Monday, April 25, 2011

NFC Shopping Engine Introduced by Think and Go NFC


The new system combines NFC tags placed on product labels and shelf-edges with a 'preference engine' stored on a consumer's mobile phone so that, for instance, shoppers can be alerted if a food product contains an ingredient they are allergic to or does not meet their pre-set shopping preferences.
Think&Go NFC
NFC COMMERCE: 'Shopping engine' adds to in-store mobile interaction
According to Near Field Communications World, French start-up Think&Go NFC has introduced NFC Commerce. a new retail solution that includes a wide range of applications that retailers can use to enable shoppers to interact in their stores via NFC. 
NFC Commerce includes a shopping preference engine, coupon collection, in-store navigation and relational advertising modules, Think&Go NFC's Tim Baker told NFC World at the Wima conference and exhibition in Monaco last week. Here, the system can be configured so that, for example, when the shopper chooses to buy spaghetti, an advert for a particular brand of bolognese sauce is delivered instantly to their mobile phone. The shopping preference engine, meanwhile, allows information stored on NFC tags to be filtered so that consumers can be alerted when an item for sale does or does not meet their purchasing needs... (continue reading)

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Google, a Giant in Mobile Search, Seeks New Ways to Make It Pay

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...Image via CrunchBaseNew York Times

Google said in October that mobile ads were on track to generate $1 billion in revenue in the coming year. Mobile users can call a business from within a Google ad or receive coupons for nearby stores. They can take cellphone photos of movie posters to pull up a trailer. With new technologies like near-field communication, advertisers could reward customers with loyalty gifts for walking into stores, Mr. Temsamani said.  <<read the entire article at NYTimes>>
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Cards Asia 2011 Remains the Preferred Platform for the Latest in Smart Payments, Smart Technologies

Monday, 25 April 2011, 14:16 HKT

Source: Cards Asia 2011
Asia's No. 1 cards and payments show see spawning of "new currencies" to complement cash, cards
Asia Pacific, Apr 25, 2011 - (ACN Newswire) - Cards Asia 2011 continues to be the preferred platform for sellers and buyers when introducing and sourcing new applications and solutions on smart cards and payments. On its 16th year, Asia's no. 1 cards show held annually in Singapore steadily provides participants strategic access to the region's high growth markets. Southeast Asia and India, with a combined population of 1.8 billion, are seen by the exhibitors as green pastures and "the happening place" for smart cards and payments. Co-located with synergistic events in Prepaid, RFID, NFC, Mobile Money, Retail, Transport Ticketing and Digital ID, Cards Asia 2011 drew over 6, 800 attendees from more than 50 countries this year.

Highlights of the Cards & Payments Asia Conference include discussions on cashless future, customer loyalty programmes, fraud prevention, payments technology migration and strategies around increasing payment cards penetration in emerging and nascent markets.

Mr. Dodit Probojakti, general manager, Cards Business, Bank Negara Indonesia: "Rather than "cashless", I think we are moving towards a "less-cash" society whereby consumers are feeling more comfortable using cards not only for big-ticket items but also for small value purchases. In Indonesia, we have 40 million unbanked customers that present a tremendous opportunity for debit and prepaid cards. We attended Cards Asia 2011 as we look upon the experiences of our developed neighbours, Singapore and Malaysia, in increasing the adoption of payment cards."

Near field communication or NFC, a new and universal interface allowing payments among other transactions though simple touch, generated a lot of interest among buyers from Southeast and Middle East Asia and India.

Mr. Koichi Tagawa, chairman, NFC Forum: "Higher population density in major cities in Asia and their orientation for easy and speedy transactions has paved the way for wide adoption of contactless payments based on plastic cards. Bringing this capability into handset devices through NFC technology is ideal since the market is contactless-oriented - it will not entail a lot of education for the Asian consumers. Going forward, what is key for the industry is to show consumers how easy and enjoyable it is to use NFC, while providing confidence that their transactions are secure."

Cards Asia 2011 enjoys a strong foothold in the region with over 200 exhibitors from more than 20 countries. Among this year's participants is first-time exhibitor Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics, a leading Chinese integrated circuit (IC) design company who reinforced the potential of Southeast Asia and Indian markets as the next high-growth markets next to China.

Mr. Mei Lijun, manager of international business, Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics: "We (company) have a well-established IC business in China with an extensive client base there. Part of our growth strategy is to increase our overseas business. With the vast population in India and Indonesia, we foresee these markets will have a high demand for IC chips. We consider Cards Asia 2011 as a strategic platform to meet potential partners in ASEAN and India. We have had productive meetings with prospective buyers during the three-day exhibition."

Not only was the three-day exhibition an opportunity for buyers and sellers to connect, many participants also announced newly launched applications and solutions and gave a preview into the latest initiatives being introduced by their companies. Senior level bankers shared the status of their local payment systems, how are effectively marketing and keeping their customers loyal while tackling security and technological challenges.

National Payments Corporation of India provided insights into Reserve Bank of India's latest initiative - Rupay - that is expected to change the face of the payment cards industry in India. The unique card will be the Indian card equivalent of payment processing firms such as Visa and Mastercard.

Mr. Richard Ireland, chief executive officer, Terrapinn Asia: "We are thankful to our partners and exhibitors who made Cards Asia 2011 and all co-located events a huge success. Their strong support underscores the importance of the Asian region in driving smart cards and payments innovations and a testament to Cards Asia's impeccable track record in convening the cards and payments industry visionaries. We continue to see more relevant smart card applications and payment innovations being showcased in Cards Asia 2012."


Cards Asia and its co-located events will be back from 25 - 27 April 2012 at Suntec Singapore.

About Terrapinn

Terrapinn is a Business to Business media company. Our products are trade exhibitions, conferences, training courses and print publications. For more information, please visit: www.terrapinn.com.


About Cards Asia 2011



Contact:
EASTWEST PR for Terrapinn 
Melinda Ilagan / Laurent Decosse 
Tel: +65.6222.0306
Email terrapinn@eastwestpr.com  

Terrapinn Marketing:

Christine Lee, Marketing Manager 
Tel: +65.6322.2301 
Email christine.lee@terrapinn.com 


Apr 25, 2011
Source: Cards Asia 2011

Topic: Trade Show or Conference
Sectors: Credit Cards
http://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network 

Copyright © 2011 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.

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Visa Inc. Board of Directors Declares .15 Per Share Dividend

SAN FRANCISCOApril 25, 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 June 7, 2011, to all holders of record of the Company's class A, class B and class C common stock as of May 20, 2011.
About Visa: Visa Inc. 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 20,000 transaction messages 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, visit www.corporate.visa.com.
Contacts: 
Jack Carsky or Victoria Hyde-Dunn, Investor Relations
Visa Inc.
Tel: +1 415 932 2213
E-mail: ir@visa.com
Will Valentine, Media Relations
Visa Inc.
Tel: +1 415 932 2564
E-mail: globalmedia@visa.com
SOURCE Visa Inc.
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Tyfone Delivers Next Generation Mobile Banking Experience

Packed with industry-firsts, Tyfone Mobile Financial Services speeds end user adoption, improves consumer experience and provides first integrated path to NFC
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tyfone (www.tyfone.com), a mobile financial solutions provider, today unveiled its next generation solution with industry-first features designed to make the mobile banking experience complete for consumers. Building on a vision that the mobile platform is far more than a channel of access, Tyfone, with leading edge banks and credit unions as its partners, is defining the complete consumer experience on a handset. Tyfone Mobile Banking is built on top of the company’s u4ia® mobile financial services platform that also enables contactless payments using near field communications (NFC) and strong authentication ID management, providing banks with a multi-faceted roadmap for offering comprehensive digital wallet and payment services.
“At Tyfone we firmly believe that mobile will quickly become the platform of choice for banking customers as mobile banking services provide more value than either online or in-person banking”
“At Tyfone we firmly believe that mobile will quickly become the platform of choice for banking customers as mobile banking services provide more value than either online or in-person banking,” said Mark Miyamoto, Tyfone’s director of mobile banking product development. “The proliferation of smartphones and low cost data plans enable financial institutions the ability to convert a costlier ‘serviced’ banker into an efficient, low cost ‘self-service’ mobile banker, offering more strategic value and cost efficiencies to the financial institution. As the lines between mobile banking and digital wallet services begin to blur, Tyfone with its mobile financial services platform is well positioned to bridge the gap with an extremely secure and integrated service offering.”
Tyfone’s multimode mobile banking solution already offers a complete range of features delivered to banking customers via mobile application, mobile websites or text messaging. In addition to the standard mobile banking features such as checking balance, account history review, fund transfers, branch and ATM location lookup, and bill pay, Tyfone offers financial institutions a best-in-class solution:
Industry-First Mobile Banking Features
Mobile banking for non-online bankers: Every other mobile banking solution is essentially an extension of online banking. To ensure all members can take advantage of mobile banking, a key new feature of Tyfone Mobile Banking is its ability to offer mobile banking to 100 percent of a bank or credit union’s customer base, and not limit mobile banking only to those customers subscribed to online banking services.
Account aggregation: Another key feature unique to Tyfone is the ability to aggregate accounts so a user can view and manage multiple accounts with just a single login. This account aggregation feature allows a customer to see multiple accounts, (i.e., personal, business and jointly held accounts), in a single mobile banking session. While other mobile banking services require a unique login to manage each respective account, Tyfone Mobile Banking enables a more efficient and easier user experience.
Secure ID management: Tyfone’s secure ID management is prepared to meet and exceed the security and authentication requirements for corporate mobile banking and high value transactions. These higher standards are achieved with Tyfone’s unique ability to offer true Multi Factor Authentication (MFA).
NFC Contactless Payments: Tyfone’s patented contactless payments technology enables institutions to strategically position themselves by offering a customizable and transferable digital wallet. Customers will appreciate the ability to customize their secure digital wallet, just as they do with the wallet in their purse or pocket today. Tyfone’s SideTap™ microSD memory cards enable most phones on the market today to be NFC enabled.
Other Enhanced Mobile Banking Features
Mobile remote deposit capture: End-users of Tyfone Mobile Banking can also use mobile remote deposit capture (mRDC), allowing them to use a mobile phone’s onboard camera to photograph a check and remotely deposit the funds using the mobile banking service.
Tyfone paid close attention to the end-user experience as well as the need to reduce or limit a financial institution’s need to invest more to offer mobile services. Tyfone Mobile Banking reduces a bank’s overhead costs with a self-service sign-up, allowing customers to download the app or visit the mobile website, enter their account information and be up and running in just minutes. Tyfone’s patented technologies also enable financial institutions to think beyond mobile banking and begin planning for integrated digital wallet, NFC payments and secure ID services.
“Of the several vendors OnPoint evaluated for our mobile banking solution, Tyfone was the only one with a long term vision for mobile payments and we felt that they provided the best roadmap to the future,” said Jim Armstrong, senior vice president of technology at OnPoint Community Credit Union, one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest credit unions. “Tyfone’s software developers are incredibly fast movers, quickly developing for OnPoint a seamless interface to Fiserv’s XP2 core system and Digital Insight’s online banking module that included a single sign-on feature. Tyfone is a great partner and at the top of my list of vendors to work with at the credit union.”
For more information about Tyfone Mobile Banking visit: http://www.tyfone.com/product-mobile-banking.html.
About Tyfone
Tyfone connects money and mobility via a highly secure, scalable and flexible Mobile Financial Services (MFS) infrastructure that is tailored to meet the evolving needs of mobile network operators, transportation agencies, retailers and financial institutions. With its complete MFS platform and global alliance partners, Tyfone is uniquely qualified to deliver issuer-centric turnkey solutions with fully-integrated contactless payments capabilities. To discover why Tyfone is becoming the partner of choice for MFS technologies to many of the world’s leading organizations, visit www.tyfone.com.

Contacts

Mobility Public Relations
Holly Woolard, 503-343-4144
tyfone@mobilitypr.com

International Visa Cardholders Increased Tourism Spend in the U.S. by 18 Percent in 2010

U.S. Visa Cardholders Increased International Travel Spend by six percent in 2010
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the new Tourism Outlook: USA report from Visa Inc. (NYSE:V), Visa cardholders seemed optimistic in 2010 and took more trips and spent more on international purchases accordingly. VisaVue Travel Data from 2009 and 2010 showed that spending by international cardholders traveling to the U.S. increased by 18 percent, from $29 billion to more than $34 billion. The report also indicates that spending by U.S. Visa cardholders traveling internationally increased by six percent, from $29 billion in 2009 to $31 billion in 2010.
“Despite economic uncertainties, the United States continues to be a major contributor to the global tourism economy, both as a destination of choice and as a critical source of tourism revenue for many countries”
“Despite economic uncertainties, the United States continues to be a major contributor to the global tourism economy, both as a destination of choice and as a critical source of tourism revenue for many countries,” said William M. Sheedy, group president, Americas, Visa Inc. “Tracking this spend data and turning it into actionable information enables our tourism partners, both domestically and internationally, to prepare for visitor business and create targeted tourism marketing programs that help sustain long-term growth.”
Where Travelers are Coming From
In 2010, the global tourism industry showed signs of strength. With an overall 18 percent increase in 2010, visitors from Canada ($9.2 billion), the United Kingdom ($2.5 billion) and Mexico ($2.0 billion) rounded out the top three inbound source countries, increasing tourism spend in the U.S. by 18 percent, 11 percent and 18 percent respectively.
Visa cardholders from China, Australia and France also had a notable 2010 travel year. Cardholders from each country broke into the billion-dollar tourism spend category with increases of 64 percent, 32 percent and six percent respectively. Other top source countries for inbound tourism to the U.S. during the calendar year are detailed below.
Top 2010 Inbound Source Countries
 
      
Percent Growth
Issuer Country
2010
2009
(+/-)
Canada$9.2B$7.8B18%
United Kingdom$2.5B$2.3B11%
Mexico$2.0B$1.7B18%
Brazil$1.9B$1.2B63%
Japan$1.8B$1.7B6%
China$1.1B$700M64%
Australia$1.1B$861M32%
France$1.0B$975M6%
South Korea$824M$651M27%
Germany$800M$769M4%
 
When visiting the U.S., the most popular destinations for international Visa cardholders were Florida, New York, California, Texas and Nevada, with each state experiencing tremendous double-digit growth compared to 2010.
Where U.S. Travelers are Headed
Similar to previous years, Canada and Mexico remained the top two most popular destinations for U.S. Visa cardholders in 2010. Canada, host of the 2010 Winter Olympic games, was the most popular destination for U.S. travelers, as they spent $3.5 billion on their Visa payment cards (up eight percent from 2009). Mexico was a close second, as American travelers spent $3.1 billion in 2010, followed closely by popular European destinations, including the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany.
Top 2010 Outbound Destination Countries
 
      
Percent Growth
Issuer Country
2010
2009
(+/-)
Canada$3.5B$3.3B8%
Mexico$3.1B$2.9B7%
United Kingdom$1.6B$1.5B7%
Italy$1.3B$1.3B4%
France$1.3B$1.2B4%
Germany$1.1B$1.2B-2%
Puerto Rico$1.1B$967M9%
China$741M$626M18%
Spain$731M$695M5%
Japan$659M$614M7%
 
As the economy steadily recovers and the use of digital currency continues to play a significant role in the everyday lives of travelers, Visa will continue to work with its partners in the tourism industry to ensure that both residents and visitors to the U.S. enjoy the benefits of electronic payments.
For more information on VisaVue travel data and to view a complete copy of the Tourism Outlook: USA report, please visit corporate.media.com.
About Tourism Outlook: USA
Visa cardholder spending data cited is based upon VisaVue® Travel data, which reviews tourism spending on Visa-branded payment cards by international visitors from key source countries while visiting the United States during the calendar years 2010 (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2010) and 2009 (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2009). These findings are based upon VisaVue® Travel data. Visa introduced the VisaVue® Travel tourism reports to a pilot group of U.S. tourism organizations in early 2008 and have continued to produce reports on a variety of popular tourist destinations every year since.
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 20,000 transaction messages 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, visitwww.corporate.visa.com.

Contacts

Fleishman-Hillard
Danielle Coan, 415-318-4104
danielle.coan@fleishman.com

MasterCard to Participate in the Morgan Stanley IT Services Summit


PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Wednesday, May 4, Tim Murphy, chief product officer for MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA), will participate in the Morgan Stanley IT Services Summit in New York City. The discussion will begin at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time and last for approximately 40 minutes.
A listen-only live audio webcast will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of the MasterCard website at www.mastercard.com. An audio replay of the session will also be available for 30 days at the same website location.
About MasterCard Incorporated
As a leading global payments company, MasterCard Incorporated prides itself on being at the heart of commerce, helping to make life easier and more efficient for everyone, everywhere. MasterCard serves as a franchisor, processor and advisor to the payments industry, and makes commerce happen by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, governments, businesses, merchants, and cardholders worldwide. In 2010, $2.7 trillion in gross dollar volume was generated on its products by consumers around the world. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network – the fastest payment processing network in the world – MasterCard processes over 23 billion transactions each year and has the capacity to handle 160 million transactions per hour, with an average network response time of 130 milliseconds and with 99.99 percent reliability. MasterCard advances global commerce through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro®, and Cirrus®; its suite of core products such as credit, debit, and prepaid; and its innovative platforms and functionalities, such as MasterCard PayPass™ and MasterCard inControl®. MasterCard serves consumers, governments, and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, please visit us at www.mastercard.com.

Top Rank in Customer Loyalty Belongs to Discover for 15th Consecutive Year

Discover® Card Keeps Top Rank in Customer Loyalty for 15th Consecutive Year

Annual Independent Research on Top Brands Examines Values That Drive Customer Behavior, Sales
RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Discover card leads the credit card industry in customer brand loyalty for the 15th consecutive year, according to an annual study by the independent research firm Brand Keys, Inc.
“They’re looking for delight and the category purchase drivers are very clear in this regard.”
The 2011 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement IndexSM examined 528 brands in 79 categories to determine the degrees of loyalty that consumers exhibit toward their favorite brands.
“Receiving independent recognition of our leading customer service is a great honor,” said Carlos Minetti, president of consumer banking and operations for Discover. “Our cardmembers remain loyal to Discover because we commit ourselves every day to making sure they get their needs met on their first call.”
“Discover focuses on continually delivering new ways for our customers to be rewarded, giving them added value on their purchases and making it easier to redeem rewards in convenient ways,” said Harit Talwar, president of U.S. cards for Discover. “We listen to our cardmembers and deliver a great customer experience in all interactions and through integrated, relevant offers.”
The most recent Brand Keys research found that the attributes of “experience” and “authentic innovation” in products and services are exerting the strongest impact on customer decision-making, category expectations and brand engagement.
“Brand value has increasingly been defined not through the narrow lens of price, but in terms of the total experience that consumers have when they interact with a given brand. This year’s results demonstrate that concept has truly taken hold, with virtually every category (93%) showing its greatest increase in expectations in the purchase drivers centered on attributes that most strongly impact the customers’ overall experience,” said Robert Passikoff, Brand Keys founder and president.
“Consumers are looking for their favorite brands to make a real difference – to delight them – in their lives. Consumers know the brands, know what they do, and know what they’re willing to pay for them,” said Passikoff. “They’re looking for delight and the category purchase drivers are very clear in this regard.”
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company operates the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal and student loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its Discover Bank subsidiary. Its payment businesses consist of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com.

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