iPayment, Inc. has received a non-binding proposal from a newly-formed entity, wholly-owned by Gregory S. Daily, its chairman and CEO, to acquire all of the outstanding shares of the company for a cash price of $38.00 per share.
    The proposal is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, obtaining financing for the proposed transaction on satisfactory terms, a sufficient number of other executive officers of iPayment subscribing for shares of the acquisition vehicle and the negotiation and execution of a merger agreement on mutually acceptable terms.
    A special committee of four independent directors will act on behalf of iPayment with respect to the proposal or alternatives in the context of evaluating what is in the best interests of the firm and its public stockholders. The special committee is authorized to retain independent financial, legal and other advisors.

    Between 200,000 and as many as 40 million credit cards, including nearly 14 million MasterCard-branded cards were exposed to potential fraud due to a security breach at Tuscon, Ariz.-based CardSystems Solutions, Inc., a third-party processor of payment card data, MasterCard International reported in mid-June.
    MasterCard said it collaborated with all parties, including issuing banks, acquiring banks, the processor and law enforcement, to investigate the breach and worked with CardSystems to correct the security vulnerabilities in the processor’s systems. These vulnerabilities allowed an unauthorized individual to infiltrate their network and access the cardholder data.
    CardSystems has already taken steps to improve the security of its system, according to company officials. However, MasterCard is giving it a limited amount of time to demonstrate compliance with MasterCard security requirements.

    The Financial and Security Products Association was confident regarding its July 7 court date to hear its earlier filed request for a preliminary injunction against North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc.
    Specifically, the injunction speaks to Diebold’s policies on ATM diagnostics and the sale of parts (including parts associated with upgrades to EPP4 keyboards).
    The injunction, filed with the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, asks that Diebold be prohibited from changing its pre-2004 ATM parts and service policies. Though the date for the hearing was July 7, the decision might not come until early August, according to John Vrabec, FSPA executive director.
    The motion states that prior to 2004 Diebold maintained policies that permitted its customers to obtain, without restriction, ATM service from third-party maintenance companies. Diebold’s ATM customers and their third-party maintenance companies had complete unconditional access to Diebold’s diagnostic software — which was necessary for the effective maintenance of ATMs, the motion adds.
    A key provision of FSPA’s court complaint is putting hold-harmless agreements, under which third-party maintenance companies (at the discretion of the ATM owners) were allowed access to diagnostic software, back into place.
    Without such a provision, the independent operators not only lose their ability to do hardware maintenance on the machines, but can also lose related businesses such as ink and paper replacement and cash replenishment, according to Vrabec.
    “The law is clear that a manufacturer’s change of policy that abuses locked-in customers in an installed base market constitutes an anti-trust violation,” the FSPA notice of motion and motion for preliminary injunction states. "Defendant Diebold has changed its service and parts policies in its installed base for automatic teller machines (ATMs) by preventing its customers from having those ATMs serviced by third-party maintenance companies (TPMs) on terms previously allowed. This change in policy is illegally reducing competition in these markets.”
    Other ATM manufacturers have more open policies regarding access to underlying technologies. Vrabec added.

    The Credit Union 24 Network enjoyed record-setting growth figures for 2004, reporting that new participants and expanded cardholder access have boosted transaction volumes approximately 35 percent over the previous year.
    While solid increases in ATM terminals and POS locations have broadened Credit Union 24’s national footprint, in 2004 29 new credit union network participants brought a substantial number of new cardholders to the network. Credit Union 24 increased the number of ATM locations on the network from 28,000 to more than 65,000 in 2004, but attributed much of their growth to a record year in credit union membership and a more than 35-percent surge in POS activity.

    Transaction Network Services, Inc., recently acquired FusionPoint Technology Solutions from TechLAN, Inc.
    FusionPoint is a provider of electronic-technology data communications products and services to the convenience store and service station markets. The assets purchased include customer and vendor contracts, inventory and equipment, and certain intellectual property rights. As part of the acquisition, TNS is also adding the four employees responsible for the FusionPoint business.
    Currently, the various devices transporting data in and out of convenience stores - such as the Ruby and G-Site POS terminals, ATMs, lottery machines, back office PCs, video surveillance, gas tank monitoring data, and check, credit and fleet card authorization information – are often on multiple networks, each with its own connectivity.

    Lipman Electronic Engineering Ltd. recently closed the previously announced public offering by certain selling shareholders of 1,973,044 of Lipman’s ordinary shares at a price of $29.75 per share.
    Merrill Lynch & Co., the sole manager of the offering, has exercised in full its option to purchase an additional 295,956 shares from two of the selling shareholders to cover overallotments, according to Lipman.

    CrossCheck, Inc. and Transworld Systems, Inc. have teamed up to make a profit recovery service available as part of CrossCheck's payment and services offerings. CrossCheck will market the program to its customers in the retail, medical, service and automotive industries.
    Using Transworld's profit recovery demands service, a business can enter receivables information, track account status and payments and prepare monthly reports.

    Chase Card Services recently introduced “Blink,” featuring payments using RFID chips and contactless payment systems.
    “Mass issuer contactless deployments such as Chase Blink reinforce what card associations and merchants have seen in trial after trial -- secure contactless payments provide consumers with a faster, less hassle-prone way to pay, and benefit issuers, merchants and consumers,” said Erik Michielsen, ABI Research director of RFID and ubiquitous networks.

    Transfirst, a provider of transaction processing services and payment enabling technologies, has signed an agreement with MicroBilt, a provider of decision critical data, to provide ACH and card processing services.
    MicroBilt, who has been serving business customers with credit bureau reporting access since 1978 will enter the acquiring industry as an ISO/MSP under the name of MB Merchant Services and begin marketing card acceptance to its 30,000-plus customers as part of the agreement.
    MicroBilt will initially begin setting up merchants who are resellers of their flagship product www.CreditCommander. com and who use the customized billing module. Additionally, MicroBilt will offer merchant card services through a virtual terminal from their Web sites and market the Transfirst suite of products and services through all its sales channels including an agent bank referral program given to their market share of banks and credit unions.

    Tranax Technologies, Inc. and Financial Payments LP, have partnered to create the Financial Payments Check Cashing Solution running on the Tranax Check Cashing Self-Service Terminal.
    This machine represents the convergence of traditional ATM functionality with full, terminal-based, self-service check cashing technologies.
    The machine can complete full at-terminal account enrollment, account debit card issuance and real-time check verification and approval, eliminating the need for any clerk interaction. In addition to check cashing, this new terminal offers full retail ATM functionality.

    Alliance Data Systems Corp., recently acquired Atrana Solutions, Inc., which specializes in the design and development of comprehensive transaction-oriented technology solutions for retailers, financial processors, POS hardware manufacturers, telecommunications providers and other transaction-based businesses.
    Atrana has approximately 30 employees, all of whom will become Alliance employees.
    Atrana's transaction services include support for prepaid wireless top-up, long distance cards, third party gift cards, and prepaid bankcard products. Additionally, Atrana writes custom software deployed at the point-of-sale.

    Descomm and POS Portal recently signed a multi-year deployment and equipment rental services contract for support of Descomm’s resellers.

    U.S. Bancorp (USB), a subsidiary of Nova Information Systems, has agreed to acquire Certegy Inc.'s existing merchant-acquiring portfolio.
    Financial terms of the deal with Certegy, a provider of credit- and debit-issuer services, weren't disclosed.
    Nova will provide processing services, customer service and support to Certegy's 14,000 acquired-merchant locations. Nova said credit and debit card processing volume from the new portfolio should generate about $3 billion a year in additional volume. Merchant conversions are expected to be completed by the end of the year, said Nova.

Stored Value Systems (SVS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Comdata Corp., has completed an agreement with Coinstar, Inc. to offer two new distribution channels to SVS’ gift card customers.     One is a coin to card program whereby consumers can redeem coins for retail gift cards at Coinstar centers in select merchant locations. The second is a “gift card mall” program that makes multiple retail gift cards available at a single merchant’s point-of-sale.

    The National Association of Credit Management (NACM) Credit Manager's Index (CMI) for May 2005 showed the overall position of the U.S. economy: well-entrenched in solid territory but also recently encountering a minor "soft patch".
    The Total CMI dropped from 59.3 to 57.3, with the manufacturing sector falling 1.0 to 57.5, and the service sector, driven by deterioration in bankruptcies and dollar collections, falling 3.1 to 57.1. However, bankruptcies increased and could continue to be affected by troubles in the airline and auto industries.

    Precidia Technologies recently launched a new IP-based instant check verification solution, together with CHECKS, the check recovery and verification company.
    Already deployed in Toot’n Totum convenience stores, and Food Basket grocery in Texas, this technology uses Precidia’s iPocket232 to connect Trans330 payment terminals and MagTek check readers to an existing broadband network, sending check data to the CHECKS’ host, which delivers a verification response code in under a second.
    While handling the verification process, the iPocket232 also simultaneously powers the payment terminal, eliminating the need for additional power adapters to run both devices, preserving valuable store real estate at the check out counter.

    Payment Data Systems, Inc. recently signed with Next Estate Communications, Inc. to provide payment services for debit card loading and risk management.
    The PDS solution will provide payment origination for debit card loading that can come directly from a Next Estate Customer Service Representative or a Next Estate website. Next Estate implemented Payment Data's IPS ACH gateway which is a Microsoft.NET Connected Web service.

    Retail Decisions (ReD), Voca and Mi-Pay have formed the Digital Payments joint venture, which enables merchants to manage consumer payments made through all new digital sales channels (such as digital television, the Internet and mobile phones).
    Additionally, Digital Payments will enable consumers to pay for goods and services by direct debit across these channels in much the same way as they currently use a credit card.

    Shell Canada has selected ViVOtech's ViVOpay(tm) technology to enable its in-store easyPAY(tm) contactless payment program.
    ViVOpay's Dynamic Strip 1000 interface technology has upgraded Shell Canada's POS systems with no POS changes and only minimal host changes.
    The system uses wireless radio frequency (RF) technology that is unique to Shell Canada.