Bank technology

The BAI messaging format is about to be overhauled. The format, which dates from the early days of computerized cash management, has not been maintained by the Bank Administration Institute for more than a decade.

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VeriFone Holdings Inc. plans to offer direct support to merchant clients of Heartland Payment Systems Inc. that are using its payment terminals, over Heartland's objections.

Yankees fan accidentally throws paychecks out of his window at ticker tape parade; iPhone bug swaps users' wallpaper with '80s singer; stolen laptop at Blue Cross Blue Shield; and more.

Federal prosecutors alleged that members of an elaborate hacking ring broke into debit-card systems and stole $9 million from ATMs in hundreds of cities worldwide.

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Heartland Payment Systems Inc. has renewed a contract to offer merchants and banks remote capture services using technology from transmodus Corp.

Merchant acquirers that offer proprietary software or hardware payment systems, such as integrated point of sale systems or applications that work with mobile phones, typically have higher client-retention rates than providers that sell off-the-shelf products, according to observers.

Western Union Co. said Monday that it has promoted Hikmet Ersek to chief operating officer.

The U.K. mobile banking technology vendor Monitise PLC is planning to expand into Uganda.

Offering remittance services through the Web can help banks simplify execution and fight fraud, according to payments executives and analysts.

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Hypercom Corp. plans to develop new payment terminals using a "joint development manufacturing" model that depends on receiving more input from a manufacturing partner.

First Data Corp. has struck an automated teller machine deployment agreement with the Turkish banking company TEB-NBP Paribas.

Plenty of banks are incorporating personal financial management software into their Web sites, but Geezeo Inc. wants to convince them that the technology is not just an add-on feature — it should be the heart of an online banking service.

At least five partnerships were announced this week aimed at making mobile banking more widely available and more useful, and though payments executives say usage is not widespread now, they expect adoption to soar in the next year.

The deal, announced in September, brings Intuit the technology and audience of the personal financial management Web site Mint.com. Aaron Patzer, Mint's founder, has joined Intuit as the vice president and general manager of its personal finance group. The transaction closed Monday.

Fiserv Inc. is planning to develop a person-to-person transfer service that its bank clients could offer through their Web sites to consumers.

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Should you decide to update your commercial lending process, the best advice I've heard is "make finding a proven automation solution that would work to mitigate portfolio risk the top priority."