Capital Payments Acquires Assets from Merchant Services Group

Melville, N.Y., March 17, 2010 -- Capital Payments announced today that it has made its fourth acquisition, purchasing a specific portion of merchant assets from Merchant Services Group, Inc. (MSG) and entering into a long-term distribution agreement with MSG's principals. Based in Syosset, New York, MSG is an electronic payments services company specializing in credit card and check processing, and other payment related services for small and medium-sized businesses, corporate merchants and ecommerce merchants.



The acquisition and alliance agreement with Merchant Services Group supports Capital Payments' ongoing strategy to offer merchant acquiring entrepreneurs opportunities to monetize their existing portfolios and benefit from Capital Payments' multiple processing relationships, geographic diversity, robust sector-specific product offerings and novel technology. MSG's merchants extend Capital Payments' commitment to being the leading national provider of payment solutions to the Trusted Advisor community and their small business clients.



"We are aggressively looking to add entrepreneurs and their portfolios to our platforms, and feel that our speed and financial flexibility as well as our comprehensive suite of payment related products positions us as a leading merchant acquirer," states Todd S. Whiton, President and CEO of Capital Payments.



Headquartered in Melville, NY, Capital Payments, LLC supports Trusted Advisors such as CPAs and attorneys in working with their small- and mid-sized business clients. Capital Payments is financially backed by Hamilton Investment Partners and Financial Partners, a business unit of Citi Capital Advisors. "We are pleased to support Capital Payments in delivering a superior level of merchant processing to Trusted Advisors and their clients, and we look forward to continuing to work with Todd Whiton, CEO and Pat Keller, CFO, and our partner investors on future successful acquisitions," said Manu Rana, Managing Director of Financial Partners. Capital Payments was represented in the transaction by Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss.



About Capital Payments, LLC



Capital Payments is a leading provider of merchant and electronic payment solutions. The company is uniquely focused on working with Trusted Advisors to help them navigate their business clients through the increasingly complex world of electronic payments. The company provides transparent and competitive pricing, very fair terms and conditions, and best of breed payment products and services to its merchants. Capital Payments is led by industry veterans with decades of experience in working with small and midsized businesses and their CPAs, Accountants, Attorneys, and other trusted advisors. For more information, please visit www.capitalpayments.com .



About Merchant Services Group



Servicing thousands of merchants nationwide, Merchant Service Group, Inc. understands that offering electronic payments in today's world is a necessity for your business. Merchant Service Group provides an array of electronic payment processing options to retail, restaurant, mail order, telephone order, and Internet businesses. Services include credit, debit and EBT card processing, check conversion and guarantee, electronic gift certificate processing, and equipment leasing and sales.



About Hamilton Investment Partners



Hamilton is a private investment firm that makes equity investments in partnership with superior management teams, focusing primarily on small and middle market buyouts and growth capital financings. Following each investment, Hamilton intends to play an active role on the board of directors in guiding the company and developing its expansion and exit strategies. Together, the firm's partners have completed more than 40 financings over the past 25 years. For more information please visit www.hamiltoninvestment.com .



About Financial Partners



Financial Partners, a business unit of Citi Capital Advisors, seeks to provide primary, secondary and special-situations capital to financial services businesses and companies servicing financial institutions. Financial Partners aims to provide equity, debt or hybrid capital for event-, special situation, or growth, acquisition or recapitalization financing. Its goal is to finance exceptional management teams who can take advantage of the skills and relationships of the Financial Partners investment team to catalyze or accelerate the creation of durable value in their companies. Citi Capital Advisors, a unit of Citigroup Inc., manages $14 billion globally on behalf of institutional, corporate, sovereign and individual investors.



Source: Company press release.

March 17, 2010 04:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time  

Verifi and ThreatMetrix Partner to Provide Advanced Payment Fraud Detection

Verifi, Inc., a leading provider of payment risk management systems and ThreatMetrix, the only fraud control network that enables online businesses to verify payments, authorize new accounts and authenticate returning customers, announced today a partnership to provide merchants with advanced fraud detection capabilities for web payments.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verifi™, Inc., a leading provider of payment risk management solutions for card-not-present (CNP) merchants announced today a partnership with ThreatMetrix™, a fast growing provider of fraud detection solutions, to deliver advanced fraud detection to merchants through Verifi’s payment risk management system.

“Card-not-present merchants can now benefit from the combined capabilities of the ThreatMetrix Fraud Network with Verifi’s leading global electronic payment and risk management solutions to fight CNP fraud and streamline customer web payments”

The partnership provides Verifi customers with an additional protective layer of on-demand fraud intelligence and data matching to help merchants detect fraudulent customers and identify good and returning customers. Through Verifi’s platform, customers will have access to ThreatMetrix’s forensic risk assessment tools and its global fraud knowledge share database.

Current customers already use Verifi’s full service payment management system, which screens and reviews high risk transactions and comes with the best possible suite of proprietary and third party fraud detection and prevention tools. Clients also use Verifi’s best-in-class managed services for declines, refunds and chargebacks. The addition of ThreatMetrix’s advanced fraud tools and network to Verifi’s full service risk and fraud payment management system, analytics and reporting provides Verifi customers with the strongest defense against hackers, cybercriminals and large-scale global fraud enterprises without disrupting the consumer checkout experience. And with Verifi’s single source platform, customers gain immediate access to all of Verifi’s partner fraud and risk management solutions without the need for any additional integration.

“Card-not-present merchants can now benefit from the combined capabilities of the ThreatMetrix Fraud Network with Verifi’s leading global electronic payment and risk management solutions to fight CNP fraud and streamline customer web payments,” said Alisdair Faulkner, chief products officer, ThreatMetrix.

“One of the most common challenges we hear from our customers is how frequently they must plan for, invest in and allocate internal resources for the implementation of new technologies. Reducing this burden is one of the added benefits customers receive when they use Verifi’s platform. By partnering with ThreatMetrix, we not only significantly reduce this burden, but we continue our quest to provide our clients with the best and most complete set of global fraud tools available.” Jeff, Sawitke, Vice President, Product Management, Verifi Inc.

About Verifi

Verifi™ is a leading provider of global electronic payment and risk management solutions for card-not-present merchants. The highly customizable payment and real-time reporting platform serves as a foundation for Verifi’s suite of fraud solutions and risk management strategies. With a commitment of reducing risk while increasing profitability for clients, Verifi’s multi-layered approach enables transaction risk management and mitigation, business optimization strategies, cardholder authentication and chargeback re-presentment for all major credit card brands. Verifi is PCI Level 1 certified and headquartered in Los Angeles, California with a satellite office in Redwood Shores, California. For more information on Verifi, please visit: http://www.Verifi.com or please email us at Info@Verifi.com.

Media Contact: Catherine Magee Verifi, Inc. 323-655-5789 Catherine.Magee@verifi.com

ThreatMetrix (www.threatmetrix.com) helps companies stop web fraud and enable e-commerce. The ThreatMetrix Fraud Network helps online businesses verify new accounts, authorize payments and transactions and authenticate user logins in real-time without relying on personally identifiable information (PII). ThreatMetrix profiles the device used in an online transaction so companies can determine whether the users are fraudsters or customers. ThreatMetrix device profiling goes beyond browser fingerprinting to identify the device, bypass proxies and detect the use of botnets. ThreatMetrix’ simple and cost-effective SaaS approach to implementation enables companies to get results in hours or days, rather than weeks or months. The company serves a rapidly growing customer base in the U.S. and around the world across a variety of industries including social networks (dating, gaming), financial services, e-commerce, affiliate marketing and payments. For more information, visit www.threatmetrix.com or call 1-650-625-1451.

Media Contact: Kevin Wolf ThreatMetrix 650-327-1641 kevin@toolguypr.com

Contacts

Verifi, Inc.

Catherine Magee, 323-655-5789

Catherine.Magee@verifi.com

or

ThreatMetrix

Kevin Wolf, 650-327-1641

kevin@toolguypr.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100317006714/en/Verifi-ThreatMetrix-Partner-Provide-Advanced-Payment-Fraud

Former PaymentsSource Editor Joins PYMNTS.com

March 16, 2010 08:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time  

Former PaymentsSource Publisher Joins PYMNTS.com

Andy Rowe, previous Publisher for SourceMedia’s PaymentsSource, joins PYMNTS.com

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PYMNTS.com welcomes Andy Rowe, former SourceMedia’s PaymentsSource Publisher. Rowe, 14 year veteran in the payment and financial services space joins PYMNTS.com as Senior Vice President and Publisher. Andy’s depth of knowledge in the payment landscape will further enhance PYMNTS.com as a marketing platform for companies to assemble, promote and distribute the content related to products, services and thought leadership in the payments sector. PYMNTS.com promotes the companies, products and people that drive "what's next" in payments, worldwide and is a joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway's Business Wire and Market Platform Dynamics.

PYMNTS.com promotes the companies, products and people that drive "what's next" in payments, worldwide. PYMNTS.com is a joint venture between Berkshire Hathaway's Business Wire and Market Platform Dynamics. In the five months since its launch, PYMNTS.com has assembled a very large and highly engaged community of relevant (and senior) industry executives and opinion makers across the payments ecosystem who regularly click on its newsletter, visit the site, and spend a lot of time there. PYMNTs.com has become the "hub" for payments innovation for those whose core business is payments and for those who view payments as central to their own commerce capabilities.

For information on PYMNTS.com contact info@PYMNTS.com. You can also follow PYMNTS.com on Twitter at http://twitter.com/PYMNTS and join the PYMNTS Linked In group.

About Market Platform Dynamics (MPD):

MPD is a management consulting firm that ignites catalyst businesses by leveraging new technologies, business models and pricing strategies. MPD has a wealth of experience within industries that are characterized by complex platform-centered ecosystems, including payments, mobile/telecoms, digital and advertising-supported media, and software-based businesses.

MPD works with both incumbents and new entrants, offering a unique lens into the dynamics that shape the competitive playing field. In addition to traditional consulting-based services, MPD’s Catalyst Ventures provides intellectual and human capital to new firms. MPD’s experts include economists, econometricians, product development specialists, and strategic marketers who apply cutting-edge business theory and statistical methods to the practical problems of building and growing a profitable catalyst business. MPD is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and has offices in London and Hong Kong.

For more information visit www.marketplatforms.com.

About Business Wire

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is utilized by tens of thousands of member companies and organizations worldwide to functionally enhance and communicate investor relations and public relations content to target audiences. As a recognized disclosure service in the United States, Canada and a dozen European countries, Business Wire facilitates the simultaneous flow of market-moving press releases from corporations to financial markets and their audiences, including regulatory authorities, media, investors, financial information systems and consumer news services. Business Wire also handles XBRL tagging, document formatting and regulatory filing into EDGAR, SEDAR, FSA and other systems.

Founded in 1961, Business Wire has dual headquarters in San Francisco and New York, with 30 bureaus in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Paris, Frankfurt, London, Brussels, Tokyo, Toronto and Sydney and reciprocal offices throughout the world. Business Wire's patented NX data platform supports XML, XHTML and XBRL code that enhances news release interactivity, social media sharing and search engine optimization. More information about Business Wire and its services is located on its website atwww.BusinessWire.com.

Contacts

PYMNTS.com

Jonathan Summey, Senior Editor, 617-374-1336

EVP, New Media

sumj@pymnts.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100316006103/en/PaymentsSource-Publisher-Joins-PYMNTS.com

March 18, 2010 02:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time  

Gemalto Expands Its Service Center in Sweden

AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announced it has expanded the activities of its Swedish personalization center to include payment cards. The facility will be able to deliver new value-added personalization services to financial institutions, in Sweden and neighboring countries. EMV card personalization started at the end of 2009, and Gemalto has already secured contracts with major Swedish banks.

“Our enhanced Swedish facility enables local banks to benefit from the extensive portfolio of innovative services Gemalto already offers to its customers globally”

This Gemalto service center has been operating in Stockholm for over five years. So far, it was focused on serving national e-ID products and corporate badges, as well as contactless cards for transport and access. It is now expanding into the personalization of payment cards to locally serve financial institutions, and also to deliver innovative e-banking and e-ID applications with the same card. From this facility, Gemalto provides extended services that aim at providing Swedish banks with a VIP treatment such as picture card validation and printing, urgent change-requests handling and new product introduction management.

The company also provides Internet-based production monitoring to its customers. This value-added service consists of a highly secure web interface that enables banks to monitor their card personalization process. It provides full card traceability and real-time interaction with the Gemalto personalization center to increase efficiency and responsiveness in managing urgent customer requests. For example, banks are offered the possibility to track a particular card or batch and get real-time information regarding production status.

“Our enhanced Swedish facility enables local banks to benefit from the extensive portfolio of innovative services Gemalto already offers to its customers globally,” commented Philippe Cambriel, Executive Vice-President of Gemalto’s Secure Transactions Business Unit. “It will also be capable to support introduction of advanced new products on the market, notably payment cards with value-added services such as digital electronic signature.”

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2009 annual revenues of €1.65 billion, and over 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, with research and service centers in 41 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 Cards (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.

Contacts

Gemalto

Aline Borne, +33 (0)1 55 01 51 05

M.:+33 (0)6 16 29 87 04

aline.borne@gemalto.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100317006647/en/Gemalto-Expands-Service-Center-Sweden

$20 Billion to be Spent on Retail Technology in 2014 says ABI Research

March 18, 2010 10:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time  

Spending on Retail Technology Systems Will Exceed $20 Billion in 2014, According to ABI Research

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Even as the recession has taken its toll on retail sales, retailers have continued to invest in retail technology. The retail technology hardware market, consisting of integrated point of sale (POS) systems, payment terminals, POS barcode scanners, POS printers, and electronic article surveillance systems, managed to continue growing during 2009, while many retailers experienced declines in sales as consumers tightened their purse strings.

“Retailers look to technology to enhance the customer experience, drive customer loyalty, reduce costs, and to become more efficient at managing inventory, space and human resources. It is also a way to stay competitive as peers look to achieve the same goals.”

In its new market study “Next Generation Point of Sale Systems and Retail Technology” (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1004580), ABI Research forecasts that growth in this market will continue for the foreseeable future as retailers invest in the latest technology. ABI Research anticipates retail technology spending will grow to nearly $21 billion in 2014, from $14.8 billion in 2009.

The study finds that continuing growth in retail technology systems shipments and revenues will be driven by global demand for technologies needed to meet rapidly evolving security standards, as well as retailers’ demands for highly efficient and customer-friendly technology.

According to research director Larry Fisher, “Retailers look to technology to enhance the customer experience, drive customer loyalty, reduce costs, and to become more efficient at managing inventory, space and human resources. It is also a way to stay competitive as peers look to achieve the same goals.”

Fisher continues, “Retail technology vendors fared well despite the recession, as retailers maintained their long-term technology investment plans. Additionally, the outlook is positive for retail technology, as retailers in emerging countries look to emulate the successful implementation of technology in more-developed nations.”

The new market study focuses on several key retail technologies, and examines the market drivers behind the growth in this large market sector. Much of the report is focused on the hardware aspects of the technology market, including customer-facing systems such as point of sale systems, payment terminals and peripherals. It includes forecasts through 2014.

This study is published under the Human-Machine Technologies Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Human-Machine_Technology_Research_Service ), which is a part of NextGen, the ABI Research emerging technologies research incubator.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers through 28 research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.

Contacts

ABI Research

Christine Gallen, +1-516-624-2542

pr@abiresearch.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100318005869/en/Spending-Retail-Technology-Systems-Exceed-20-Billion

Banking Password Stealing Virus Targets Facebook

BOSTON (Reuters) – Hackers have flooded the Internet with virus-tainted spam that targets Facebook's estimated 400 million users in an effort to steal banking passwords and gather other sensitive information.  The emails tell recipients that the passwords on their Facebook accounts have been reset, urging them to click on an attachment to obtain new login credentials, according to anti-virus software maker McAfee Inc.  If the attachment is opened, it downloads several types of malicious software, including a program that steals passwords, McAfee said on Wednesday.  Hackers have long targeted Facebook users, sending them tainted messages via the social networking company's own internal email system. With this new attack, they are using regular Internet email to spread their malicious software.

Continue Reading at Reuters 

Billers vs. Banks in Online Payments

The war rages. In one corner: Billers--the credit card companies and utilities that offer online mechanisms for customer payments. In 2009, 44 million U.S. households used online payment mechanisms provided directly by billers, according to the Online Banking Report, as noted by E-Commerce Times. That will grow by 26 percent to 56 million households by 2012.



In the other corner: Banks, which provide online services that allow customers to make payments in general. By 2012, the number of households using third-party channels will grow by 11 percent to 29 million. There would appear to be plenty of room for banks and third-party consolidators to poach a bit. And the reality is there's a lot of business to be had from people who are still more comfortable in the paper payment world.



The demographics favor the movement, but it remains to be seen who will win the customer. There is a lot of vendor activity underway. In the end, for banks anyway, this is a marketing and branding war as much as a technology war.



For more: Here's the E-Commerce Times article

Read more: http://www.fiercefinanceit.com/story/banks-vs-billers-online-payments/2010-03-17#ixzz0iZBClIbE

Rite Aid Stores Nationwide Now Accept EBT Cards/Food Stamps

CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To help meet the needs of its customers, Rite Aid stores nationwide now accept EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards/food stamps provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). More than 38 million Americans received food assistance through SNAP last year, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“One in eight Americans are receiving food assistance through SNAP according to the USDA”

SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is administered by the USDA and offers families and individuals at certain income levels financial assistance in purchasing food and beverages. Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is the electronic system that allows a SNAP recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received.

SNAP benefit recipients are issued EBT cards that look like debit cards. Customers swipe their EBT card like a credit card at the time of the purchase and the cash register automatically deducts the eligible purchase (any food, candy or non-alcoholic beverage) from the balance on their card. For additional details on SNAP, visit www.usda.gov.

“One in eight Americans are receiving food assistance through SNAP according to the USDA,” said Brian Fiala, Rite Aid Executive Vice President, Store Operations. “With nearly 4,800 Rite Aid stores nationwide offering assorted groceries, accepting EBT cards is just another convenience we can offer to our customers and help make their lives a little easier.”

Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with nearly 4,800 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia with fiscal 2009 annual sales of more than $26.3 billion. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through Rite Aid’s Web site at www.riteaid.com.

Contacts

Rite Aid Corporation

Ashley Flower, 717-975-5718

aflower@riteaid.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100318005843/en/Rite-Aid-Stores-Nationwide-Accept-EBT-CardsFood

SmartMetric's Lawsuit Against Visa and MasterCard

SmartMetric's Lawsuit Against Visa and MasterCard



SURFSIDE, FL--(Marketwire - March 17, 2010) - Mr. Colin Hendrick, President of SmartMetric, Inc. (OTCBB: SMME), said today that on March 15, 2010, SmartMetric, Inc. (the "Company") filed a complaint in the United States District Court, Central District of California (the "Court"), Case No. CV10-01864, against MasterCard, Inc. ("MasterCard") and Visa, Inc. ("Visa"), alleging patent infringement on the Company's patent, U.S. Patent 6,792,464. The Company is seeking the following relief from the Court against MasterCard and Visa:

1. For an order pursuant to 35 U.S.C. section 271 declaring that each Defendant has infringed one or more claims of the '464 patent


2. A preliminary and permanent injunction against each defendant prohibiting each of them from further infringement of the '464 patent


3. An award of actual damages SMME has suffered by reason of the infringement charged in this complaint in an amount not less than a reasonable royalty on each Defendant's infringement of the '464 Patent


4. An award to plaintiff SMME of their costs herein


5. Such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper

Investor Contact: 

Redwood Consultants, LLC 

415.884.0348

Company Contact: 

SmartMetric, Inc. 

Colin Hendrick 

305.607.3910 

Email Contact

uMonitor Announces P2P Money Transfer Service

Person-to-Person Payments Available to Community and Regional Banks Through uTransfer

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--uMonitor, the innovative financial solution services provider for operational excellence with customer acquisition and retention, introduced person-to-person (P2P) money transfer services today at the ICBA National Convention & Techworld. The solution is a standard feature of uTransfer^® Release 5.0, which is currently being deployed.

“Consumers today are savvier than ever before, and their quest for added convenience and better services provides a timely opportunity for banks to launch P2P services”

uTransfer, a funds transfer services platform that allows users to move money online in a highly secure environment, is deployed by banks and credit unions ranging from 50 million-dollar community organizations to $30 billion regional banks. The account-to-account money transfer service has been in use since 2003. Its new P2P service enables customers to send and receive money electronically via email and mobile phone to and from any third party with a U.S. bank account. It gives banks the ability to enhance customer money transfer options, helping to retain marketshare and grow their deposit-base. The uTransfer 5.0 Release will also expand the back-office reporting, analytics, support, risk management and operational capabilities of this proven platform.

“Consumers today are savvier than ever before, and their quest for added convenience and better services provides a timely opportunity for banks to launch P2P services,” explained Dinesh Sheth, CEO of uMonitor. “Facilitating transactions between a bank’s customer and their friends and family not only enhances service for the existing customers, but will also provide a point of contact into new relationships. This is another piece of a full-service bank’s Web and mobile offering that delights consumers and cements strong banking relationships.”

uTransfer’s express next day transfer service, scheduled transfer service, recurring transfer service and other options enable customers to make money transfers in an appropriate amount of time for their given situation. Taking advantage of uMonitor’s multi-party shared risk management services allows financial institutions to monitor money flow while engaging get users and employees in fraud prevention activities. uMonitor does the heavy lifting of service monitoring and risk management for clearing the most transactions in a highly secure environment The ongoing service enhancements are a testament to uMonitor’s commitment to providing the most advanced technologies available in a highly configurable and customizable format, thus meeting the needs of the financial institution and its customers.

About uMonitor (www.umonitor.com)

uMonitor offers a wide range of online solutions specifically designed to help financial institutions provide the most up-to-date services. These highly configurable and customizable solutions enable financial institutions to increase profitability, generate revenue, improve regulatory compliance, improve employee productivity while reducing costs and delighting customers. uMonitor solutions include New Account Setup and Online Funding with Switch Kit, New Loan Application Processing, Funds Transfer Service, Bill Presentment and Payment Solutions, Premium Account Management Service, Advisor-Client Relationship Management, and other services. The company’s growth and success were recognized by its inclusion on the Inc. 5000 list in 2008 and 2009.

For more information on uMonitor or its solutions, contact Gillian Smoot at gsmoot@umonitor.com, call 901.757.1212 ext. 7115, or visit the company at www.umonitor.com.

CHARGE Anywhere®, for Android™ Named Finalist in the CTIA Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards

Charge Anywhere named finalist in CTIA E-Tech Awards

South Plainfield, N.J., March 17, 2010 -- CHARGE Anywhere®, for Android™ has been named a finalist in the Mobile Applications - Mobile Payments Category in the CTIA Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Awards. CTIA's fifth annual E-Tech Awards program recognizes products in 15 categories in the areas of mobile consumer electronics, luxury mobile, applications, enterprise, green solutions and network technology. International CTIA WIRELESS 2010® will take place March 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.



More than 80 prominent media and industry analysts judged the 300-plus entries submitted for the E-Tech Awards program this year. Products and services were judged on innovation, functionality, technological importance, implementation and the overall "wow" factor.



E-Tech Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Robert Mesirow, vice president and show director for CTIA and Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, on Wednesday, March 24 at 2:00 p.m. on the Exhibits Innovation Stage located in the Emerging Technology Zone on the International CTIA WIRELESS exhibit floor, North Hall.



CTIA is offering companies two additional opportunities to win an award. Web visitors may vote for the Best Online Pick at www.ctiashow.com/awards . International CTIA WIRELESS show attendees will also have the chance to vote via text message onsite for products in the E-Tech Awards display to win Best in Show.



CHARGE Anywhere for Android enables merchants to quickly, easily and securely accept card payments at the point-of-sale or point-of-service-anytime, anywhere. The unique solution, available through select certified distributors, consists of in-house developed software for Android smart phones, a Bluetooth® card reader and receipt printer and proprietary payment gateway services. CHARGE Anywhere has created a comprehensive, end-to-end platform capable of offering complete PCI security and unsurpassed mobile payment capabilities on any wireless network. Through CHARGE Anywhere's PCI DSS Level 1 payment gateway, the solution works with any major US payment processor and merchant account provider.



Using optional hardware such as a Bluetooth printer with integrated card reader, the CHARGE Anywhere solution helps merchants receive the lowest possible credit card processing rate and the best customer experience. Sales receipts can also be printed at the point-of-sale. The smartphone's touch screen interface enables electronic signature capture, eliminating the requirement for merchants to retain paper copies of signed receipts.



CHARGE Anywhere's solutions are also winners of the 2009 Best of Interop-PCI Security Solution, and the 2009 Electronic Transaction Association Technology Innovation Award.



About CHARGE Anywhere



CHARGE Anywhere® is the developer of proprietary Payment Card Industry PA-DSS certified CHARGE Anywhere® v2.0.0 Mobile Payment/POS software solution designed for use with QuickBooks®, Smartphones and POS Terminals, e-commerce, Web terminal and PCI DSS Level 1 compliant ComsGate® Payment Gateway. CHARGE Anywhere offers business partners and customers the most secure and robust selection of industry specific and customized payments solutions and services, including: IP/Wireless Payment Gateway, POS software, Encryption and Data Security Services, Closed Loop Card Management and Merchant Billing Services. For more information contact them at www.chargeanywhere.com , or (800) 211-1256.



About CTIA Shows



Celebrating 25 years as the premier global mobile marketplace, International CTIA WIRELESS 2010® brings together all industries advanced by wireless technology for three days of intense business, learning and networking in Las Vegas, March 23-25. International CTIA WIRELESS IT&E 2010 takes place in San Francisco, October 6-8. Visit www.ctiashow.com .



CTIA-The Wireless Association® is an international organization representing the wireless communications industry. Membership in the association includes wireless carriers and their suppliers, as well as providers and manufacturers of wireless data services and products. CTIA advocates on behalf of its members at all levels of government. The association also coordinates the industry's voluntary best practices and initiatives, and produces the industry's leading tradeshows. CTIA was founded in 1984 and is based in Washington, D.C. Visit www.ctia.org .



Source: Company press release.

Finovate Spring 2010 Demo Companies Announced

Dear Finovate Fan:

FinovateSpring 2010 is less than two months away, and the conference is really starting to take shape.  Technological innovation in the financial world is continuing unabated by the current economic uncertainty, and we had one of our strongest applicant pools ever.  We're truly excited about the great new innovations we're going to be able to put onstage.

 

The companies who will be demoing their latest innovations at FinovateSpring are:

Backbase Billeo Bobber Interactive Check Point ConsumerDirect Continuity Control Controlabill Cortera Cross Commerce Media DebtGoal Device Fidelity

eRollover Expensify Fiserv FTRANS The Garland Group Ideon FS Jemstep Kabbage MoneyAisle Monitise oFlows

Pageonce Point of Wealth Systems SafetyPay Segmint Silver Tail Systems TransUnion Interactive TSYS UBank Visa Wikinvest WorkLight

In addition to these companies, several stealth startups will be announced closer to the conference date. 

Please make sure to register before March 31st at midnight to save $100 via the early-bird price on your ticket and secure your spot to see the best new innovations in financial and banking technology from these leading established companies and hot young startups.

 

Plus don't forget to use your special offer code fan1010 to save an additional $100 on the early-bird ticket price. If you register before the deadline you can save a total of $200 and attend for only $795! Register now.

We'll see you there! 

 

Sincerely,

Jim Bruene, Editor of Online Banking Report and Founder of Finovate

& Eric Mattson, CEO of Finovate

finovate@netbanker.com