us in supporting community-based breast health programs as well as groundbreaking research focused on decreasing breast cancer incidence and mortality.”

While funds raised by nonprofits are at an all-time low overall, this year’s eBay Giving Works figures were released amid a year of rapid growth for online fundraising. Online giving is growing at 44 percent per year, seven times faster than offline giving growth.1 Online giving has enabled charities to leverage the power of the everyday “micro-philanthropist” through smaller, more modest, individual donations. The eBay charity program was built expressly to support this kind of fundraising, capitalizing on the philanthropic instincts of eBay’s 89 million member community and pioneering a new model for giving back.

A recent study conducted by Columbia Business School in late 2009 of eBay shopping behavior verified the philanthropic instincts of the eBay community, indicating that eBay buyers are actually willing to pay more to do good. Results showed that an eBay Giving Works item advertising that 10 percent of proceeds will be given to charity is nearly 20 percent more likely to sell than its non-charity equivalent, and at a two percent higher price.

How it works:

eBay Giving Works enables eBay users to support their favorite causes whenever they buy and sell. Today the program offers five easy ways to make a difference:

Community Selling: Any seller can donate part of their sale price to a nonprofit. The seller decides which organization to support and how much to give (10-100 percent), and gets a tax deduction for their gift.

Direct Selling: Nonprofits can sell their own items on eBay to raise funds. eBay waives most basic selling fees for nonprofits, making Direct Selling practically free.

Shop eBay Giving Works: Every item posted by a Community or Direct Seller bears the eBay Giving Works blue and yellow charity ribbon, so it’s easy for buyers to shop for items to support causes that matter to them.

Give at Checkout: 1.5 million shoppers every day are invited to add a donation on top of their eBay purchase, when they pay by PayPal. Give at Checkout has raised nearly $5 million in its first 12 months.

Donate Now: eBay and PayPal users who discover an eBay Giving Works organization they care about can give as little as $1 right away without buying or selling.

Fast facts about eBay Giving Works:

Every minute, over $91 is raised for good causes on eBay

Eight nonprofits in the U.S. have raised more than $1 million with eBay Giving Works

The most money raised for charity from a single listing on eBay was $2.1 million in 2008, for a power lunch with Warren Buffett benefiting the Glide Foundation. The same auction in 2009 went for $1.68 million

Kim Kardashian, a Top Rated eBay seller and avid eBay Giving Works supporter, has raised more than $47,700 for charity through the sale of her own clothing; she has raised $26,000 in 2009 alone

In November and December of 2009, eBay Inc. matched $230,000 in funds that were committed via Give at Checkout

About eBay

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

¹ Source: Blackbaud online giving trends analysis 2009