Monday, March 22, 2010

Seeking Alpha: Mastercard: Concerns for a Potential Market Turn

MasterCard Worldwide
Mastercard Inc. (MA) has had a bumpy ride so far in 2010. After posting a new recovery high near $270 in early January, the stock lost roughly 20% of its value after the company issued a disappointing fourth quarter report.



While the card issuer’s revenue was up 6% and earnings actually increased by 31%, investors were less than pleased. Nearly all of the growth in earnings came as a result of cost cutting within the firm and even the 6% increase in revenue was primarily a function of currency fluctuations and not a real growth in business...




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BilltoMobile: Verizon Wireless Plans eCommerce Mobile Payment Service

Image representing Danal as depicted in CrunchBase
Coming This Spring, Customers Can Choose to Bill Online Digital Purchases to their Wireless Accounts Using BilltoMobile(TM) from Danal





BASKING RIDGE, N.J., SEOUL, Korea, and SAN JOSE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless and Danal, Inc., the global pioneer and leader in charging eCommerce transactions directly to mobile phone accounts, said today that Verizon Wireless plans to launch Danal's BilltoMobile™ payment service later this spring, enabling Verizon Wireless customers to charge online purchases of digital goods directly to their monthly Verizon Wireless bills.



Verizon Wireless customers will be able to pay for online content and digital goods that are downloaded and consumed on their personal computers from Danal's participating network of popular eCommerce merchant partners. A secure connection and integration between Verizon Wireless and Danal will provide features important to online consumers and merchants, including robust subscriber authentication and fraud protection, among others.



The mobile payment service will feature a $25-per-month spending limit for these purchases, along with content and parental controls for individual accounts, giving account owners the ability to manage their BilltoMobile usage. When available, customers with text messaging-enabled phones will be able to shop quickly, securely and conveniently for Verizon Wireless-approved content at online stores, including game sites, social networks and virtual worlds. Users will also be able to purchase subscriptions to popular online games.



"Verizon Wireless strives to bring its customers services and features they want and that make their lives simpler," said Ryan Hughes, vice president of business development at Verizon Wireless. "Working with Danal will give our customers the opportunity to make direct online mobile payments with the most secure, feature-rich, convenient method available."



"Verizon Wireless is combining the convenience of the mobile phone and its strong billing platform to provide their customers with a convenient mobile payment option," remarked Jim Greenwell, chief executive officer of Danal, Inc. in the United States. "Verizon Wireless is the bellwether service provider in this space, and we see this agreement will likely be the beginning of a change in the industry's approach to online mobile payments -- one that involves ease of use and strong security for subscribers' mobile payments, as well as robust user controls that will help individual subscribers and families manage their digital purchases and digital lives."



The BilltoMobile payment service is simple for consumers. To conduct a transaction, consumers click on the BilltoMobile button during checkout at a participating online Web site and then input their mobile numbers and mobile billing zip codes for subscriber authentication. A text message is then sent to consumers' mobile phones with a one-time passcode. Once consumers input this passcode into the online checkout window, the transaction is completed. The entire process takes about 15 seconds, and there is no pre-registration or links to credit cards or bank accounts required. In Korea, where Danal is the dominant mobile payments provider -- and where credit card penetration rates are even higher than in the United States -- 80 percent of all mobile subscribers have chosen to use direct mobile billing, and up to 60 percent of all online digital content purchases in Korea are now billed directly to mobile accounts.



BilltoMobile is now partnering with prominent online merchants in the United States, including popular online game publishers, virtual worlds, social networks, and other sites selling digital items, content and services online. The attractive merchant fees associated with the BilltoMobile payment service, which are significantly lower than traditional mobile billing rates, along with strong security and merchant back office tools, is creating a major network of participating online sites. Danal will be announcing some of its signed merchant agreements in the near future.



About Verizon Wireless



Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and 3G data network, serving more than 91 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.



About Danal, Inc. and BilltoMobile™



Danal, Inc. is a privately held, majority-owned company of Danal Co., Ltd – the global pioneer and leader in direct mobile billing for eCommerce. Based in the Silicon Valley, Danal, Inc. also gained early investment support from Morgenthaler Ventures, one of the oldest and premier US venture capital firms. BilltoMobile™ is an alternate payment technology providing mobile subscribers with the ability to charge online purchases from approved merchants to their mobile phone bill. Established in 2000, Korea-based Danal Co., Ltd has launched the direct mobile billing service globally with 14 mobile carrier integrations throughout South Korea, Taiwan, and China that have together processed over $2 billion dollars in transactions with over ten thousand merchant partners.



SOURCE Verizon Wireless Back to top RELATED LINKS

http://www.verizonwireless.com

DIBS on TNS for Cross Border Payments



http://www.tnsi.com

DIBS Payment Services Selects TNS for Cross Border Payments

SHEFFIELD, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International payment service provider DIBS Payment Services is streamlining its payment connectivity by replacing multiple local suppliers with just one resilient connection into Transaction Network Services’ (NYSE:TNS) PCI DSS certified global backbone network.
“This represents one of a growing number of multi-country deals that we expect to see in Europe in the next few years as merchants and their processors look for increased consistency and cost savings in a post SEPA and PSD world”
Active in 17 countries, DIBS is one of Scandinavia’s leading providers of online payment services and its hosted payment solution is used by more than 11,000 customers to manage their transactions.
Eric Wallin, CEO at DIBS Payment Services, said: “We provide a valuable service to our extensive customer base, taking the headache out of handling payments and allowing them to concentrate on running their businesses. Working with TNS gives us access to multiple banks and acquirers, through just one connection, helping us to make our technology infrastructure more efficient, as well as extending the number of end points we can potentially reach.”
The deal will see secure resilient connectivity set up between DIBS and TNS, enabling DIBS to benefit from faster transactions, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption and seamless transaction processing.
Chris Jones, Director at PSE Consulting, said: “This represents one of a growing number of multi-country deals that we expect to see in Europe in the next few years as merchants and their processors look for increased consistency and cost savings in a post SEPA and PSD world”.
Fintan Byrne, Regional Sales Director for TNS UK & Ireland, said: “We are delighted to be working with DIBS Payment Services. Cross border payments can be complex and expensive to set up and manage, and the infrastructure required to support this can be exorbitant. We have developed our PCI DSS certified global backbone network to simplify this and provide our customers with one easy to access resource that provides a wealth of additional benefits and services.”
For more information about TNS visit www.tnsi.com
About Transaction Network Services
Transaction Network Services (TNS) is a leading global provider of data communications and interoperability solutions.
TNS’ offers a broad range of networks and innovative value-added services which enables transactions and the exchange of information in diverse industries such as retail, banking, payment processing, telecommunications and the financial markets.
Founded in 1990 in the United States, TNS has grown steadily and now provides services in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, with our reach extending to many more. TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks which support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods.
For further information about TNS, visit www.tnsi.com‘One Connection, A World of Opportunities’
Statements and information contained in our press releases and newsletters that are not descriptions of historical fact may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or performance and from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods. www.tnsi.com

Contacts

TNS

Clare Cockroft

PR Manager

+44 (0) 114 292 6416

ccockroft@tnsi.com

or

TNS

Jenny Nelson

PR Assistant

+44 (0) 114 292 6458

jnelson@tnsi.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100322006095/en/DIBS-Payment-Services-Selects-TNS-Cross-Border

Mobile Money from Fiserv Selected by SunTrust



http://www.fiserv.com

Mobile Money from Fiserv Selected by SunTrust

BROOKFIELD, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) has selected Mobile MoneyTM from Fiserv to provide their clients with broader access to mobile financial services. SunTrust will use Mobile Money to enable clients to access their accounts using SMS (text messaging) or mobile browser technology, complementing a separate downloadable application that is already available. Additionally, clients will be able to sign up for a variety of account alerts.
“Mobile Money from Fiserv will enable SunTrust to make interacting through the mobile channel even easier for their clients, and there is potential for a substantial return on investment as use of the channel grows.”
“The selection of Mobile Money from Fiserv is another step toward the fulfillment of our overall mobile financial services strategy,” said Ginger Schmeltzer, senior vice president, SunTrust Bank. “It is important to offer each of our clients the ability to easily access their account regardless of the type of mobile device they use. We also want to enable clients to more proactively manage their accounts through customized account alerts. Mobile Money will allow us to deliver both robust access and a rich set of alerts.”
“SunTrust has a solid reputation for providing reliable service,” said Todd Lesher, president, Electronic Banking Services, Fiserv. “Mobile Money from Fiserv will enable SunTrust to make interacting through the mobile channel even easier for their clients, and there is potential for a substantial return on investment as use of the channel grows.”
The selection of Mobile Money represents an expansion of an existing relationship, as SunTrust already utilizes consumer online banking and bill payment solutions from Fiserv.
Mobile Money from Fiserv is the industry's most complete mobile banking and payments solution, supporting users on all three mobile access modes, offering online and offline enrollment capabilities and integrating with core banking, online banking and electronic payments systems.
Available in a licensed or hosted version, Mobile Money combines banking and payments capabilities and includes functions such as balance inquiries, transaction history, account transfers, bill payments and one and two-way account alerts. Informational services such as an ATM and branch locator are also included. Mobile Money is a secure application that utilizes data encryption, along with additional risk management safeguards.
Mobile Money from Fiserv incorporates technology from Atlanta-based mobile banking and payments solution provider M-Com.
About SunTrust Banks, Inc.
SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, is one of the nation's largest banking organizations, serving a broad range of consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. As of December 31, 2009, SunTrust had total assets of $174.2 billion and total deposits of $121.9 billion. The Company operates an extensive branch and ATM network throughout the high-growth Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states and a full array of technology-based, 24-hour delivery channels. The Company also serves clients in selected markets nationally. Its primary businesses include deposit, credit, trust and investment services. Through various subsidiaries the Company provides mortgage banking, insurance, brokerage, investment management, equipment leasing and capital markets services. SunTrust's Internet address is suntrust.com.
About M-Com
Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, M-Com is an international mobile banking and payments solution provider with live Fortune 500 banking customers across Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North America. M-Com’s core proposition is centered on helping financial institutions and payment processors deliver world class adoption and revenue metrics from the mobile channel. For more information, visit www.m-com.us.
About Fiserv
Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISV) is the leading global provider of information management and electronic commerce systems for the financial services industry, driving innovation that transforms experiences for financial institutions and their customers. Ranked No. 1 on the FinTech 100 survey of top technology partners to the financial services industry, Fiserv celebrated its 25th year in 2009. For more information, visit www.fiserv.com.
(FISV-G)

Contacts

Media Relations:

Ann S. Cave

Senior Public Relations Manager

Electronic Banking Services

Fiserv, Inc.

678-375-4039

ann.cave@fiserv.com

or

Additional Fiserv Contact:

Wade Coleman

Director, Public Relations

Fiserv, Inc.

678-375-1210

wade.coleman@fiserv.com

At A Glance











Fiserv, Inc.
Source: via Business Wire
Updated   08/18/2009   by company
Headquarters:Brookfield, Wisconsin
Website:http://www.fiserv.com
CEO:Jeff Yabuki
Employees:20,000
Ticker:FISV  (NASDAQ)
Revenues:$4.74 billion (2008)
Net Income:$569 million (2008)
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100322006113/en/Mobile-Money-Fiserv-Selected-SunTrus

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