Economy

Calpian Inc., a Dallas-based lender to independent sales organizations, is turning to the investor community to raise money so it can complete more deals.

VeriFone Systems Inc.’s $9 million deal earlier this month to buy mobile point-of-sale terminal maker Way Systems Inc. is not surprising to analysts who follow the POS-device industry.

Only acquiring banks and the largest ISOs have to file formal written plans with the card brands to explain how they intend to bring the nation’s 5 million small retailers, restaurateurs and other mom-and-pop businesses into compliance with Payment Card Industry data security standards. But everybody in the credit and debit card “food chain” feels the sometimes-unpleasant effects of those plans.

VeriFone Systems Inc. plans to use its acquisition of Way Systems Inc. to attract more merchant interest in its mobile-payment systems. But the deal also eliminates a competitor, analysts say.

Hypercom Corp.’s announced change on Aug. 31 of its sales leadership overseeing multilane point-of-sale products and Latin America signifies the payment-terminal maker’s desire to increase market share and to develop new sales channels.

Twin brothers Zachary and Matthew Hyman this year have added more than 11,000 merchants to their San Rafael, Calif.-based Central Payment ISO, putting them on track to reprise their success with a previous ISO.

France-based payment-service provider Aros Worldline plans to acquire India-based payment-services provider Venture Infotek Pvt. Ltd. for US$100 million. The acquisition would represent India’s largest-ever deal in the payments space, reports local newspaper Economic Times.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has dismissed a shareholder class-action lawsuit filed against some members of VeriFone Systems Inc.’s board of directors in 2007, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal maker.

Mobile-marketing firm Mocapay Inc. this month announced a strategic partnership with ISO eNational Payments with the goal of helping merchants deliver customized coupons and other promotions to consumers via mobile handsets.

Now that they can do so without violating contracts, merchants are expected to more aggressively steer customers toward less-expensive payment methods in the coming months.

Companies that install or manage payment-application software, such as that used in integrated point-of-sale terminals, can best protect their information by following a list of best practices Visa Inc. issued this week, the payments company contends.

Visa Inc.’s most recent statistics of merchant compliance with the PCI Data Security Standard shows that 100% of the largest U.S. merchants—those processing more than 1 million annual Visa transactions—have validated their point-of-sale systems as not storing prohibited data.

Certain definitions within new Internal Revenue Service rules requiring payment processors and merchant acquirers to track merchants’ transactions and report them to the IRS beginning next year are creating additional hassles, some industry observers say.

Legions of potential investors are clamoring to buy a piece of the merchant-acquiring business, but most ISOs would prefer not to sell. Both camps appear to believe the industry represents a safe haven in hard times and a promising prospect during a recovery.

Vivotech Adding Encryption To Contactless Transactions

Paul A. Rianda is an attorney who has specialized in providing legal advice to the bankcard industry for more than 10 years. His e-mail is paul@riandalaw.com.