Payments News - from Glenbrook Partners

Wells Fargo Estimates Impact of New Overdraft Fee Policies

Payments News Editor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:59:19 -0800

In its SEC 10-Q filing today, Wells Fargo estimated that the impact of its new overdraft fee policies will be a $300 million after tax reduction in its fee revenue for 2010.

Quoting: "We recently announced policy changes that will help customers limit overdraft and returned item fees. We currently estimate that these changes will reduce our 2010 fee revenue by approximately $300 million (after tax), although the actual impact could vary due to a variety of factors including implementation timing and customer behavior in response to the policy changes."

Headline News - November 6, 2009

Payments News Editor — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:41:53 -0800

Online Banking Report Publishes New Research “Attracting Small Businesses with Online & Mobile Banking: Underserved Segment is Prime Candidate for Alt-Delivery"
Computerworld: Federal data-protection law inches forward
Digital Transactions: How Banks Are Looking to Become Serious Players in P2P Payments
Your PIN is mightier than a pen with card payments
Voice Commerce Launches New Web Based Interface to Provide Easy Access to Voice-Based Authentication
MarketWatch: Credit cards gouge consumers ahead of new law
Seeking Alpha: Coinstar Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
Forbes.com: The Big Deal: Intuit's Brad Smith - Why he acquired Mint.com
Reuters: BofA-credit card loss rate could have peaked in Q3
GE Capital Retail Consumer Finance Extends Consumer Credit Card Program Partnership with JCPenney

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated. For job opportunities available for payments professionals, visit PaymentsJobs.com. Employers looking to hire payments professionals can post their job openings there as well.

Be Sure to Follow Payments News and Payments Views on Twitter

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:46:59 -0800

Are you looking for real-time updates when new items are posted on PaymentsNews.com and PaymentsViews.com? The best way to receive them is to follow our Twitter feeds for PaymentsNews.com and for PaymentsViews.com. Over 1,200 payments professionals are now following our two Twitter feeds - if you're an avid Twitter use, feel free to join them!

New Job Openings on PaymentsJobs.com

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:41:06 -0800

Three new job openings for payments professionals have recently been posted on PaymentsJobs.com:

Director, Product Implementation for Dynamics (New York City)
Technical Project Manager - Global Payments for Earthport USA (New York City)
Account Manager - Merchant e-Solutions (Redwood City, CA)

Are you hiring? Post your job openings on PaymentsJobs.com - $200 for a 30 day listing!

A Look at PayPal's Adaptive Accounts

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:17:21 -0800

Over on our PaymentsViews.com sister blog, Glenbrook's Russ Jones shares his perspective on what he found to be the most interesting item to come of our PayPal's Developer Conference earlier this week: PayPal Adaptive Accounts.

Credit Unions Hop on the iPhone Bandwagon for Mobile Banking

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:14:26 -0800

PSCU Financial Services, the nation's largest credit union service organization, has launched new iPhone and iPod touch mobile banking applications. According the PSCU, "his latest capability will help credit unions attract Gen Y and other member segments who are avid iPhone/iPod users. It also builds brand recognition through credit union logo visibility on the member's mobile device and customized iPhone application in the iTunes store."

Yesterday, CO-OP Financial Services announced that it has added the Apple iPhone to the roster of devices that can use its CO-OP Mobile banking software. Customers of credit unions served by CO-OP now can simply download the “CO-OP” application from the Apple iTunes Store to start performing mobile banking activity such as verifying balances, viewing transaction history and transfering funds between accounts.

INSIDE Contactless, TWINLINX Partner on MyMax NFC Stickers

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:48:40 -0800

INSIDE Contactless and TWINLINX are working together on the integration of INSIDE's secure components in the TWINLINX MyMax NFC sticker and working to gain type approval of the sticker from the major bank card brands. TWINLINX is in discussions with major wireless carriers and transport operators in the U.S. and Europe and says it has already established agreements with a number of them.

Oberthur Introduces Light-Emitting Contactless Payment Card

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:41:19 -0800

Oberthur Technologies has announced Smart Lumiere, a light-emitting contactless card that emits light when it is entered in the field of a contactless reader to inform the cardholder when a transaction is taking place.

Headline News - November 5, 2009

Payments News Editor — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:34:43 -0800

Bucks Blog - NYTimes.com: Money Transfers Between People Could Get Easier Soon
Advertising Age - Video: MasterCard's Priceless Discovery: Apps Really Work
Wells Fargo Named Best Consumer Internet Bank in North America by Global Finance Magazine
MoneyGram International Expands Customer Loyalty Program to Canada
National Retail Federation: Making the Most Out of Gift Cards This Holiday Season
Digital Transactions: Despite a Fast Start in Mobile Banking, BofA’s Job Isn’t Done
Computerworld: Australian developer first to implement PayPal Permissions API
CreditCards.com: Credit cardholders 'Discover' new terms in fine print
Western Union Extends Agreement with Postal Savings Bank of China

Glenbrook Introduces New Payments Essentials Webinar Series

Payments News Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:54:30 -0800

Glenbrook announces the initiation of a new Payments Essentials Webinar series – designed to help the experienced payments professional find the “needle in the haystack” in emerging payments.

Our first webinars are targeted to eCommerce merchants and draw on Glenbrook’s many years of work with major eCommerce merchants, helping them to understand and evaluate market developments and solutions providers. The first webinar, “eCommerce Debit and Cash Alternatives for the U.S. Market” is on December 15th at 10:30AM PST. Glenbrook Partners Russ Jones and Jay DeWitt are presenting. More details on the agenda are at the registration site.

The fee to attend the webinar is $149. By special arrangement with the Merchant Risk Council, merchant members of MRC may register for this webinar at no cost. Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp and Workshop alumni may register at a discounted rate.

PayPal Launches Developer Challenge

Payments News Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:59:29 -0800

PayPal announced the PayPal X Developer Challenge by asking developers "to solve the fundamental problems people face when trying to pay or get paid." PayPal is offering prizes totaling $75,000 in cash and $75,000 in waived fees to winners in the Challenge. Contestants must build their applications using the PayPal X application programming interfaces (APIs). The challenge: create the most innovative payment application for businesses in areas such as services, social media, gaming, mobile and consumer electronics.

MasterCard, Credicard, Redecard Launch PayPass in Brazil

Payments News Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:11:21 -0800

MasterCard Worldwide, Credicard, Citibank’s credit card administrator for the Brazilian market, and Redecard have announced the launch of MasterCard PayPass contactless payment technology in Rio de Janeiro for public transportation and other quick service merchants. MasterCard says that PayPass is the first contactless payment product to be introduced for public transportation in Latin America.

Visa Money Transfer Service Expands to China, UAE

Payments News Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:39:25 -0800

Visa has announced that is has extended the global reach of its Visa Money Transfer Service to greater China and the United Arab Emirates, two of the world's most active territories for international remittance. Visa has also launched a new managed service, available initially in Canada and the U.S., that makes it easier for a financial institution to offer Visa Money Transfer to its customers.

Fiserv Plans New Person-to-Person Payment Service

Payments News Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:24:00 -0800

Fiserv has announced plans for a new personal payments service that it says "will enable individuals to quickly and easily send or receive money person-to-person using their existing online banking relationship. The service will be made available to the more than 3,100 financial institutions in the Fiserv online payment network, linking users with their friends, family, neighbors and colleagues."

Headline News - November 4, 2009

Payments News Editor — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:36:20 -0800

FIS Integrates PayPal for Global Person-to-Person Payments

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:49:00 -0800

FIS has announced that it is integrating PayPal's person-to-person (P2P) payment system into the FIS online bill payment application for financial institutions. FIS says that "by integrating paperless P2P functionality into its online bill payment application, FIS empowers banks and credit unions to simultaneously solve for a real consumer need and drive increased transaction activity at the online channel."

PayPal Launches PayPal X Global Payments Platform

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:13:16 -0800

At its first ever Developers Conference held in San Francisco today, PayPal opened its global payments platform, PayPal X including new application programming interfaces (APIs), a new developer portal and introductory services pricing to help developers reap the financial benefits of building businesses on PayPal X. PayPal also demonstrated a mobile payment toolkit to embed payments directly into mobile applications – starting with iPhone.

FBI Issues Warning about Fraudulent ACH Transfers

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:24:21 -0800

The FBI issued a press release earlier today highlighting concerns about an increase in ACH-based fraud targeting online banking credentials of small businesses, governments and school districts.

From the press release: "Within the last several months, the FBI has seen a significant increase in fraud involving the exploitation of valid online banking credentials belonging to small and medium businesses, municipal governments, and school districts. In a typical scenario, the targeted entity receives a “spear phishing” e-mail which either contains an infected attachment, or directs the recipient to an infected website. Once the recipient opens the attachment or visits the website, malware is installed on their computer. The malware contains a key logger which will harvest each recipient’s business or corporate bank account login information. Shortly thereafter, the perpetrator either creates another user account with the stolen login information or directly initiates funds transfers by masquerading as the legitimate user. These transfers have occurred as both traditional wire transfers and as ACH transfers."

Vesdia Selected by Upromise as Preferred Provider

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:18:18 -0800

Vesdia has announced that it has been selected by Upromise, a free online service that helps its members earn money for college, as its new preferred provider of brick-and-mortar and catalog merchant services.

Vesdia says it "will provide more ways to save through a consistently expanding network of leading national, regional and local brick-and-mortar merchants. Through the Vesdia network, Upromise members can now earn money in their college savings account or pay down eligible student loans when shopping at an increased assortment of new retailers, and Vesdia merchant partners will be marketed through one of the most coveted loyalty programs in the United States."

SunTrust Selects Moneta for Secure Online Payment Option

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:50:06 -0800

SunTrust Banks and Moneta Corporation have announced that "SunTrust has selected Moneta’s online payment service to offer clients an additional payment option when they shop with select online retailers. The service is currently being provided free to select SunTrust clients as an initial pilot program."

CashEdge, Firethorn Partner for Mobile Person-to-Person Payments

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:38:07 -0800

CashEdge and Firethorn have announced a strategic relationship to bring to market an integrated mobile person-to-person (P2P) payments solution integrating CashEdge's POPmoney P2P payments service with Firethorn's Mobile Wallet solution. According to the companies, "the integrated mobile P2P solution will enable financial institutions to offer their customers the ability to send electronic payments using CashEdge's POPmoney from within their Firethorn mobile banking application, by simply using the email address or mobile phone number of the recipient. This comprehensive mobile P2P banking solution will give consumers greater control over their finances, enabling them to pay other people whenever and wherever they want."

MasterCard Reports Third-Quarter 2009 Financial Results

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:24:48 -0800

MasterCard has announced financial results for the third quarter of 2009. "MasterCard's gross dollar volume was relatively flat, up 0.3% on a local currency basis, versus the third quarter of 2008, to $633 billion. Worldwide purchase volume during the quarter was also relatively flat, up 0.4% on a local currency basis, versus the third quarter of 2008, to $480 billion. As of September 30, 2009, the company's financial-institution customers had issued 964 million MasterCard cards, comparable to the number of cards issued at September 30, 2008." A presentation is available online.

Verifi, Merchant e-Solutions Partner on CNP Risk Mitigation

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:47:46 -0800

Verifi and Merchant e-Solutions (MeS) have announced a partnership to "jointly deliver a next-generation technology solution for risk management and payment processing. Integrating Verifi’s suite of fraud prevention services with Merchant e-Solutions’ innovative payment platform equips card-not-present (CNP) merchants with a powerful set of risk mitigation and business management capabilities."

Royal Bank of Scotland to Divest Global Merchant Services Unit

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:42:01 -0800

As part of its agreement with the UK government announced today, the Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to participation in a revised Asset Protection Scheme that, among many other conditions, requires RBS to divest itself of several businesses over the next four years including its Global Merchant Services unit. According to RBS, its Global Merchant Services unit "is the fourth largest provider of global card payment services, enabling over 5 billion card transactions to be made each year. It meets the rapidly changing and increasingly sophisticated needs of clients to accept card payments on a global, efficient and secure basis."

Headline News - November 3, 2009

Payments News Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:37:46 -0800

Western Union Launches Prepaid Visa Gift Cards

Payments News Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:25:20 -0800

Western Union has launched a new Visa prepaid gift card and greeting card offering enabling consumers to send the gift of money using Western Union branded prepaid gift cards available at http://www.WesternUnion.com.

Univision Partners With MasterCard for New Prepaid Cards

Payments News Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:12:17 -0800

Univision Communications has announced a strategic alliance with MasterCard Worldwide to introduce two new prepaid financial services, the Univision Prepaid MasterCard Card® (Tarjeta Univision MasterCard Prepagada®) and the Univision MasterCard Gift Card® (Tarjeta de Regalo Univision®). Both of these prepaid cards will be available nationally in 2010 and are being developed to provide Hispanic consumers with access to relevant, flexible and valuable financial tools that can be used anywhere Debit MasterCard is accepted.

USAA to Implement MasterCard IPS for Debit Card Processing

Payments News Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:13:07 -0800

MasterCard Worldwide has announced that USAA Federal Savings Bank will implement its MasterCard Integrated Processing Solutions (IPS) debit processing platform for branded network and issuer processing services in support of signature and PIN debit, and ATM driving.

ACCEL/Exchange to Roll Out Internet PIN Debit with Acculynk

Payments News Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:08:27 -0800

Fiserv has announced that its ACCEL/Exchange Network will begin processing and offering secure Internet Personal Identification Number (PIN) debit transactions in November 2009, saying it will be the first PIN debit payments network to do so. The offering is the result of a partnership with Acculynk, provider of a software-only service that enables PIN debit payments online.

Headline News - November 2, 2009

Payments News Editor — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:19:20 -0800

Australian IT: Signature to get the chop at Visa
TransCard and University National Bank Unite to Provide Prepaid Services to the Underserved
San Diego Business Journal Online : Smart Phone to Smart Wallet: New Device Enables Payments By Cell Phones
First Data and VeriFone Form Strategic Partnership
AuctionBytes: eBay's Bill Me Later Expects No Impact from CIT Bankruptcy
NetSpend Releases September "National Spending & Savings Index"
Bling Nation Secures $20 Million in Series B Funding
NCR Buys Netkey to Provide End-to-End Kiosk and Digital Signage Solution
Intuit to Help More Financial Institutions Meet Americans' Online Financial Management Needs
MoreRFID: ARYGON Introduces High-Speed NFC Reader Platform for Mifare and FeliCa Transponders
The Financial Brand: BofA puts $40 million into ‘Simple’ ads
USAA Survey Finds Many Holiday Shoppers Prepared to ‘Jingle All the Way’
WalletPop: Credit card addiction: How to spot the warnings signs and break the habit
E-Commerce News: M-Commerce: Making Micro-Payment Models Work Online
New Aite Group Report: Beyond Check Imaging: Reaping the Benefits of a Paperless Branch
Life : The Buffalo News: $5 billion in gift cards are never used
Fiserv is Number One on FinTech 100 Ranking of Top Technology Companies
Equifax Closes IXI Transaction