Bankrate: Decline of Free Checking Accelerates

Consumers Facing Higher Fees and Balance Requirements, But Increasing Amount of Fee Waivers Provides Silver Lining

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Only 45% of non-interest checking accounts are free, down from 65% in 2010 and the peak of 76% just two years ago, according to Bankrate.com's (NYSE: RATE) 2011 Checking Study. The full study is available here: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/checking/checking-account.aspx.

"The decline of free checking is in full swing, however, savvy consumers can take advantage of an increasing amount of fee waivers, most commonly with direct deposit," said Bankrate's senior financial analyst, Greg McBride, CFA. "Ninety-two percent of noninterest accounts are either free or can become free."

Both interest and noninterest checking accounts posted big increases in monthly service fees and the balances required to avoid them. On interest accounts, the average monthly fee is $14.15, up 8.5% from $13.04 last year. The balance required to avoid the fee jumped 43.9%, to $5,587 from $3,883, though these balances are increasingly permitted to be held in other accounts and not strictly in the checking account.

On noninterest accounts, the sharp decline in free accounts means 60% more accounts now carry fees and balance requirements. The average monthly fee is $4.37, up from $2.49 last year, and the balance required to avoid it is $585, more than double the $249 from one year ago.

Debit card fees are still rare, despite recently publicized cases. Only 4% of accounts charge a point-of-sale fee when using a debit card, and less than 2% charge a monthly or annual fee for carrying a debit card.

The average ATM surcharge hit a new high for the seventh consecutive year, at $2.40, up 3% from $2.33 last year. The average fee charged by one's own financial institution for going outside the network is unchanged from last year at $1.41.

The average nonsufficient funds fee (commonly known as an overdraft or bounced check fee) set another record of $30.83, up 1% from $30.47 last year. This keeps intact a streak of increases dating back to Bankrate's first annual survey in 1998.

Highest ATM Fees		Lowest ATM Fees
1.   Denver	$2.75	1.   Cleveland	$2.06
2.   San Diego	$2.70	2.   Minneapolis	$2.15
3.   Houston	$2.69	3.   Tampa	$2.19
4.   Seattle	$2.63	4.   Chicago	$2.20
5.   New York Metro	$2.60	5.   Cincinnati	$2.22
Highest Nonsufficient Funds Fees		Lowest Nonsufficient Funds Fees
1.   Denver	$33.50	1.   San Francisco	$27.59
2.   Miami	$33.05	2.   Chicago	$28.80
3.   Houston	$33.03	3.   Cincinnati	$28.84
4.   Dallas	$32.44	T4. Los Angeles	$28.89
5.   Philadelphia	$32.40	T4. Minneapolis	$28.89

Bankrate surveyed a total of 10 banks and thrifts in each of 25 large U.S. markets. This included one interest and one non-interest account at 247 institutions that offer checking accounts. In total, 243 interest and 238 non-interest accounts were surveyed.

About Bankrate, Inc.

The Bankrate network of companies includes Bankrate.com, Interest.com, Mortgage-calc.com, Nationwide Card Services,InsureMe, CreditCardGuide.com, Bankaholic, CreditCards.com and NetQuote. Each of these businesses helps consumers to make informed decisions about their personal finance matters. The company's flagship brand, Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance channels, including banking, investing, taxes, debt management and college finance. Bankrate.com is the leading aggregator of rates and other information on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in 575 markets in 50 states. Bankrate.com provides financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners, including Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: AOL), The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's information is also distributed through more than 500 newspapers.

Seventy-Three Percent of Business Owners Have Not Tested Their Websites for Cyber Security

September 2011 SB Authority's Market Sentiment Survey Results

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Newtek Business Services, (NASDAQ: NEWT), The Small Business Authority with a portfolio of over 100,000 business accounts, announced today the findings of its SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey, a monthly window into the concerns of independent business owners. Based on a poll of approximately 1,200 respondents, one of the key findings from the September survey was that only 27 percent of small business owners' have had an outside party test their computer systems to ensure they are hacker proof.  In addition, 39 percent of business owners stated they do not have their data backed up in more than one location.  

Barry Sloane, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority commented, "The Small Business Authority market sentiment survey focuses on issues of security and risk reduction for small businesses.  With recent breaches of security at Citi Bank, Sony and The Pentagon, small business owners shouldd be concerned and take precaution to ensure their confidential business information is protected.  Our survey demonstrates that very few business owners have taken a necessary precaution of having a professional data security firm perform a current assessment of vulnerabilities on their commercial website or database applications.  65 percent of business owners surveyed seem unaffected by natural disasters and 61 percent seem to think their data is backed up in multiple locations.  We believe that small to medium sized business owners need to review all aspects of their data security and disaster recovery efforts."  

The full September 2011 results showed the following:
Poll Question	Poll Answer	Percentage
Have you ever had an outside party test your computer systems and data to ensure they are hacker proof?	YES	27%
	NO	73%
Have you ever been denied access to your business because of a snowstorm, hurricane, tornado or other natural disaster?	YES	35%
	NO	65%
Is your data and business information backed up in more than one location?	YES	61%
	NO	39%

Credit Card Processing Fees Will Skyrocket for American Businesses Under New Law, According to Merchant Rights Advocate

WESTON, Fla., Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Many businesses will face substantial rate hikes instead of rate reductions under a new law set to go into effect soon, according to merchant rights advocate Robert Livingstone, president and founder of IdealCost.com, a consulting firm that reduces credit card acceptance fees for merchants without switching their existing provider.

Contrary to its stated purpose, The Durbin Amendment, attached to the Dodd-Frank Act passed last year, is supposed to substantially reduce card acceptance fees for merchants across America. When the law is enacted on October 1st three immediate problems will occur, Livingstone said:

1. Visa and MasterCard have already announced historically high credit card processing rate increases to begin in October.
2. Credit card processors, that act as brokers between Visa/MasterCard and businesses, are the ones who receive the rate reduction. Many processors intend to pocket the difference without passing the savings onto their clients. Publicly, held processors have made these announcements to their shareholders.
3. Businesses that accept credit cards over the phone or Internet will not see any discounts even if their credit card processor wants to pass the on the savings because it is only applies to cards that are swiped. Intended discounts that only apply to brick and mortar retailers are discrimination.

"What many companies aren't privy to is that these rate reductions are specifically for swiped debit card transactions. Visa and MasterCard have announced historically high credit card processing rate increases to offset these rate reductions," said Livingstone. "Merchants who accept cards over the phone or the Internet will see zero rate reductions and huge fee increases on their merchant statements. In this economic climate how are these merchants supposed to pay for these increased fees?"

"As we've anticipated these consequences for over a year and a half we have prepared all of our clients' accounts to minimize the damage and maximize the benefit," he said.

For the last 18 months Livingstone has shed light on how poorly drafted the Durbin Amendment is and how it lacked any anticipation to the free market.

"The Durbin Amendment touted itself as the end-all of all unreasonable merchant fees. Whether it was poorly drafted to purposely support only certain industries or miswritten completely by accident, it will result in harming American merchants," he said.

IdealCost.com's founder also adds: "In this economic climate merchants are burdened with rising costs in almost every other aspect of their business. The last thing that they need is an unsubstantiated rate increase."

Effectively, non-IdealCost.com clients have no choice but to accept these rate increases, he said.

About IdealCost.com

Founded in 2008 in West Palm Beach, FL, IdealCost.com's mission is to protect large business owners from being taken advantage of by their credit card processors. Until now, merchants haven't had a viable solution to receive truly reasonable rates and fees.

IdealCost.com is different from other companies because it is paid only from the savings that it generates for clients. This performance-based guarantee makes clients feel at ease because traditional credit card processing salesmen are paid a commission even when they raise their clients' rates and fees.

The company represents the merchant rather than acting as an agent for the banks or credit card processors. IdealCost.com performs merchant account audits and offers consulting services. The company strives to separate itself from the stigma of the credit card processing industry. IdealCost.com allows business owners to stop worrying about their merchant account and return to more important matters in their businesses such as sales, customer service, and providing for their families.

BillMyParents and MasterCard Educate Parents of Teens About the Benefits of Prepaid Cards

SOURCE: BillMyParents

September 27, 2011 09:30 ET

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 27, 2011) - Leading teen spending solutions provider BillMyParents (OTCQB: BMPI) (OTCBB: BMPI) and MasterCard Worldwide have launched a new campaign designed to educate parents about the benefits of prepaid cards for teens.

Launched in August, the campaign will run across social, online and mobile media through October and highlights the real-time tracking capabilities of the reloadable BillMyParents SpendSmart MasterCard^® prepaid card. The campaign includes a national sweepstakes and a card usage rewards element, and was created to push both brand awareness and card conversions on a national level.

"BillMyParents stands out in the prepaid card space with what they're doing for families with teens," said Shekhar Sahgal, vice president, U.S. Prepaid Products, MasterCard. "MasterCard prepaid cards help parents and their teens enjoy the safety and convenience of electronic payments versus cash, while teaching them financial responsibility."

Tailored to appeal to parents, the main message threaded throughout the promotion is: 'Keeping track of your teen's spending with the BillMyParents SpendSmart MasterCard...Priceless.' Addressing the need for safe and easy-to-use solutions to help families manage teen spending in the digital age, BillMyParents provides varying levels of oversight that can be customized for both parents and teens. Instant text alerts can be sent every time a purchase is made or only if a purchase exceeds a certain dollar amount.

Funds can be reloaded and the card can be immediately locked or unlocked with the touch of a button -- via SMS text, by logging in online, or by using the free iPhone app. Instant transaction alerts showing when, where, how much was spent and remaining balance enable parents to take advantage of potential teachable moments in real-time, and extended family members can all contribute to the same card account from any online location.

"This is an incredible opportunity for us to leverage one of the most recognizable marketing programs in the world," said Evan Jones, vice president of marketing for BillMyParents. "It is immensely gratifying that, like us, MasterCard recognizes and believes in the vast growth potential for prepaid cards, including in the teen market. This digital campaign is the perfect way to express how strongly we feel that what we are providing to families IS priceless."

In addition to benefits such as real-time spend alerts, the program also offers incentives around entertainment that the whole family can enjoy together such as free movie tickets, entrance in a sweepstakes for an all expenses-paid trip to a Hollywood movie premiere, and inclusion in a new rewards program based on recurrent use of the card.

BillMyParents prepaid cards are issued by University National Bank pursuant to a license provided by MasterCard International Incorporated.

For more information, please visit: www.BillMyParents.com/priceless.

About BillMyParentsBillMyParents, Inc. (OTCQB: BMPI) (OTCBB: BMPI) offers the perfect solution for parents who want to help their teens develop smart spending habits. The BillMyParents SpendSmart Card is the only instantly trackable, reloadable MasterCard prepaid card that lets parents and teens track spending in real-time. Features include the ability to instantly lock, unlock and reload the card at any time; text alerts to parents and teens showing real-time transaction details with each purchase; and the freedom and security of a MasterCard prepaid card without the risk of overdrafts, accruing debt or affecting credit scores. BillMyParents provides parents with a modern way to help teach their teens financial responsibility, when it counts. For more information, please visit www.billmyparents.com.

About MasterCard MasterCard (NYSE: MA) is a global payments and technology company. It operates the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities -- such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances -- easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Learn more at mastercard.com or follow us on Twitter @mastercardnews.

Cubic Partners With PATCO to Offer Riders the World's First Transit Agency-Branded Contactless Visa® Prepaid Card for Transit and Retail

SOURCE: Cubic Corporation

September 27, 2011 07:00 ET

CAMDEN, NJ--(Marketwire - Sep 27, 2011) - PATCO and Cubic Transportation Systems, the transportation segment of Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB), have partnered to provide Philadelphia/New Jersey region commuters with the first transit-branded, contactless Visa® prepaid card in the world. The new PATCO Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Visa® Prepaid Card began a 12-month pilot program on September 26. This marks the first time that consumers will be able to use the same transit payment card for both transit and retail purchases.

Cubic developed the pilot program to assist transit agencies that are facing shrinking budgets and are looking for ways to reduce costs of fare card operations and create avenues for additional revenues. This type of payment system -- called an "open-loop" payment system -- uses contactless bank cards that give users the opportunity to spend money wherever the card is accepted. The majority of transit fare cards in use today, such as the PATCO FREEDOM® Card, are closed loop payment systems, meaning they can only be used for transit payments.

"Cubic is excited about this opportunity to field the first full deployment of a general purpose reloadable prepaid card," said Steve Shewmaker, President of Cubic Transportation Systems Worldwide. "This is all about making life for the transit agency and their customers even more convenient."

The PATCO Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Visa Prepaid Card is a contactless, general purpose, reloadable card. It is one of the lowest fee prepaid cards on the market. To participate, PATCO riders can get a free PATCO Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Visa® Prepaid Card with no enrollment free from brand ambassadors who will be on site for the first two weeks of the pilot at six PATCO stations where special kiosks will be located to enable customers to load their cards. Customers can also order and register their cards online at www.PATCOpilot.com. Riders use the card to wave and pay at PATCO gates and parking terminals and anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, including telephone and online purchases and bill payment. The cards can be loaded, reloaded and managed many ways, including online. Once the card has been registered, it is FDIC insured and can be used for cash back on purchases and for ATM withdrawals.

"We are pleased to partner with Cubic Transportation Systems and Visa on this groundbreaking pilot. Open payment is the future of transit fare collection, and with the PATCO Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Visa® Prepaid Card, we can ensure that all of our riders, regardless of whether or not they have a bank account, have access to a new level of payment convenience and security," said Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) CEO and PATCO President, John J. Matheussen.

About Cubic Transportation Systems

Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) is the parent company of three major business segments: Defense Systems, Mission Support Services and Transportation Systems.

Cubic® Transportation Systems, Inc. is the world's leading turnkey solution provider of automated fare collection systems for public transport including bus, bus rapid transit, light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail, ferry and parking. Cubic's solutions and services include system design, central computer systems, equipment design and manufacturing, device-level software, integration, test, installation, warranty, maintenance, computer hosting services, call centre services, card management and distribution services, financial clearing and settlement, multi-application support and outsourcing services.

Every year, nearly 10 billion rides are taken worldwide using Cubic fare collection systems. Cubic has delivered over 400 projects in 40 major markets on five continents. Active projects include London; Brisbane (Southeast Queensland) region, Australia; New York / New Jersey region; Washington, D.C. / Baltimore / Virginia region; Los Angeles region; San Diego region; San Francisco region; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chicago; Atlanta region; Miami (South Florida) region; Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada; Sydney (New South Wales), Australia; and Scandinavia.

Cubic Defense Systems is a leading provider of realistic combat training systems, cyber technologies, asset tracking solutions, and defense electronics. Mission Support Services is a leading provider of training, operations, maintenance, technical and other support services. For more information about Cubic, see the company's website at www.cubic.com.

About PATCO and the Delaware River Port Authority

The Delaware River Port Authority is a regional transportation agency. DRPA owns and operates the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry and Betsy Ross Bridges, and PATCO. The DRPA also owns the RiverLink Ferry.

The PATCO Wave & Pay ANYWHERE Card is issued by The Bancorp Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc, The Bancorp Bank, Member FDIC.

Moneris Solutions Brings Cloud-Based Point-Of-Sale Solution to Independent Retailers

September 26, 2011 14:54 ET

Moneris Expands Morris Retail POS Solution with Register, Pro, and Enterprise

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 26, 2011) - Moneris Solutions^® (Moneris), Canada's largest credit and debit card processor, announced the launch of its expanded Morris^® retail point-of-sale (POS) solution, offering Register, Pro, and Enterprise modules to help retailers manage their business more efficiently. The modules range from an entry-level cash register replacement to an advanced POS solution with advanced feature set designed to meet the needs of larger retail businesses.

Developed as cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) model, Morris offers retailers the ability to not only process transactions, but provide additional POS features including inventory management, customer management, and real-time reporting. In addition, Morris is PCI Security Standards Council PA-DSS compliant, thereby protecting transaction data for both merchants and customers.

"Moneris is committed to delivering innovative solutions that meet the needs of retailers," said John Florinis, Director, Product Marketing & Business Development, Moneris. "By offering three distinctive modules, Morris will offer the right feature set for businesses of all sizes."

Morris Register

A conventional cash register replacement that offers advanced POS functionality including real time reports and inventory tracking. In addition, all information is backed up and secured with Moneris.

Morris Pro

Designed for larger retailers looking to grow, Morris Pro provides additional features including advanced inventory management, the ability to import customer data, and purchase order management. Morris' customer management and promotional tools enable merchants to provide better customer relationship management.

Morris Enterprise

Offering complete Morris functionality, Morris Enterprise is suitable for head office, IT and store operations departments, including franchise groups.

Morris Register, Pro, and Enterprise are available today from Moneris. For additional information, including a free 30-day trial, please visit moneris.com/morris. For pricing information, please call 1-866-421-1667.

About Moneris Solutions

As one of North America's largest providers of payment processing solutions, Moneris offers credit, debit, wireless and online payment services for merchants in virtually every industry segment and processes more than three billion transactions annually. Through its Ernex division, Moneris offers electronic loyalty and stored-value gift card programs. With more than 350,000 merchant locations, Moneris provides the hardware, software and systems needed to improve business efficiency and manage payments. For more information please visit www.moneris.com.