Biller Direct Competition Heats Up
BOSTON-Nearly 26% of consumers will make their payments at billers' websites by 2013, a percentage that is directly proportional to the expected decline in check-by-mail payments.
Aite Group said its new research report provides billers and biller direct technology vendors with insight into suppliers of electronic bill payment and presentment solutions. Based on a Q4 2010 and Q1 2011 Aite Group survey of prominent U.S. biller direct technology vendors, the report provides an understanding of the market environment and profiles seven vendors' competitive capabilities.
Aite Group estimates that vendors of biller direct technology (biller-deployed software applications that enable billers to accept consumer payments via the Web, IVR, mobile app, etc.) are growing with this trend. To succeed in this crowded and competitive market, vendors must meet biller and consumer demands by diversifying their product portfolios into multiple verticals and segments.
For info: www.aitegroup.com
Demand For E-Payment On The Rise
NEW YORK-There is a strong desire among small businesses to accelerate and simplify current payable/receivable processes and a willingness to adopt new electronic payment solutions in support of this, according to a new study.
CashEdge, Inc., a provider of payment services to financial institutions, said its 2011 Small Business Payables and Receivables Survey found most of these small businesses report a strong loyalty to their FI, representing a "key opportunity" for credit unions and banks to provide these payment services.
The study examined the behavior and preferences of 405 small businesses as they relate to their overall payables and receivables processes. Small businesses were defined by $1 million or less in annual sales revenue.
While most small businesses still rely on manual, spreadsheet and paper-based systems for their account payables and receivables processes, the majority are interested in new solutions that would increase the speed of customer payments. In fact, 60% said they would use an ACH receivables service for getting paid electronically if it did not require sharing account information.
"As we've seen with consumer banking, there is a strong, growing desire for more electronic P2P payments solutions among the small business segment," said Neil Platt, SVP and general manager, Banking & Payments, for CashEdge. "We see this as a tremendous opportunity for banks to strengthen key small business relationships by providing more electronic payment options to their small business banking customers."
For info: www.cashedge.com
Phishing Attacks Rise Year Over Year
TACOMA, Wash.-Phishing attacks in Q1 2011 increased significantly compared to Q1 2010, according to IID.
IID, a provider of technology and services that help organizations secure Internet presence, recently released its First Quarter eCrime Trends Report that said criminals utilized phishing scams 12% more in the January to March quarter than during the same period a year ago. IID expects this increased phishing activity and recent Internet security breaches to result in more spear phishing attacks, a sophisticated form of e-mail fraud targeting a specific person or organization.
"As we've seen with recent attacks against Sony's PlayStation Network and Epsilon, cyber criminals now have inside information about tens of millions of customers to use in highly targeted phishing campaigns," said IID President and CTO Rod Rasmussen. "The worry is that with all of this specific data, cyber criminals have all they need to convince people to share their highly valuable personal information. Organizations must ensure they are taking every measure to stop these attacks including blocking access to phishing sites, and command and control domains for malware that exfiltrates data. This should be done in e-mail filtering, firewalls, and at their domain name system resolvers."
Other findings in IID's report include:
* Phishing attacks impersonating national banks increased 11% from Q4 2010 to Q1 2011.
* Much of the bank phishing attacks increased against those based outside the United States.
* Rogue mobile applications utilizing the likeness of banks were downloaded hundreds of thousands of times.
For info: www.internetidentity.com
