Thursday, March 15, 2012

PayPal to Triangling in on Square's Space


Thu Mar 15, 2012 3:21pm EDT


PayPal takes on Square with its mobile triangle

PayPal Here is designed to create some competition with San Francisco's Square

Technology trends and news by Krystal Peak
March 15, 2012 | Comments
Short URL: http://vator.tv/n/2531
Square has just gotten some rich competition now that PayPal has entered the mobile payment market. The eBay payment arm announced Thursday that it, too, will provide a phone dongle to help small businesses accept purchases wherever they are.
PayPal unveiled the design of its triangular dongle, which will process mobile payments for small businesses internationally.
At the San Francisco event debuting the new gadget, President and CEO of eBay, John Donahoe, proclaimed that the new service is better, has a better chance of going global fast (because of the PayPal name, and offers merchants everything they need to compete in this new commerce environment, online, mobile and now offline.
The dongle is called PayPal Here and fans out to avoid stress on the audio jack when merchants run credit cards through the system. Also unveiled Thursday was the complimentary app that is similarly designed to the Square app with some of the same features that were recently updated when Square started zoning in on the entire POS process (so that it can account for cash and check payments as well as have designated buttons for item prices). 
The PayPal here allows small business owners to show the customer the total, as well as allow customers easy tip-of-the-finger signing.
One feature that is interesting is the ability to scan cards if the dongle is lost or damaged. A merchant can scan the card (or checks) to secure payment. A great way to assure no revenue is lost.
Until now, PayPal has been a leader in the secure online payment market and has only recently set its sights on retail locations such as Home Depot. Square, on the other hand, has jumped out as the leader in mobile payments since its inception in 2010. Square has already processing $4 billion in transactions each year, take 2.75 percent for transaction fees.
When you sign up to be a part of the PayPal Here system, you will receive a PayPal debit card -- which is central in capturing the lower transaction fees. This card results in a 1% return for purchases made using the card. With that one percent back, PayPal says its transaction fee will be 1.7 percent (which is 1.05% less than Square, but for customers that don't use the PayPal debit card, the transaction fee is virtually identical). 
The PayPal app, called “local,” is a customer loyalty app that helps merchants recognize frequent customers and offer service assistance and deals.
PayPal already has 17 million users using its mobile application, but the loyalty and nubile points go to the young and innovative Square, which has already struck a cord with one-fifth of the credit-card accepting merchants in the US.
But some, less tech-savvy companies may be drawn in by the name-brand comfort that comes with PayPal and the familiarity with the business' end-to-end encryption to and security systems.
The PayPal Here card reader and merchant app for iPhone are both available today exclusively to select merchants in the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. It will be generally available to more merchants in those select countries next month. The Android version of the PayPal Here merchant app will also be available next month. 
In 2011, Square clocked in 1 million merchants using the mobile payments platform (which equates to one in eight merchants that accept credit cards in the US). In the fall, Square also announced that it was registering $11 million in payments per day (up from $4 million a day in July) and nabbed Sir Richard Branson, Kleiner Perkins, Visa, and other investors that handed over $100 million. Square also inked retail deals with Apple, Wal-mart, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and Target.
Just this month, Square announced that it is looking to futher disrupt the point-of-sale system for even more retail and restaurants around the globe with the launch of its updated iPad app: Register.
The San Francisco company already expanded from its smaller retail company base and added OfficeMax and select UPS Store locations to its list of big business gets and now is eyeing more companies with those traditional POS systems. 
So just as Square has been chipping away at what the credit card system can be for merchants, it also looks to shake-up the (mostly unchanged) POS system so that smaller merchants and vendors can gain the analytics and convenience without all the upfront and maintenance costs that can dampen any carry-over revenue for small businesses. 
Since PayPal is always looking to create more partnerships in retail and services, the possibility of a Square competitor is exciting for the future of commerce. 
I think that it is healthy for more companies to come into the mobile payment market. Its great for customers that want to use their cards and get virtual receipts and its great for businesses that might otherwise lose those sales. But it might take some more innovation to beat Square at its own game -- and, frankly, some better designing than just changing the shape and color of the dongle.
It really just feels like the people over at PayPal don't get the satire on 'The Office,' because I am fairly sure that when the characters were marketing a triangle tablet, it was to make fun of the unoriginal spin-offs that surface in the tech world all the time. (See the video at the end of the article to enjoy The Office spoof about creating a triangle tablet.)



Read more at http://vator.tv/news/2012-03-15-paypal-takes-on-square-with-its-mobile-triangle#arKEr5YBKZFiSMUy.99
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Discover Implements 2013 EMV Mandate in U.S., Canada and Mexico

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March 15, 2012 08:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time 
Company’s industry alignment to help streamline certification and deployment efforts
RIVERWOODS, Ill.--()--Discover (NYSE: DFS) today announced it is implementing a 2013 EMV mandate for acquirers and direct-connect merchants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This industry alignment will streamline certification and deployment efforts and enable a manageable transition for all parties involved, including issuers, merchants and acquirers.
“Enabling EMV in North America is a significant step in Discover’s approach toward emerging payments, and clearly a necessary one”
To date, Discover has prioritized its global EMV-deployment efforts towards markets which are mandated or have significant chip-card technology presence already. Discover has deployed D-PAS, the company’s EMV-compliant payment specification, for the past three years and already has over 1 million cards in market among international issuers. Deployment efforts continue in 2012, with close to 100 issuing and acquiring deployments slated across the Diners Club, PULSE and Discover card networks.
“Enabling EMV in North America is a significant step in Discover’s approach toward emerging payments, and clearly a necessary one,” said Troy Bernard, Global Head of Chip Payment Technology at Discover. “We believe each payment solution should enable choice and security within its transaction environment, which is why when it comes to EMV, we’re giving stakeholders choice and flexibility on how they implement it.”
Discover’s approach to EMV is both universal and choice-centric, meaning the company will not restrict any channel, verification process or transaction type. Discover will support:
  • All card authentication channels – including online and offline
  • All cardholder verification methods – including both chip & PIN or chip & Signature transactions
  • All commerce channels – including contact and contactless (which includes mobile)
Discover’s EMV deployment efforts are already underway domestically. In January 2012, Discover processed its first U.S. EMV card transactions at enabled Walmart locations. Walmart is certified to process D-PAS in both the U.S. and Canada.
To learn more about D-PAS or the Discover 2012 EMV mandate, please visit www.discovernetworknews.com.

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First Data to Webcast CFO Remarks at Goldman Sachs Conference

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March 15, 2012 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 
ATLANTA--()--First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, today announced that it will webcast remarks by Chief Financial Officer Ray Winborne from the Goldman Sachs TMT Leveraged Finance Conference on March 22, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
The webcast will be available live and archived for three months following the event through the webcasts and events section at http://investor.firstdata.com.
Around the world, every second of every day, First Data makes payment transactions secure, fast and easy for merchants, financial institutions and their customers. First Data leverages its vast product portfolio and expertise to drive customer revenue and profitability. Whether the choice of payment is by debit or credit card, gift card, check or mobile phone, online or at the checkout counter, First Data takes every opportunity to go beyond the transaction.

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BOKU Secures $35 Million Strategic Investment From NEA, Telefónica and Other Investors


March 15, 2012 07:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time 
Following the launch of BOKU® Accounts, the company will use the investment to facilitate rapid growth and infrastructure development
SAN FRANCISCO--()--BOKU, the global leader in online mobile payments, announced today that it has secured $35 Million in funding. Investors include New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Telefónica Digital, the growth arm of the global telecoms leader, as well as previous investors. Additional participants in the round include Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. The funding will be used to expand the team, broaden infrastructure and continue BOKU’s global expansion that started in 2009.
“BOKU has built a phenomenal business around online mobile payments”
“Payments is an industry that requires scale, and in the three years since BOKU launched we’ve grown rapidly to partner with more than 250 mobile network operators, processing transactions in 67 countries around the world,” said Mark Britto, CEO of BOKU, Inc. “We see this investment as a clear vote of confidence from our new partners at NEA and Telefónica. They recognize that we’ve established a mobile billing system that offers bank grade technology on a global scale; this strategic investment will help us expand our business as well as facilitate the growth of our new BOKU Accounts platform.”
“Payments are going mobile and we want to be at the forefront of this trend,” said Matthew Key, Chairman & CEO, Telefónica Digital. “BOKU has quickly established itself as a true innovator in the mobile commerce space and this investment gives us access to their tools, infrastructure and know how, ideally complementing our own mobile payments expertise. In addition to the investment we are also embarking on a global partnership with BOKU to enhance our operator billing capabilities and the overall payment experience through our future mobile wallet services.”
Financial Services is a key focus area for Telefónica’s Digital unit that has been formed to drive growth and innovation across a range of digital services. Telefónica is committed to bringing mobile wallet and other innovative payments services to its customers across its operating businesses and through Wanda, its joint venture in Latin America with MasterCard. Tracy Isacke who runs the Venture Capital arm of Telefónica Digital and is based in Silicon Valley led the investment in BOKU.
“BOKU has built a phenomenal business around online mobile payments,” said Ravi Viswanathan, PhD, General Partner at NEA. “The next step is bringing mobile payments offline, and that’s what BOKU Accounts accomplishes. It works on all mobile operating systems across all hardware types, and applies for all subscribers. We look forward to partnering with BOKU as they take their offering to a whole new level.”
BOKU has raised a total of $75 Million in a series of funding rounds starting in 2008 when the company was formed. The company operates in 67 countries around the globe and partners with 250 mobile network operators.
About BOKU:
BOKU, the leading online mobile payments company, brings bank-grade payments technology and mobile users together, creating a trusted, accessible platform for consumers, merchants and carriers alike. Based in San Francisco with offices in Europe and Asia, BOKU reaches nearly 4 billion consumers worldwide, across 66 different countries. Leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists fund BOKU including Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures. For more information visit: www.boku.com
About Telefónica Digital
Telefónica Digital is a global business division of Telefónica. Its mission is to seize the opportunities within the digital world and deliver new growth for Telefónica through research & development, venture capital, global partnerships and digital services such as cloud computing, mobile advertising, M2M and financial services. Telefónica Digital will deliver these innovative products and services to Telefónica’s 300 million customers as well as leveraging the power of the internet to enter new markets. It is headquartered in London with regional centres in Silicon Valley, Sao Paolo, Spain and Tel Aviv. Jajah, Terra, Tuenti, Media Networks Latin America, giffgaff and 48 are all part of the Telefónica Digital group of companies.
About NEA:
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a leading venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm's long track record includes more than 170 portfolio company IPOs and more than 290 acquisitions, including investments in technology leaders like Data Domain, CareerBuilder, Diapers.com, Fusion-io, Groupon, Juniper, Macromedia, Playdom, Salesforce.com, and TiVo. In the U.S., NEA has two offices in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and one in Menlo Park, California. In addition, New Enterprise Associates (India) Pvt. Ltd. has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai, India and New Enterprise Associates (Beijing), Ltd. has offices in Beijing and Shanghai, China.
Useful Links:
BOKU website: http://www.BOKU.com
NEA Website: www.nea.com
Telefónica Website: www.telefonica.com
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InComm Named Best in Category Winner at Sixth Annual Paybefore Awards

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The company takes home top honor for Best Health Care/Health Benefits Prepaid Program

ATLANTA – March 15, 2012 – At the Sixth Annual Paybefore Awards ceremony, held this week during the Prepaid Expo in Las Vegas, InComm, a leading prepaid product and transaction services company, received the award for “Best Health Care/Health Benefits Prepaid Program” for its InComm/Medagate OTC Network Solution. InComm was also honored as one of the top three winners in five other categories. Paybefore Awards is one of the most prestigious recognition of excellence in the worldwide prepaid and stored value card industry. The awards are presented annually by Paybefore, whose publications are a leading source of industry information for the global prepaid community.
The InComm/Medagate OTC Network Solution provides consumers with a prepaid card for use in purchasing over-the-counter drugs and Medicare-approved products at thousands of retailers.

“We have had the opportunity to be truly innovative with our prepaid programs for our partners and we are extremely gratified to be recognized for that innovation by Paybefore,” said Devin Wade, President of Medagate, an InComm affiliate.

In addition to its Best in Category win for the OTC Network Solution, InComm was recognized in the following categories:

·         Best Gift Card Program
·         Best Prepaid Incentive, Reward, Rebate or Loyalty Program
·         Best Prepaid Gaming Card
·         Best Digital Currency
·         Best Virtual, Digital or Mobile Prepaid Application category 

The winning entries were selected by a panel of five industry experts who served as judges for this year’s competition, which – once again – included entries from around the world.

“Paybefore Awards were created to honor the companies and individuals that are keeping prepaid on the cutting edge of payments,” said Loraine DeBonis, Paybefore editor-in-chief and chair of the judging panel.

“Our industry continues to break new ground and expand the reach of electronic payments because of companies like InComm, who make innovation and execution a priority,” she continued. “We are proud to recognize their contributions to advancing the prepaid industry.”

“Prepaid is the fastest growing area of payments because it addresses unmet payment needs of consumers, businesses and governments,” added Marilyn Bochicchio, Paybefore’s CEO. “Paybefore Awards recognizes the creativity of prepaid practitioners in developing programs that address these needs more effectively than cash, checks or even other types of payment cards.”

About InComm
InComm is a leading provider of cutting-edge prepaid products, services and transaction technologies to retailers, brands and consumers. With approximately $15 billion in retail sales transactions processed in 2011, InComm assists more than 250,000 retail locations build prepaid card destinations, connects brands with new markets and gives consumers a simple, secure shopping experience. InComm stays ahead of emerging trends by analyzing market needs and leveraging its global, innovative commerce platform, go-to-market expertise and extensive partner relationships. With 113 global patents, InComm is headquartered in Atlanta and has offices in North and South America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, visit www.incomm.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/incomm.

About Paybefore: Paybefore is the leading information provider to prepaid and stored value industry professionals, offering the latest news, commentary and analysis. Paybefore’s family of industry publications include: Paybefore.com™, a searchable online news and information portal; Paybefore News™, daily news briefs delivered electronically; Paybefore News International™, a weekly compilation of prepaid news and events from outside the United States; Paybefore Update™, an e-newsletter delivered 20 times a year; Paybefore Legal™, a downloadable e-newsletter covering the legislative, regulatory and judicial developments in prepaid, as well as feature articles by leading attorneys in the field; Paybefore Magazine™, a biannual print publication featuring in-depth articles on the opportunities, challenges and trends in the global prepaid and stored value industry; and the only industry directory, Paybefore Buyer’s Guide™, available online and in print. Visit us at www.paybefore.com.


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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Mobile Biometric Forecast


Mobile biometric forecast

There are a handful of drivers for adding biometric technology to mobile devices, says Alan Goode, founder of Goode Intelligence and author of “Mobile Phone Biometric Security Analysis and Forecasts 2011-2015.” Many mobile phones are easy to break into, enterprises are enabling users to use their own mobile phones and NFC payments may require additional security. Goode predictsthat mobile phone biometric security products and services generated more than $30 million in 2011 and that the market will grow to over $161 million in revenue by 2015.
“These are not phones anymore,” Goode says. “These are small computers which have access to a lot of private data and they’re accessing some sensitive networks. So these are devices which are being used all the time. We have them in our hands all the time. We’re glued to them, you know, we have a blue glare on our faces as we’re walking around about town because we’re constantly updating Twitter or constantly looking at Facebook and texting. So there’s much, much greater risk of these devices being lost or stolen. As authentication vendors look to enhance their solutions, I would think there would be greater use of biometric.”

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Samsung to Join NFC Mobile Payment Fray


Samsung eyes NFC mobile payments service

Samsung is preparing to enter the mobile commerce arena with an NFC-enabled mobile payments service in the works that offers contactless, online and remote payments, a source told NFC Times.
Samsung’s service will run on existing contactless payment technology, such as Visa payWave or MasterCard PayPass, and will come embedded on the handset maker’s future NFC phones via a secure chip.
Read the full article at NFCNews…
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Silver Tail Systems Introduces Profile Analyzer to Protect Websites From Cyber Attacks and Fraud


SOURCE: Silver Tail Systems
Innovative Approach Combines User and Crowd History to Detect Online Threats
MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 14, 2012) - Silver Tail Systems, the leading provider of web session intelligence, today announced Profile Analyzer, the world's first product to provide real-time analysis of both individual user behavior and crowd behavior on websites to identify malicious activity online. The pace of innovation delivered by websites has expanded the capabilities and value delivered by financial services and ecommerce companies to their customer base. However, it has also prompted cybercriminals to look for new ways to exploit web functionality to commit fraud and other attacks.
"Traditional monitoring and end point protection tools are not keeping up with the rapid advancements of cybercriminals. Organizations are under great pressure to protect their businesses and remain compliant with industry regulations while embracing innovation. Real-time analysis of user behavior is essential to achieving these goals," said Nick Edwards, Vice President, Marketing, at Silver Tail Systems. "Customers need full context of their users' behavior to accurately determine what is legitimate web behavior and what is suspicious. Profile Analyzer provides that level of visibility, helping customers unlock the new capabilities afforded by innovation on the web without compromising security."
Profile Analyzer builds upon Silver Tail Systems' ability to identify anomalous web session behavior by enabling individual user behaviors to be modeled against their own past usage history on the website to determine if their activity is legitimate or suspicious. This approach combines the baseline established by the entire crowd's website history with the context of specific users, increasing accuracy and response times to online threats.
In a recent Forrester report, Chenxi Wang, Ph.D., Vice President and Principal Analyst, writes that "Business analytics have changed the way that companies do business and approach decision-making. Security event data and logs are already approaching pervasive. But to derive accurate intelligence that you can act on, security analytics must be contextual."1
Parameter Injection detection is also included with Profile Analyzer. Parameter Injection detection utilizes analytics to identify users being targeted by malware that modifies legitimate website content in the browser to request sensitive information such as social security numbers, debit card numbers, pin numbers and more without the users' knowledge.
"Our mission is to provide fans a safe, convenient place to get tickets to events they want to see, and an easy way to sell their tickets when they can't go. Maintaining integrity with our users' marketplace is paramount," said Robert Capps, Senior Manager of Trust and Safety at StubHub. "With Profile Analyzer we can monitor behavior on our platform and arm ourselves with the intelligence we need to identify fraudsters and protect our customers."
About Silver Tail Systems, Inc. Silver Tail Systems is a leading provider of web session intelligence and protects the world's leading websites against fraud and cyber attacks at the navigation layer. Silver Tail Systems' award-winning solutions are made possible by the unmatched expertise of its management and technology teams, who bring deep experience, know-how and personal commitment to protect their customers' businesses against online fraud. For more information, visit Silver Tail Systems atwww.silvertailsystems.com.
1The Extended Enterprise: A Security Journey, Forrester Research, Inc., November 9, 2011
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Guaranty Bank Protects Customers with IronKey Online Banking Security


Uses award-winning IronKey Trusted Access to reduce risk of account takeover and theft

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. AND SUNNYVALE, Calif. – March 14, 2012 – Guaranty Bank is enhancing online security to protect customers from cyber thieves targeting online banking users of ACH and wire transfer services.  The innovative community bank in Springfield, Missouri, which reaches its 100-year milestone in 2013, is offering commercial customers IronKey’s Trusted Access to give them secure access to the bank’s site at the point most vulnerable to malware attacks – the customer’s PC. The industry analyst firm Gartner estimates that cybercriminals have robbed banks, businesses and municipalities in the U.S. of more than $3 billion using financial malware. 

IronKey Trusted Access will be required for all cash management customers and offered to all business banking customers. Trusted Access allows the bank to meet and exceed new Federal Financial Institutions Examinations Council (FFIEC) guidance with which all financial institutions must comply in 2012 to reduce the risk of online banking fraud. 

“As a community bank, Guaranty takes pride in offering products and services that are custom fit for our customers’ needs, saving them time and making the most of their investment,” said Dana Montgomery, vice president and director of Corporate Services for Guaranty Bank. “With Trusted Access we know that our customers are protected against the latest attacks no matter what computer they’re using for online banking.  Trusted Access provides us a competitive advantage in promoting the bank and attracting new customers.”

The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) estimates that 39 percent of all computers are infected with crimeware designed to steal account information. Today's anti-malware software fails to detect these threats at least 75 percent of the time according to real-time research from SpyEye Tracker[1]. The FFIEC found these attacks compromise “virtually all forms of authentication.” As a result, online banking account takeovers are growing at over 150 percent per year based on research recently published by FS-ISAC (Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center). 


Trusted Access is offered to banks in a combination of software and cloud-based network services.  The software can either be downloaded or run from a secure USB device.  The Trusted Access Platform provides financial institutions with multiple layers of security integrated to dramatically reduce the risk of online banking fraud.  Trusted Access launches a protected, virtualized operating system and Web browser that will only work with IronKey’s Trusted Network and only allows the end user to access bank-approved sites using the secure browser. The secure Web browser protects online banking sessions from known and unknown crimeware. Unlike other approaches, Trusted Access assumes a client’s computer is already infected with the latest zero-day attack that would go undetected by anti-virus and other software technologies.  Even if a computer is infected with malware, the online banking session remains safe, secure and private.

“With IronKey Trusted Access, Guaranty Bank is providing its customers an effective means to prevent online banking fraud and meet the new FFIEC guidelines,” said Arthur Wong, CEO of IronKey. “The bank is taking proactive measures to protect the bank’s valuable reputation in the community from a problem that is costing the industry billions of dollars each year.”

For more information about Guaranty Bank and their Trusted Access offering, visit www.GBankMo.com or call 1-417-520-4333.  More information about IronKey Trusted Access is available online.
###
About Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc.
Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:GFED) has a subsidiary corporation offering full banking services. The principal subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, and has nine full-service branches in Greene and Christian Counties and Loan Production Offices in Taney, Wright, Webster and Howell Counties. In addition, Guaranty Bank is a member of the TransFund ATM network which provides its customers surcharge free access to over 100 area ATMs and over 1,600 ATMs nationwide. For more information visit the Guaranty Bank website: www.gbankmo.com.
About IronKey
IronKey’s award-winning Trusted Access helps financial institutions reduce the risk of online fraud, achieve compliance with Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) guidelines, and acquire new customers with a competitive advantage. More than 70 financial institutions secure their brands and billions in customer online payments with IronKey.

Ranked as the 14th best venture-funded company in The Wall Street Journal's "Next Big Thing," IronKey cloud-based services power Trusted Access and partner solutions, including Imation secure storage devices.  IronKey is freeing enterprises from the high cost, risk and complexity of managing the extended enterprise.  IronKey cloud services are used daily by over 3,000 enterprises to manage online access and data for over one million users.  Visit www.IronKey.com for more information.

Resources
Watch Trusted Access in Action: Crimeware Attacks Defeated guided demonstration.
“Protecting Online Banking Customers from Evolving Cyber Crime Threats” -- webcast explains the latest bank phishing attacks, the ZeuS Trojan and SpyEye, and why anti-virus software, firewalls and other conventional safeguards are not able to stop these attacks.

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BillMyParents SpendSmart™ MasterCard® Card Receives Category Win at 2012 Paybefore Awards


SOURCE: BillMyParents
March 14, 2012 09:31 ET
BillMyParents Lauded for Best Youth/Student/Campus Prepaid Program
SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - Mar 14, 2012) - BillMyParents, Inc. (OTCQB: BMPI) (OTCBB: BMPI) has been named the 2012 Paybefore Awards best in category winner for Best Youth/Student/Campus Prepaid Program for the BillMyParents SpendSmart™ MasterCard® card. In its 6th year, the prestigious annual Paybefore Awards recognizes excellence throughout the worldwide prepaid and stored value industry. BillMyParents was one of three prepaid program finalists vying for the best in category distinction.
"BillMyParents is taking prepaid to teens where they are and in a language that resonates with them," said Loraine DeBonis, editor-in-chief of Paybefore and chair of the judging panel. "The company also reaches out to parents in meaningful ways and is getting results. BillMyParents is gaining significant ground with its SpendSmart MasterCard card because of its remarkable outreach as well as card features, including transaction alerts and real-time parental controls that promote responsible spending."
"It's an honor to have been recognized by Paybefore for having the best program in our category with our BillMyParents SpendSmart MasterCard card," said Mike McCoy, BillMyParents' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our goal is to be the best solution for families to manage and teach responsible teen spending, and with this win we can celebrate the acknowledgement that what we've created stands out and meets consumers' needs."
Paybefore publications are the leading source of industry news for the global prepaid community. The judging panel consisted of five industry experts who weighed competing program entries submitted from around the world in multiple categories. Criteria for winners included the demonstration of outstanding innovation, execution and excellence within each category.
For more information about BillMyParents, please visit: www.BillMyParents.com
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