HNC Profit, Antifraud Software For Total System's Customers

Services Inc. HNC programs will be integrated with Total System's credit, debit, and private-label card processing services. The programs, such as ProfitMax, ProfitMax Bankruptcy, Falcon, and Falcon Debit, could be used by Total System customers to predict credit, fraud, and attrition risk, profitability, and bankruptcy. "As credit, bankruptcy, and fraud risks intensify, (Total System) wants to ensure that we provide the best prevention choices available to help our clients remain competitive," said Philip W. Tomlinson, president of the Columbus, Ga., processing company, a subsidiary of Synovus Financial Corp. Analysts said the companies will be mainly focused on ProfitMax, a profitability management tool for credit card portfolios. Having achieved market dominance with the Falcon fraud detection software, San Diego-based HNC "can go in and sell ProfitMax," said George Godfrey, analyst at Raymond James in New York. He said Falcon has more than 85% of the outsourced fraud detection market. Mr. Godfrey said ProfitMax is more profitable for HNC than Falcon. He estimates that HNC charges 20 cents a year for every account on Falcon, versus 50 cents a year for ProfitMax. The company would not release its prices. The deal is "a major endorsement for HNC," Mr. Godfrey said, though "I don't know if they need any endorsements." Robert North, president and chief executive officer of HNC, said the alliance was formed because "mutual clients have expressed a strategic interest in being able to access HNC solutions."