Reaching Underbanked and Unbanked Americans Gains in Priority for Financial Institutions

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jul 21, 2011) - Some banks are beginning to test alternative financial services (AFS) products and reevaluate their product offerings in order to reach the population of underbanked and unbanked Americans, according to Underbanked and Unbanked Consumers in the U.S.: Successfully Targeting Consumers of Alternative Financial Services by market research publisher Packaged Facts. Partly driving this trend is the fact that the often substantial fees associated with checking accounts linked to overdraft protection have increased the reluctance of some prospective, current or former customers to bank with traditional financial services institutions.

One product that is attractive to unbanked consumers and that financial institutions can leverage is the general purpose reload (GPR) prepaid card, for consumers willing to direct deposit their paychecks to a card account. By promoting access to bank branches and the bank's ATM network, banks can acquire customers who are skittish about becoming overly dependent on a bank or possibly opening themselves up to overdraft fees they can't afford. BB&T became the first large U.S. bank to offer a prepaid debit card linked to a full bank branch and ATM network. In February 2011, the Winston-Salem, NC-headquartered bank introduced its MoneyAccount GPR card which can be refilled either through direct deposit with BB&T, at a bank branch, a BB&T ATM, or at one of Visa's 50,000 ReadyLink retailer locations.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has found that nine million households are unbanked (8% of all U.S. households) and have no checking or savings account with a financial institution. These are households that may buy money orders, or remit funds to families abroad or even use a payroll card, but they use financial services marketers sparingly and resist efforts to deepen their relationships with traditional banks. That resistance is partly rooted in their poverty: almost half of all unbanked households earn less than $15,000 a year.

For underbanked consumers, the lead product banks can offer is the savings account. While some banks are attempting to capitalize on the profitability of payday lending by offering comparable products or low-cost, short-term credit alternatives to payday loans, other banks are trying innovative strategies to encourage lower-income Americans to create their own savings alternative to the payday loan.

"The existential challenge confronting bankers interested in establishing relationships with the unbanked or in capturing incremental financial transactions from underbanked households is balancing the need to drive additional revenue into the retail banking business with the need to create customer relationships built on mutual benefit and on trust and transparency," says David Sprinkle, publisher of Packaged Facts.

Underbanked and Unbanked Consumers in the U.S provides market size and product revenue historical figures and forecasts, and analyzes the legislative and regulatory challenges driving the growth of alternative financial services. The report also analyzes retail financial services activity volume and the macro and micro economic trends that have resulted in the first rise in the percentage of households that are unbanked since the federal government began tracking consumer banking relationships. In addition, the report provides detailed demographic portraits of both underbanked and unbanked consumers, as well as their financial behaviors and consumer psychographics.

For further information, please visit: https://www.packagedfacts.com/Underbanked-Unbanked-Consumers-2826947/.

About Packaged Facts -- Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer goods and retailing, foods and beverages, demographics, pet products and services, and financial products. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. To learn more, visit:www.packagedfacts.com.

Financial-Technology Entrepreneurs Present Latest Innovations to Wall Street Executives and Venture Capitalists

July 22, 2011 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Big Banks Provide Aid to Start-up Companies in the Financial Technology Sector

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Six entrepreneurs today gave the venture community a first look at a range of cutting-edge financial technology innovations they developed over the past three months, with the guidance and support of some of the world’s leading banks and venture capitalists. In March, the six were selected from a field of more than 90 start-up companies that applied to participate in the annual FinTech Innovation Lab. The Lab was created by the New York City Investment Fund, the economic development arm of the Partnership for New York City, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) to ensure that New York maintains its leadership in global finance – an industry which is increasingly driven by technological innovation.

“Congratulations to all six companies – we look forward to watching you become the next New York financial technology success stories.”

Since May, the entrepreneurs have developed, tested and fine-tuned their innovations -- which provide technology solutions for market data analysis, risk management and data visualization. Throughout the product development process, 10 global financial institutions -- Bank of America, Barclays Capital, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, State Street, and UBS – provided mentors, feedback and market access to the six companies. Among those lending their advice and support were JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. CEO Henry Kravis.

“These companies are among the innovators who are creating the next generation in financial technology,” said Maria Gotsch, President & CEO of the New York City Investment Fund. “By giving them access to important potential customers, we are helping entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth and achieve an edge on competitors around the world.”

Coaching and business advice was also provided by executives at six venture capital firms: Contour Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, RRE Ventures, Village Ventures and Warburg Pincus. The firms also gave each start-up $25,000 in funding for expenses. In addition, Accenture provided program leadership, work space, as well as mentoring by its financial services industry and technology experts.

"Innovation is more critical to the U.S. financial services industry than ever,” said Chris Wearing, Managing Director in Accenture’s U.S. Capital Markets practice. “Finding growth and new efficiencies in this radically changed marketplace depends heavily on new technologies and better processes. These entrepreneurs show how new ideas and technologies can help institutions adapt and profit. And they prove that New York continues to distinguish itself as a center for innovation.”

“As the global capital of finance, New York City is uniquely positioned to become the center of innovation in financial technology,” said Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO of the Partnership for New York City. “These six companies represent a growing tech sector that will sustain the competitive advantage of New York’s great financial institutions, while also creating businesses and jobs in New York City.”

The six participants in this year’s FinTech Innovation Lab and the products they developed are:

• Aqumin: Using interactive 3D technology, Aqumin's AlphaVision™ facilitates visual analysis and interpretation of vast, disparate sources of public and proprietary market data. This enables financial market professionals to identify patterns and extract information quickly. For more information: www.aqumin.com
• CB Insights: CB Insights’ Mosaic assesses the health of private small businesses by finding signals of strength or weakness in publicly available information sources. Mosaic, through the use of these information inputs, empowers wealth management, investment banking, vendor procurement, and lending groups to improve their marketing and due diligence efforts. For more information: www.cbinsights.com/mosaic
• Hanweck Associates: Hanweck Associates offers high-performance, real-time analytics and risk products for top-tier hedge funds, banks, broker/dealers and other financial institutions. The company uses commercial graphical processing units (GPUs) to accelerate computations in its products such as Volera™, a low-latency, real-time options analytics engine. For more information: www.hanweckassoc.com
• Lenddo.com: Lenddo.com is the first service to use and analyze online social networks to assess credit worthiness. The Lenddo community uses these networks to help middle class people in emerging markets obtain loans and improve their financial reputation. For more information: www.lenddo.com
• Syphr: Syphr is a provider of highly personalized credit management and financial optimization applications that help financial institutions and online finance websites attract business. The company’s patent-pending technology identifies more qualified and better-informed customers. For more information: www.syphronline.com
• Zipmark: Zipmark is a mobile and online payments company that works just like a check, minus the paper and trip to the bank. With a mobile barcode, Zipmark accepts secure payments from any bank, thrift or credit union, providing customers with a lower-cost alternative to pay their rent and other bills. For more information: www.zipmark.com

“New York City is one of the world’s great financial capitals and the home to a burgeoning technology start-up culture, so we are uniquely positioned to foster an attractive environment for financial technology companies,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel. “Congratulations to all six companies – we look forward to watching you become the next New York financial technology success stories.”

“It is great to see such vibrant innovation from the New York startup community,” said Andy Brown, Chief Technology Officer of UBS. “We have enjoyed collaborating with the finalists and there has been a great business development dialog throughout. We have found technology that we can use at UBS through FinTech.”

“We're excited to be part of this inaugural year for Fintech,” said John Burns, CIO of the Investment Bank at Credit Suisse. “The quality of the firms and the products they are bringing to market are an affirmation of this program and one of the reasons we're committed to its success. Technology is at the core of what we do in financial services and this program will ensure an innovation pipeline for our industry in the years to come.”

“We believe technology innovation is a key factor of gaining competitive advantage, and we are delighted to be part of a process that attracts innovative companies to be closer to the financial industry in New York City and helps them grow and foster emerging technologies that benefit us,” said Steve Randich, Co-Head of ICG Technology and Co-CIO of Citibank.

For more information about the FinTech Innovation Lab, visit: www.fintechinnovationlab.com

About the Sponsors

The New York City Investment Fund (www.nycif.org ) is the vision of Henry R. Kravis, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., who serves as its Founding Chairman. The Investment Fund has raised over $110 million to mobilize the city's world financial and business leaders to help build a stronger and more diversified local economy. It has built a network of top experts from the investment and corporate communities who help identify and support New York City's most promising entrepreneurs in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. The Fund is governed by a Board of Directors co-chaired by Russell L. Carson, General Partner of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe; and Richard M. Cashin, Managing Partner of One Equity Partners. The Investment Fund is an affiliate of the Partnership for New York City (www.pfnyc.org), an organization of the leaders of New York City’s top corporate, investment, and entrepreneurial firms. They work in partnership with city and state government officials, labor groups, and the nonprofit sector to promote the interest of the city and its neighborhoods. The Partnership carries out research, policy formulation, and issue advocacy at the city, state, and federal levels, leveraging the resources and expertise of its CEO and Corporate partners. Partnership companies account for nearly 7 million American jobs and contribute over $740 billion to the national GDP.

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 223,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$21.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2010. Its website is www.accenture.com.

PCI Security Standards Council Announces Program Highlights for Annual Community Meetings

July 22, 2011 10:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Offers PCI community opportunity to share best practices and feedback; examine new technologies and how they can aid payment security efforts—

WAKEFIELD, Mass. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), a global, open industry standards body providing management of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), PIN Transaction Security (PTS) requirements and the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS), today announced further details on sessions planned for its annual Community Meetings.

“This is a critical year for all stakeholders, as we move toward adoption of PCI DSS 2.0 and investigate new technologies”

According to the 2011 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, 2010 saw a significant decrease in total data records breached compared to previous years, pointing to a growing awareness of the importance of securing payment card data. While approaches to payment security continue to mature, persistent threats and data compromise incidents underscore the ongoing need for strong security programs addressing people, processes and technology. Organizations need to ensure that they have adequate security measures in place to address tomorrow’s threats.

Against this backdrop, global leaders in payment data security will gather in Scottsdale, Arizona on Sept. 20-22 and in London on October 17-19 at the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) Community Meetings to examine the protections afforded by the PCI Security Standards; discuss the challenge and potential of the latest in payment technologies; and provide critical feedback to continue to evolve the standards to address the changing threat climate.

At the 2011 PCI Community Meetings, the 3-day program will include the latest in breaking forensics, security trends and technology from expert keynote speakers; SSC updates on the global state of PCI and technologies such as: point-to-point encryption, mobile payments, virtualization and tokenization; as well as dedicated sessions providing guidance to those aiding in PCI assessments, including Approved Scanning Vendors (ASV), Qualified Security Assessors (QSA), and Internal Security Assessors (ISA).

New for this year, the program will also include:

• PCI in Practice Case Studies:
  Implementing long-term PCI compliance programs that build security into every day practices is critical to protecting payment card data, which is the focus of the PCI in Practice track. In this unique forum, merchants and acquirers will share their real-world successes and challenges in case study presentations.

• Creating a Security Lifecycle:
  This practical session will provide recommendations on how to plan ahead for PCI and build a security lifecycle into the business.

• Special Interest Group (SIG) Presentations:
  The PCI Security Standards Council’s Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) leverage PCI SSC Participating Organizations' (PO) valuable business and technical experiences to collaborate with the PCI SSC on any supporting guidance or special projects relating to the PCI Security Standards. A new process and guidelines for the SIG proposal and selection was recently introduced to foster greater community involvement, including presentation of SIG ideas at the annual Community Meetings. Participating Organizations may submit proposals for consideration by August 29, 2011 at the Council’s website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/pdfs/PCI_SIG_Proposal.pdf

The full agendas for each meeting can be found at the Community Meeting website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2011/

With the formal feedback period on the latest versions of the PCI Standards beginning in November, the Community Meetings include specific sessions geared toward soliciting feedback on each standard, as well as a number of open forums for providing input to the Council.

Attendees will also have the chance meet and ask questions of representatives from the world’s largest associations, card brands, financial institutions and peers from their own industry in this exclusive gathering of global payment security experts, with targeted activities like “Breakfast with the Brands” and networking opportunities such as “Tables for Six” that facilitate informal dinner conversation for those in the PCI community.

“This is a critical year for all stakeholders, as we move toward adoption of PCI DSS 2.0 and investigate new technologies,” said Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council. “I look forward to gathering as a community and hearing from the front lines about the latest in payment security, how we can better work together to ensure not only that our standards remain critical resources for protecting card data but also that organizations have what they need to implement and maintain strong security programs.”

The Council has scheduled several training courses during the week, including its recently launched PCI Awareness training. These offerings provide participants the opportunity to combine the value of peer to peer education at the Community Meeting with more formal training sessions, maximizing their time in Scottsdale and London.

The 2011 PCI SSC Community Meetings feature a Vendor Showcase for Participating Organizations, QSAs and ASVs to demonstrate their products and services, as well as a number of sponsorship opportunities.

For more information, or to register to attend, please visit the Community Meetings website: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/communitymeeting/2011/

Click to Tweet: PCI announces Community Meetings - I'm going! http://bit.ly/gtibfM

Are you attending? Get a head start on networking at the event and RSVP on LinkedIn to connect with others participating in this year’s meetings:

North America Community Meeting: http://linkd.in/jEw5jP

European Community Meeting: http://linkd.in/raDh0z

About the PCI Security Standards Council

The PCI Security Standards Council is an open, global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and related standards that increase payment data security. Founded in 2006 by the major payment card brands American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., the Council has more than 600 Participating Organizations representing merchants, banks, processors and vendors worldwide. To learn more about playing a part in securing payment card data globally, please visit: http://pcisecuritystandards.org.

Alliance Data Reports Record Second-Quarter 2011 Results

Raises 2011 Guidance

DALLAS, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: ADS), a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, today announced results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

Revenue increased 11 percent to $740 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 15 percent to $239 million for the second quarter of 2011. Net income per diluted share (EPS) increased 43 percent to $1.19, and core earnings per diluted share (core EPS) increased 27 percent to $1.75 for the second quarter of 2011, exceeding the Company's guidance of $1.60.

Diluted shares outstanding were 58.1 million for the second quarter of 2011, an increase of 1.3 million dilutive shares as compared to the second quarter of 2010. The assumed conversion of the Company's convertible senior notes and warrants, which varies based on the average per share price of the Company's common stock, added approximately 6.2 million to the diluted share count for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 3.9 million compared to the second quarter of 2010. Of the assumed conversion shares, approximately 4.7 million shares for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 are covered by convertible note hedge agreements eliminating the Company's obligation to settle at maturity. Net repurchases of the Company's common stock reduced diluted shares outstanding by 2.6 million shares for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 partially mitigating the increase associated with the convertible senior notes and warrants.

Ed Heffernan, president and chief executive officer, commented, "During the second-quarter, we again delivered double-digit growth in revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and earnings-per-share reflecting continued momentum in all three business segments. Despite a sluggish economy, we are confident that our businesses will continue to perform well throughout 2011. As such, we are again raising core EPS guidance from $7.00 to $7.20 for the year."

Heffernan continued, "It has been a very productive second quarter and first half of 2011 as we have cleared many items from our plate. We completed major contract renewals with Victoria's Secret, Jean Coutu, and J.Crew. We signed new customers includingZale Canada and Sycle to long-term agreements and inked Banco do Brasil as an anchor sponsor to the dotz coalition program inBrazil. We achieved critical mass in our digital agency offering at Epsilon by acquiring Aspen Marketing Services. In addition, we expanded our international footprint by recently acquiring a minority ownership position in a leading loyalty marketing firm in India. Lastly, we bolstered our liquidity by closing on a new $1.6 billion credit facility at favorable market terms. With the bulk of our 2011 initiatives behind us, we are now focusing on 2012 and beyond."  

read entire release

Visa Inc. Board of Directors Declares Dividend

Image via CrunchBase

SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) announced that its Board of Directors had declared a quarterly dividend in the aggregate amount of $0.15 per share of class A common stock (determined, in the case of class B and class C common stock, on an as-converted basis) payable on September 7, 2011, to all holders of record of the Company's class A, class B and class C common stock as of August 19, 2011.

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, visithttp://www.corporate.visa.com.

Global Payments Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End Earnings

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ATLANTA, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) today announced results for its fiscal fourth quarter and year ended May 31, 2011.  For the full year, revenues grew 13% to $1,859.8 million compared to $1,642.5 million in the prior fiscal year.  Normalized diluted earnings per share from continuing operations grew 9% to $2.77 compared to $2.54 in the prior year (See Schedule 2 for Normalized Earnings).  On a GAAP basis, the company reported fiscal 2011 full year diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.61 compared to $2.52 in the prior year (See Schedule 1 for GAAP Consolidated Statements of Income).

For the fourth quarter, revenues grew 22% to $519.8 million compared to $425.1 million in the prior year.  Normalized diluted earnings per share from continuing operations grew 31% to $0.76 compared to $0.58 in the prior year quarter.  On a GAAP basis, the company reported fourth quarter diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.72 compared to $0.56 in the prior year quarter.

Normalized fourth quarter and full year results exclude expenses related to certain start-up and duplicative costs for the company's Global Service Center in Manila, Philippines.  These results also exclude certain employee termination and relocation benefits.  (See Schedules 7 and 8 for Reconciliations of Normalized and Cash Earnings to GAAP).  

Chairman and CEO Paul R. Garcia stated, "We are pleased with our strong fiscal year 2011 financial performance which was driven by solid execution of our business strategy across our regions and the December 2010 addition of Spain.  We delivered exceptional results in the fourth quarter, driven by strong performance in North America and outstanding results in our International segment.  Our execution during fiscal 2011 established a basis from which we expect to drive margin expansion of as much as 30 basis points in fiscal 2012."  

David E. Mangum, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO, stated, "On a cash basis, the company reported fiscal 2011 fourth quarter and full year diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.86 and $3.08, respectively, which represents 32% and 10% growth over the respective prior year periods.  

For the full year of fiscal 2012, the company expects annual revenue of $2,100 million to $2,150 million, or 13% to 16% growth over fiscal 2011.  The company expects annual fiscal 2012 diluted earnings per share on a cash basis of $3.35 to $3.43, reflecting 9% to 11% growth over fiscal 2011.  Annual fiscal 2012 GAAP diluted earnings per share is expected to be $3.02 to $3.09," said Mangum.

Cash earnings exclude normalized adjustments and acquisition intangible amortization expense from continuing operations.  (See Schedule 3 for Cash Earnings and Schedule 4 for Segment Information).

Conference Call

Global Payments will hold a conference call today, July 21, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss financial results and business highlights.  Callers may access the conference call via the company's Web site at www.globalpaymentsinc.com by clicking the "Webcast" button; or callers in North America may dial 1-888-895-3550 and callers outside North America may dial 1-706-758-8809.  The pass code is "GPN."  A replay of the call may be accessed through the Global Payments Web site through August 5, 2011.  

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading provider of electronic transaction processing services for merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, government agencies and multi-national corporations located throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.  Global Payments, a Fortune 1000 company, offers a comprehensive line of processing solutions for credit and debit cards, business-to-business purchasing cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion and check guarantee, verification and recovery including electronic check services, as well as terminal management.  Visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com for more information about the company and its services.

Square Who? Dwolla Shows the Power of Electronic Cash

While tech darling Square has been growing its mobile payments business at a rapid pace, it’s far from the only success story in the business. Over in Des Moines, IA, mobile payments start-up Dwolla is enjoying its own impressive growth and just hit $1 million in daily transactions, putting it on a faster initial pace than Square.  read more

Reasons you'll love Dwolla

It's Safe

When you use Dwolla you'll only send and receive money with other users, which have been through the same registration process. This protects you against fraud.

It's Fast

Dwolla's unique technology allows us to process money through your bank account as fast as anyone else in the world.

It's Secure

When sending and receiving money, you will never share personal information with other users. All pages and data movement in Dwolla are hosted on our own private servers.

It's Easy

Gain access to an easy to use and understand user interface. This interface allows you to effortlessly find transaction information and start populating your account information.

It's Mobile

Dwolla supports the following platforms:iOS, Android, and Windows 7 Phone. Use our Spots feature on your mobile device to find merchants that accept Dwolla near you!

It's Verified

We take your privacy and security very seriously. Dwolla is verified through both the TRUSTe and McAfee Secure services.