Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Action Oriented Proximity Marketing Technologies & Platforms: Blending the Online and Offline Marketing Channel With NFC & Barcodes

ePaymentNews2 new results for NFC Mobile Payment
Sacramento Bee/PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

The global market for action oriented proximity based marketing services is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2016. The market is well established in Japan but is just gaining momentum around the globe. We believe that outside of Japan, this market will reach $1.5 billion in 2016. Action oriented proximity based marketing services enable brands to interact with consumers based on their proximity to a particular physical location or object. Action oriented services also require consumers to perform some sort of action such as scanning a barcode or swiping a NFC tag to launch a web experience or access content. This report takes a comprehensive look at market players, technologies, value chain and strategic differentiators. Revenues and users of proximity marketing applications are forecasted and technologies, opportunities and threats are analyzed.
Mobile phone users and application developers are increasingly exploring the capabilities of the smartphone, leading to a gamificaiton of the world where users are interacting with their physical surroundings using their phones. This trend is providing opportunities for marketers to engage users in a very interactive way tailoring messages based on location and relevant personal and contextual data. By activating NFC chips, and scanning barcodes and other emerging technologiesplaced on smart posters, packaging, print publications and point of sale devices, users can engage brands when they are interested in a product. This is much more effective compared to traditional proximity marketing where users opt in to be bombarded with unwanted spam from Bluetooth broadcast systems. Vendors have taken a number of approaches to address this opportunity from providing free point solutions to end-to-end platforms that incorporate proprietary codes and sophisticated analytics.
The increased awareness of standard QR codes by consumers is a significant growth driver of proximity marketing strategies. The low cost of QR codes is making it easy for businesses to launch campaigns, flooding the market with QR codes, increasing recognition and scanning by mobile users. While it is easy to create a QR code the resulting web experience is much more difficult, often leading to poor experiences for users, discouraging repeat usage. The opportunity in this market is providing value beyond the creation of codes and scanning applications by including products and services to support quality web experiences and drive ROI for marketers. The ease of creating QR codes and its standardization will allow the technology to dominate the market but the poor experiences behind the codes will provide opportunities for proprietary codes in niche markets. Computer vision and object recognition are important technologies on the horizon with the potential to disrupt the current market. While the technology is not yet ready for prime time, it will enable unique augmented reality experiences and could potentially negate the need for printed codes.
With the emergence of proximity marketing, the need to access data inside buildings will grow and increased bandwidth will improve experiences. This trend increases demand for more local networks and small cell technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and femtocells. The ability to easily discover and connect with these networks as well as their ability to work together will help improve user experiences as well as provide opportunities for retailers to affect more control. As users begin to interact with their environment and shop with their mobile phones, brick and mortar retailers risk being disenfranchised as users browse merchandise in stores and go online to make purchases. Retailers need to get in front of this trend and develop proximity marketing strategies to control the experience of the mobile phone user while in their store.
The emergence of mobile payments has attracted large players to the proximity marketing space in an effort to gain a position upstream of a mobile payment transaction. With large players such as Google and others bringing to market mobile wallets, competition will be tough. Smaller players need to focus on adding value within their niches and more established vendors need to move fast to gain an influential position in this strategic emerging market.

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2012 NFL Draft Spotlight: Stanford Quarterback Andrew Luck
Bleacher Report
Some of them will be guys you know, some will be guys you haven't heard of, some will be relevant for the NFC North directly, some might just only be seen occasionally in playoff or inter-division games. Several will be accompanied by videos I have ...
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Bleacher Report


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NFC Mobile Commerce Evolution and News About the Nokia Lumia 610

Español: Evolución de tamaño de los teléfonos ...
Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Blogs10 new results for NFC Mobile Payment
NFC Mobile Commerce Evolution
By Kris Drey
It's been a long, hard climb – nearly 10 years in the making – but the mobile commerce revolution has officially begun. Contactless NFC payment technology may well have started with the credit card, but we are now seeing the transition to ...
ViVOtech
Nokia's Lumia 610, The First NFC Windows Phone, Lets You Share ...
By Reuters
"Nokia has been one of the front runners in pushing NFC technology on handsets for non-payment usage, but inclusion of Mastercard and Visa technologies suggest Orange will be looking to use the device also for its mobile payment service," ...
Latest News
Nok Conv: Nokia Lumia 610 NFC certified with MasterCard PayPass ...
By Jay Montano
Orange will be the first operator to offer the Nokia Lumia 610 NFC, which can be associated with NFC accessories and read NFC tags. This mobile has also hardware and software tools required for the deployment of NFC payment and ticket ...
My Nokia Blog
Nokia Lumia 610 NFC tapping its way to Europe on Orange | CNET ...
By customerservice@cnet.co.uk (Luke Westaway)
Nokia meanwhile has promised that the 610 NFC will be compatible with MasterCard and Visa mobile payment systems. Another potential use for NFC is connecting to accessories. Nokia makes a wireless speaker that NFC-enabled phones ...
Latest articles in Crave at CNET UK
Nokia Lumia 610 NFC officially announced: Q3 2012 release ...
By M. Daou
It also has all the necessary hardware and software for NFC payment and ticketing solutions. In fact, the Lumia 610 NFC has been certified for contactless payments both with MasterCard for their PayPass solution, and with Visa's mobile ...
MobileTechWorld
Nokia announces the Lumia 610 NFC, Orange Europe gets it first ...
By Martin Carstens: Staff reporter
The Lumia 610 NFC will launch on Orange in Europe initially and will be compatible with both MasterCard — PayPass — and VISA — payWave — mobile payment systems. This will allow shoppers with compatible bank accounts to use their ...
Gearburn
NFC version of Nokia Lumia 610 accidentally leaked on YouTube ...
By Sharif Sakr
We're also enabling operators and other service providers to build NFC payment and ticketing solutions on top of our smartphones." "Orange is committed to rolling out mobile NFC services in all its European territories and as part of this goal ...
Engadget
Nokia Lumia 610 NFC Gets Official (Video) | Geeky Gadgets
By Roland Hutchinson
Earlier today we showed you a leaked video of the new Nokia Lumia 610 NFC, and now Nokia has officially announced their first NFC enabled Windows Phone smartphone, which will launch in Europe with mobile carrier Orange. ... in Europe with mobile carrier Orange. The Nokia Lumia NFC will offer contact less payments with both MasterCard's and Visa's NFC payment solutions, and the device will also use NFC to work with a range of Nokia accessories. Nokia Lumia 610 NFC ...
Geeky-Gadgets
New Credit Cards and Card Payment Terminals Speed Up Your ...
By Staff Writer
New POS systems will allow the customer to pay by tapping their contactless debit or credit card or even NFC enabled mobile phone against the reader. Transactions take less than a second and spending limit, currently at £15 pounds is to ...
Transaction Age | Payments Industry...
Nokia brings NFC support to Lumia 610 on Orange | LiveSide.net
By damaster
Orange will be the first operator to range the Lumia 610 NFC, which can pair with NFC accessories and read NFC tags. The Lumia 610 NFC also has the hardware and software enablers for the implementation of NFC payment and ticketing ...
LiveSide.net



Pay and top-up parking fees on your cell phone

Image representing Google News as depicted in ...
Image via CrunchBase
News2 new results for NFC Mobile Payment
Cubic launches new transit platform for contactless fare collection
Contactless News
The new platform gives travelers the ability to pay transit fares directly at the point of travel with NFC mobile phones. It also collects payment from any smart card-based secure token that is linked to an account such as transit-issued contactless ...
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Pay and top-up parking fees on your cell phone
Your Ottawa Region
If you have a new, NFC-enabled device, you can simply wave your phone near the payment machine's phone reader to automatically launch the app with the parking location. More people are relying on their mobile devices for day-to-day tasks, ...
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Samsung and Apple: The only two Smartphone Companies that Matter








There are only two smartphone companies that matter: Samsung and Apple

This chart shows preliminary smartphone shipment estimates for Q1 from analyst Horace Dediu of Asymco. As you can see, it's a two horse race. Everyone else is irrelevant. Read »

Nokia lowers Q1 financial outlook

Image representing Nokia as depicted in CrunchBase
Image via CrunchBase

ePaymentNews1 new result for "Near Field Communications"
Nokia lowers Q1 financial outlook
ITWorld Canada
In other news, Nokia announced a version of its recently launched low-end Lumia 610, which is aimed at younger buyers, with a near field communications (NFC) chip to support NFC-based payment and ticketing applications.

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The NFC Nightmare - PC Magazine

ePaymentNews8 new results for NFC Mobile Payment

The NFC Nightmare
PC Magazine
By John C. Dvorak Near field communications (NFC) technology is slowly being incorporated into mobile phones to create an electronic virtual wallet. Simply pass your phone over a reader and money is extracted from your funds that are stored on a ...
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Action Oriented Proximity Marketing Technologies & Platforms: Blending the ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Action oriented services also require consumers to perform some sort of action such as scanning a barcode or swiping a NFC tag to launch a web experience or access content. This report takes a comprehensive look at market players, technologies, ...
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Quad/Graphics and WIRED Magazine Produce America's First NFC-Powered Magazine Ad
MarketWatch (press release)
WIRED's April issue features an ad with an NFC tag that launches a mobile site when tapped by an NFC-enabled Android smartphone. NFC chips have been used in smartcard and other applications, but the advertisement appearing in 500000 subscriber copies ...
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Moving To The Next Stage Of Smart Mobile Adoption
MediaPost Communications
The swipe and tap-enabled buying capabilities built into these NFC phones will allow an easier modification in how consumers buy, or at least pay. And with smarpthones comes the need for speed -- which is growing along with the growth of mobile devices ...
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Bump's Mini-Pivot: Photo-Sharing From Your Phone By Bumping With Your Keyboard
TechCrunch
Bump, the mobile sharing app that lets users exchange photos and information by bumping their phones together, is getting in touch with a new device: the computer keyboard. And it appears to also be taking on a new frontier: cloud-based photo-sharing.
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Nokia adds NFC to Lumia 610; Lumia 900 hit by glitches
Mobile Business Briefing
Nokia announced a NFC version of its Lumia 610 smartphone (pictured), its entry-level Windows Phone unveiled at the GSMA Mobile World Congress earlier this year. Orange is set to be the first operator to support the device. The announcement came as it ...
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T-Mobile to host event for HTC One S; Samsung's Galaxy Note could arrive at Sprint
FierceWireless
> T-Mobile USA will host an event for the launch of the HTC One S. Article > According to a CNET report, AT&T sales representatives aren't heavily pushing the Nokia Lumia 900. Article > Samsung's Galaxy Note could be headed to Sprint Nextel.
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CTA Introduces Easier Way to Pay at Park & Ride Locations using Parkmobile ...
Parking Network (press release)
Parkmobile is pleased to have teamed up with CTA and CPS to provide its customers an option to make both a simple and easy way to pay for parking. This mobile payment method will make for a seamless travel experience, said CTA President Forrest ...
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Gemalto Discusses Keys for NFC Mobile Payment Success at 4th Mobile Contactless Payment Innovations Summit

Web4 new results for NFC Mobile Payment
Gemalto Discusses Keys for NFC Mobile Payment Success at 4th ...
From Yahoo! Finance: Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, will present and exhibit at the 4th Mobile Contactless Payment Innovations Summit this week.
finance.yahoo.com/.../gemalto-discusses-keys-nfc-mobile-130...
NFC/Mobile Payments: Jim Stapleton, Isis - YouTube
Jim Stapleton, Head of Sales and Account Management, Isis, discusses the supply chain behind mobile wallets.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMviuk92TLM
New Zealand telcos partner with Paymark on NFC payments
At the check out, customers will be able to make payments by simply holding their mobile phone within a couple of centimeters of an NFC enabled payment ...
www.greensheet.com/newswire.php?flag=display_story...
Smart Card Alliance Announces New Certification Training for ...
"The CSCIP/P training materials and exam fill a noticeable gap in education and information around the EMV migration and NFC and mobile payments adoption ...
www.live-pr.com/.../smart-card-alliance-announces-new-certifi...



Forecast: Mobile ticket sales will quadruple to 23B by 2016

An NFC mobile phone (Nokia 6131 NFCmesso) inte...
An NFC mobile phone (Nokia 6131 NFCmesso) interacting with a smart poster Русский: Мобильный телефон NFC (Nokia 6131 NFCmesso) взаимодействует со Smart Poster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
News2 new results for "Near Field Communications"
NXP Semiconductors Has A Running Start In Near Field Communications
Seeking Alpha
NXP is the worldwide leader in Near Field Communications (NFC) as reported in its most recent annual report, and from a variety of other sources I have read. In fact, it invented the technology along with Sony (SNE) ten years ago.
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Forecast: Mobile ticket sales will quadruple to 23B by 2016
Fiercemobilecontent
The firm also projects that Near Field Communications-enabled services will generate more than half of all mobile ticketing revenue by the end of the forecast period. Juniper warns that mobile ticketing applications must be easy to use and guarantee ...
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Royal Canadian Mint to create digital currency

News10 new results for NFC Mobile Payment
Nokia launches first NFC Windows Phone
Chicago Tribune
Sales of NFC-enabled cellphones are expected to more than triple to 100 million handsets this year as manufacturers and operators roll out new models, hoping to tap emerging market for mobile payments, research firm Berg Insight said last month.
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Smart Card Alliance launches new EMV/NFC certification training
Contactless News
Designed for Industry professionals interested in supporting the US move to EMV and NFC contactless mobile technologies, CSCIP/P certification covers EMV migration, mobile and NFC contactless payments, secure remote transactions and smart card use in ...
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Research and Markets: Action Oriented Proximity Marketing Technologies ...
SunHerald.com
The adoption of 2D barcodes saw significant acceleration in 2011 and the market is focusing on proximity marketing as a way to drive adoption of NFC and mobile payments. Smartphone users are increasingly using their devices to interact with the world ...
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HID Global and ASSA ABLOY "Access Control Goes Mobile" Event at ISC West 2012 ...
MarketWatch (press release)
In addition to discussing how ASSA ABLOY, HID Global and their partners are helping take NFC-enabled mobile access into new markets and applications, the two companies also conducted live demonstrations of NFC smartphones being used to open doors and ...
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Royal Canadian Mint to create digital currency
Toronto Star
As more smartphones adopt Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which lets users hover their phones over NFC-enabled devices to make payments, mobile payments are expected to soar. Interac, Mastercard and Visa already have contactless cards that ...
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Emirates government begins NFC national ID project
NFC World
Under the terms of the MoU, the two organisations will study the possibility of enabling Emirates ID card data to be identified and transferred using NFC-enabled mobile phones, the Emirates News Agency reports. Etisalat and EIDA will begin by assessing ...
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NFC World
Google enters prepaid market with TxVia
Compare Pre Paid
Google Wallet gives customers the opportunity to simultaneously redeem discounts, earn loyalty points and pay for transactions. Currently the search engine giant's Google Wallet facility uses NFC-enabled mobile payments, and the addition of TxVia will ...
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Compare Pre Paid
Hands-on with the HTC One X and One S international models (review and gallery)
ZDNet (blog)
HTC is trying to focus more than they have in the past and to kick that off they announced the HTC One series at Mobile World Congress. I was sent the One X and One S, international models, to test out for a few weeks and have to say that as soon as ...
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Join NFC World for a free webinar on NFC advertising
NFC World
You'll hear real-world experience from tag maker Smartrac's NFC expert Mikko Nikkanen, NFC pioneer Nokia's Kristiina Ilkka and Australian NFC advertising specialist Tapit's Andrew Davis. "NFC Advertising in Practice" will be of benefit to mobile ...
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Mobile Tickets Quadruple to 23 billion Globally by 2016 as Tickets Find a ...
Fiercemobilecontent
According to report author David Snow, "Mobile ticketing together with mobile payments are the front running applications in the mobile commerce market today. Mobile ticketing may be the first mobile commerce application that will be adopted at a mass ...
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Prepaid Card Use Up 18% as Consumers Drop Debit: Study


By Elizabeth Ody - Apr 11, 2012 7:07 AM MT

Debit Drops - From 78% to 66%
About 13 percent of U.S. adults had prepaid cards in 2011 compared with 11 percent in 2010, according to the study by Pleasanton, California-based Javelin Strategy & Research, a market-research firm.
Free checking has dropped to about 45 percent of U.S. customer accounts, compared with 65 percent last year, a Bankrate.com study found. Photogapher: Getty Images
“People used to think of them as cards for people who didn’t have a lot of money, whereas today they’re becoming much more common for a variety of uses and a variety of demographics,” said Beth Robertson, director of payments research for Javelin.
Regulations that have increased the cost of checking and debit products may be partly driving the shift, in addition to consumers choosing prepaid as a budgeting tool, Robertson said.
About 88 percent of consumers had a checking account in 2011, down from 92 percent in 2010, the study found. Consumers with credit cards fell to 67 percent from 74 percent, and those with debit cards dropped to 66 percent from 78 percent.  

Cubic Introduces Account-Based Open Payment Platform for Next Generation Contactless AFC NFC Systems


Sets the stage for travelers to be able to use contactless bank cards, student ID and mobile phones as their smart ticket, as well as transit-issued smart cards
With Nextaccount, consumers will pay for transit services just like they pay for any other retail purchase, using their contactless credit or debit cards as they board buses or pass through metro turnstiles, eliminating the extra step of buying a transit fare card or token.  “Transit is used by millions of people every day, with our products serving as the primary ‘touch point’ for these customers to purchase and pay their fares.  With Nextaccount we’re helping to drive customer convenience and ease of use,” says Pradip Mistry, vice president of engineering. “Our transit agency clients want to engage their customers on par with everything else in their digital lives, and we are enabling them to reach their customers that way 

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – April 11, 2012 - Cubic Transportation Systems, a leading integrator of intelligent transport systems and services, has introduced Nextaccount, the first of several new products in Cubic’s solution systems portfolio for the next generation of fully integrated Automated Fare Collection (AFC) systems.  The new platform provides the NFC and contactless smart card interface and transit fare processing engine that enable transit operators to give travelers the convenience of using an account to pay for travel or using open payment fare media, such as contactless bank-issued credit, debit and prepaid contactless smart cards, as well as transit-issued smart cards, as their ticket. 

Nextaccount will also pave the way for mobile payment and ticketing solutions in transit, giving travelers the ability to pay transit fares directly at the point of travel with Near Field Communications-equipped (NFC) mobile phones.  Further, Nextaccount will collect payment from any other smart card-based “secure token” that is linked to an account such as transit-issued contactless smart cards or employer and student ID cards that conform to the ISO 14443 contactless standard.

“The transit industry is on the verge of a transformation, and Nextaccount creates the ability for transit agencies to continue to reduce their cost of fare collection while improving the traveler and customer experience,” said Matt Cole, Cubic’s senior vice president of Strategy and Business Development.  “This development reflects Cubic’s commitment to leading the evolution of the fare collection industry.”

In traditional smart card-based fare payment systems, the transit value resides in a contactless chip inside the transit card, and transactions are managed and tracked on the card.  With account-based payment, the transit value resides in a transit account in Nextaccount, and is accessed via a digital signature read from a transit card by the fare payment system.   Adoption of an account-based system also enables open payment and lets consumers directly use their bank-issued contactless cards to pay for trips.  In this way consumers will pay for transit services just like they pay for any other retail purchase, using their contactless credit or debit cards as they board buses or pass through metro turnstiles, eliminating the extra step of buying a transit fare card or token. 

For transit agencies who don’t want to issue their own fare cards, moving to open payment reduces the need to procure, encode, distribute, and support literally millions of magnetic tickets or contactless smart cards. It will also reduce the amount of cash collected, reduce cash handling costs and the associated infrastructure investments, and reduce fraud and fraud management costs.
The Nextaccount solution evolved from Cubic’s signature Nextfare platform now in use in many of the world’s major transit systems. Nextfare was the first fare collection system compliant with the industry standards that govern open architecture.  Nextaccount can operate in parallel with an existing Nextfare system or as a standalone solution and provides transit agencies with an easy upgrade path to acceptance of open payments and other account-based instruments.

Nextaccount is also the newest product in the Nextcity solutions portfolio, Cubic’s vision of mobility in the future.   Through integration of regional transport payments and traveler data, Nextcity will deliver personalized proactive information to citizens so they can make informed travel choices.  Nextcity does not require the addition of new infrastructure, instead leveraging existing assets to manage cross-modal demand and set regional pricing across modes.   

With more than 20 years of contactless smart card payment experience in the transit industry, Cubic has active open payment projects at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Transport for London (TfL), Vancouver and the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) system, the first in the world to use transit-branded all contactless Visa prepaid cards.

“The Smart Card Alliance’s transit industry members are actively focused on transitioning to account-based and open payment models, and eventually mobile payment that will utilize the same infrastructure as contactless bank card systems,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the multi-industry non-profit educational organization.  “Cubic’s efforts to smooth this transition are tightly aligned with the direction the market is headed.”
           
Cubic® Transportation Systems, Inc. is the world's leading turnkey solution provider of automated fare collection systems for public transport including bus, bus rapid transit, light rail, commuter rail, heavy rail, ferry and parking. Cubic's solutions and services include system design, central computer systems, equipment design and manufacturing, device-level software, integration, test, installation, warranty, maintenance, computer hosting services, call center services, card management and distribution services, financial clearing and settlement, multi-application support and outsourcing services.
           
Every year, nearly 10 billion rides are taken worldwide using Cubic fare collection systems. Cubic has delivered over 400 projects in 40 major markets on five continents. Active projects include London; Brisbane (Southeast Queensland) region, Australia; New York/New Jersey region; Washington, D.C /Baltimore/Virginia region; Los Angeles region; San Diego region; San Francisco region; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Chicago; Atlanta region; Miami (South Florida) region; Vancouver and Edmonton, Canada; Sydney (New South Wales), Australia; and Scandinavia.  For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com.

The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: American Express, Discover Financial Services, MasterCard and Visa



CHICAGOApril 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP),Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS), MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA), Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and DISN Network Corp.(Nasdaq: DISH).
Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513
Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:
AmEx-TNS Simplify eCommerce
In a bid to establish user-friendly online payment functionality, last week American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) announced its alliance with Transaction Network Services (TNS) to launch a new payment service provider solution – American Express Payment Gateway – which would offer a single platform for all-sized merchants. This service has been initially launched in the US, UK,Australia and Mexico.
The new solution will enable quick and easy eCommerce facilities through a secure pathway, thereby averting fraudulent practices and keeping card data security intact. The latest solution paves the way for global payment acceptance with multi-currency enablement in over 120 global currencies and major local acquirer connectivity.
The solution will also deliver value-added services such as Accertify's fraud management solution, which was launched in 2007 and acquired by AmEx in November 2010. American Express Payment Gateway also has the capability to verify the authenticity of the cardholder with the help of TNS' tokenization solution.
We believe that the American Express Payment Gateway's secure payment service solution should be able to provide incremental business opportunities to AmEx, as it complements the merchants' payment needs on a broader scale. Generating this service solution with the help of TNS further enables a superior quality security initiative, which is needed in the rapidly evolving eCommerce field.
Earnings Review
Meanwhile, AmEx is scheduled to release is first quarter 2012 earnings results after the closing bell on April 18, 2012. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the first quarter is currently pegged at $1.00 per share, up about 3% year over year. Of the 19 firms covering the stock, 2 raised their estimates in the last 30 days, while no downward revision was witnessed.
Fundamentally, AmEx has been driving its growth profile through improved credit quality. Alongside, the company has been upgrading its digital payment platform through strategic alliances, which will not only expand the company's card membership base but will also help it penetrate the unexplored market and tap the upcoming opportunities in the field of eCommerce.
These factors are also strengthening AmEx's competitive leverage against arch rivals such as Discover Financial Services(NYSE: DFS), MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) and Visa Inc. (NYSE: V).
Although increasing regulatory compliances, low interest rates and higher expenses are weighing on the net interest income and margins, our long view on AmEx remains firm. Hence, based on the company's strong long-term organic growth drivers, the Zacks Rank for AmEx currently stands at #2, implying a short-term Buy and a long-term Neutral stance.

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