Headlines:
Citi Developing Electronic Stock Market ACH Direct Says Volume Jumped 56% Solidus Buys Fingerprint Rival BioPay
Citi Developing Electronic Stock Market
Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday that it has launched its own electronic equities market to take advantage of regulatory changes coming this year.
Citi's market is based on OnTrade ECN, which the New York company said Wednesday that it bought Jan. 11 from NexTrade Holdings Inc. of Clearwater, Fla. OnTrade's system - the ECN stands for "electronic communication network" - will be overhauled by May, Citi said.
"We expect the new ECN will increase market efficiencies, deliver best execution, and reduce transaction costs to the industry," said James Forese, the head of Citi's global equities unit, in a press release.
Citi's exchange and regional exchanges are expected to benefit from a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that is to take effect in April. Reg NMS will require brokers to ensure that orders be executed at the best price; as a result, electronic trading is expected to surge.
In an earlier move to capitalize on that growth, Citi agreed five months ago to invest in an electronic market that the Boston Stock Exchange is creating. That market and Citi's ECN would be competitors to the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.
The NYSE and the Nasdaq are also gearing up. Last month Nasdaq bought Instinet Group Inc. for $1.88 billion, combining the two largest U.S. electronic stock markets. This quarter the NYSE is to merge with Archipelago Holdings Inc., a Chicago electronic market.
ACH Direct Says Volume Jumped 56%
ACH Direct Inc., a privately held payment processor, said growing demand for electronic authentication technology helped it reach record transaction volume in 2005.
The Allen, Tex., company said Tuesday that it had processed more than $5 billion in transactions last year, up 56% over the previous year.
ACH Direct processes automated clearing house, credit, and debit card payments and offers risk management services.
"In today's environment it's important to know that the person purchasing goods and services is exactly who they say they are," said Jeff Thorness, ACH Direct's president and chief executive, in a press release.
He said that his company's products "can determine, in real time, the likelihood that the prospective customer is who they claim to be, thus dramatically reducing potential losses."
Solidus Buys Fingerprint Rival BioPay
The San Francisco biometric payments company Solidus Networks Inc. has bought its chief rival, BioPay LLC of Herndon, Va.
Solidus, which does business as Pay By Touch, bought BioPay on Monday for $82 million in stock and cash. Both companies' provide technology for consumers to authorize payments at the point of sale with a fingerprint.
The purchase ended a lawsuit over whether Solidus was infringing on a BioPay patent.
