ISOs

From the January/February 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

From the January/February 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

From the January/February 2010 issue of ISO&Agent.

JetPay LLC, a Carrollton, Texas-based payment processor, says it has won a trademark-infringement issue involving its Web site address, www.jetpay.com.

Newtek Business Services Inc., a New York-based payments company, says it has refinanced a $15 million line of credit with Capital One N.A.

VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s Payware Mobile payment software for Apple Inc.’s iPhone is available from Apple’s iTunes store, the San Jose, Calif.-based terminal maker says.

The world’s largest payment-terminal manufacturers expect to see a modest uptick in demand this year after a lengthy, recession-driven sales slump. France-based Ingenico, along with U.S.-based VeriFone Holdings Inc. and Hypercom Corp., all are cautiously optimistic about this year’s sales outlook, partly because of new data-security mandates that will require certain merchants to replace existing terminals.

As issuers mail out contactless credit and debit cards by the millions, it is not clear how often they are being used.

Total System Services Inc., known as TSYS, plans to reduce expenses and employee headcount in anticipation of another difficult year. The Columbus, Ga.-based transaction processor believes it will see continued constriction in its business until the economy begins to recover and unemployment levels fall.

Mobile-payments company Apriva announced this week the launch of the AprivaPay and AprivaPay Professional mobile-payment services. The move means Apriva resellers, including ISOs, banks and merchant acquirers, now can resell Apriva’s integrated mobile-payment product.

A general approach to marketing for ISOs seeking new clients is more likely to fail than would a campaign that targets specific merchant segments and generates referrals, some observers believe.

Visa Inc.’s devotion to signature-based contactless transactions has caused one large retailer to take a stand against the card network, and it also poses an obstacle to adoption of EMV cards in the United States, says an industry analyst.

Global Payments Inc.’s North American merchant-services revenue grew 10.5% during the payment processor’s second quarter. ISOs largely drove the growth with their “strong performance ... as evidenced by U.S. transaction growth of 19%,” Paul Garcia, Global chairman and CEO, said during a conference call with analysts last week.

ISOs and merchant acquirers alike foresee a variety of challenges and potential new revenue in 2010, but exactly which ones differs between the two types of organization, the results of a recent Aite Group LLC survey suggest.

ISOs and acquirers faced many challenges in 2009 largely because of the ongoing difficult economy that altered the business landscape, according to some of ISO&Agent Weekly’s editorial board members. The publication has assembled year-end thoughts from some of its board members.

VeriFone Holdings Inc.’s efforts to drive payment card acceptance in taxis and at the gas pump appear to be paying off, VeriFone CEO Douglas G. Bergeron told analysts during a conference call this week discussing the point-of-sale terminal makers fourth quarter earnings.

As more consumers go online to make holiday purchases in November and December, so-called cybercriminals also increase their efforts to obtain consumer information fraudulently, observers say. The potential for data theft and increased attacks by fraudsters, however, does not deter many consumers from completing online transactions, according to recent survey data.

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