Technology

Merchants processing from 1 million to 6 million MasterCard transactions no longer have to meet a Dec. 31, 2010, deadline to have a third-party security assessor perform an onsite assessment of their payment networks for compliance with Payment Card Industry data security standards unless they want to do so voluntarily, according to a MasterCard spokesperson. This is a reversal from a policy MasterCard contained in an Aug. 17 Site Data Protection program document that would have required such so-called Level 2 merchants to pay for a qualified security assessor to audit their compliance by Dec. 31, 2010. Now MasterCard has moved the compliance deadline to June 30, 2011, and made the onsite assessment optional. Level 2 merchants will be required annually to complete a self-assessment questionnaire and perform quarterly network-security scans of their systems. Merchant employees completing the self-assessments must have completed Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council training and pass the council’s accreditation program, according to a MasterCard Dec. 15 Global Security Bulletin. The Aug. 17 summary of changes to MasterCard’s Site Data Protection program said the earlier change was designed to aid the “consistent application and implementation of [data security-standard] requirements.”

Monitise PLC, the British mobile banking vendor, says it plans a broader push next year into mobile retailing, initially in the United Kingdom, then across Europe and in the United States.

Steven A. Rathgaber, who will become the new CEO of Cardtronics Inc. Feb. 1 (see story), will receive a $200,000 one-time signing bonus to lead the world’s largest ATM independent sales organization, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Vesta Corp., a Portland, Ore.-based prepaid technology provider, Monday announced that NetSpend Corp. will use its online reload service for prepaid cards. The service enables NetSpend cardholders to load up to $250 using a debit card.

HSBC Merchant Services, a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of Atlanta-based Global Payments Inc., announced today that the BHF-BSSA Group Trade Association will refer its 7,000 small and midsize independent retailers to HSBC for their payment card processing. The British Shops & Stores Association, a 3,300-member group that merged in September with the 3,700-member British Hardware Federation to form the trade group, previously had referred its members to HSBC Merchant Services. The UK-based trade group says on its Web site that merchants using HSBC Merchant Services will get a processing rate of 1.195%. Merchants that switch to HSBC Merchant Services also receive three months of free payment terminal rental, according to the trade group.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is strongly advising banks in the Philippines to conduct ATM maintenance late at night or before dawn, according to an official from the central bank. Government officials do not want the machines to be unavailable during the busy holiday season while consumers are shopping, according to the official, noting the central bank expects higher than average cash withdrawals during the holidays. “The central bank will coordinate with the banks where necessary to make sure that routine maintenance is undertaken during off hours,” he adds. The central bank also advised financial institutions to keep their ATMs well stocked to avoid cash shortages.

Cardtronics Inc. today named Steven A. Rathgaber as its new CEO, replacing Jack M. Antonini, who left the Houston-based company in March.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc. today announced it will pay up to $2.4 million to settle consolidated consumer class-action lawsuits stemming from the 2008 data breach of the Princeton, N.J.-based payments processor.

A general approach to marketing for independent sales organizations seeking new clients is more likely to fail than would a campaign that targets specific merchant segments, according to one analyst. “A lot of ISOs fail, and they spend a lot of time and a lot of money in marketing that is ineffective,” says Philip J. Philliou, a partner at Philliou Selwanes Partners LLC, a New York-based consulting firm. “Marketing that is generic, purely price-based and scattershot in approach is rarely successful.” Such marketing tactics work to create an overall awareness of a business in a market, notes Philliou. ISOs instead should educate their sales staffs about specific merchant categories, such as health care, and target the categories with tailored marketing campaigns that address each segment’s unique payment needs, he says. “If you are an ISO that understand health care enough to a least connect with a health care provider, they often will recommend you to someone else,” says Philliou.

Residents of Bangalore, India, soon will be able to pay their water bills online or with their mobile phones under a pilot the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board is overseeing, a spokesperson for the agency tells CardLine.