The Prepaid Press - January 2009 - (Page 23)

PAYMENTS & PROCESSING Dec. 2008 / Jan. 2009 - 23 Payments & Processing in Brief M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) have renewed their long-standing brand partnership agreement. Under terms of the multiyear deal, Visa will continue to provide the bank’s customers with branded consumer and small business debit, commercial credit, and prepaid cards. Visa Inc. - www.corporate.visa.com M&T Bank Corporation - www.mtb.com eCommLink and Rechargeplus Partner Will Combine Prepaid Debit Solutions with Mobile Commerce LAS VEGAS, NV (December 18, 2008) eCommLink, Inc., a value added prepaid processor, and Rechargeplus Global Ltd., a global payment solutions company, have formed a global alliance that combines the companies’ prepaid debit platforms with mobile and merchant applications to serve the needs of the growing international money transfer market. The companies say that hundreds of billions of dollars are sent home each year by migrant workers, often to places with little or no banking and technology infrastructure. Providing a means for the recipient to access and utilize these funds can be a challenge, especially when there may not be a local bank or money transfer store for hundreds of miles. The Rechargeplus card program solution provides a set of linked prepaid debit cards. The migrant worker can have their salaries loaded to a card account and transfer any portion of their pay at any time to the linked card of their beneficiary. The recipient can then use that card at any POS system, withdraw from an ATM machine, or transfer funds from the card to any participating merchant around the world. What further separates the solution is how closely it is integrated with the cardholder’s mobile phone. Funds can be transferred, balances checked, bills paid, etc. -- all from the mobile handset with a simple text message or online using the cardholder web portal. “The integration of mobile is particularly important for money transfer solutions. In many of the developing countries where these funds are sent there are more than four times as many mobile phones as there are laptops. Mobile is one of the most prevalent, cost effective and familiar technologies in these areas and a key piece of the transfer puzzle,” stated Brett Radford, Chief Executive Officer, Rechargeplus USA. The solution will serve the needs of the growing Overseas Foreign Worker (OFW) markets with particular emphasis on OFW’s from the Sub Continent and Asian markets, where remittance and money transfers are upwards of 10% of the GDP. The joint solution is supported by local banks and merchants in participating countries, and adheres to the local and international Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. Source: eCommLink (www.ecommlink.com) Rechargeplus USA (www.rechargeplus.com) Service, which is accredited by all major card association security programs. In earning this designation, CardWare passed a stringent audit of its policies, procedures and systems that store, process or transmit cardholder data, and an aggressive scan for potential vulnerabilities. CardWare International www.cardwareinternational.com TransCard, a provider of prepaid debit card solutions branded with Discover Network, MasterCard and STAR associations, has signed an agreement with University National Bank in St. Paul, Minnesota to process prepaid transactions for the bank. The bank is part of Sunrise Community Banks holding company with two CDFI-certified sister banks; Park Midway Bank, NA, in St. Paul and Franklin National Bank in Minneapolis. TransCard - www.transcard.com FiCentive, Inc. (OTC BB:PYDS) a turnkey prepaid card solutions provider, has signed an agreement with SwipePay Mobile, Inc. to deliver a SwipePay Mobile MasterCard Prepaid and MasterCard Gift Card to their thousands of mobile customers. In addition to providing prepaid mobile “top up” of a customer’s airtime minutes directly from the mobile device, SwipePay Mobile says its product offering consists of other value-added payments services designed for the unbanked subscriber, which include P2P payments. SwipePay works with mobile operators, mobile publishers and premium messaging aggregators so their customers have the power to make secure mobile payments without needing a physical banking presence or traditional Internet connection. FiCentive, Inc. - www.ficentive.com SwipePay Mobile - www.swipepaymobile.com Smokin Joes has selected The Pinnacle Corporation’s Palm POS as their go forward POS platform as well as Pinnacle’s full suite of retail automation software for their retail cigarette locations throughout New York. Smokin Joes says it chose Pinnacle’s award-winning Palm POS system for its productivity benefits, integration with back office applications and Pinnacle’s Oasis Manager Workstation that delivers centralized management and remote control of Palm POS systems. Also chosen as part of Smokin Joes POS selection were Pinnacle’s Loyalink, a realtime, fully integrated customer loyalty management solution; and Enterprise Performance Manager (EPM), Pinnacle’s real-time, POS integrated business intelligence suite. Pinnacle - www.pinncorp.com Smokin Joes - www.smokinjoe.com eCommLink, Inc., a value added prepaid processor, has passed its annual Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) audit and says it is an early adopter of version 1.2 of the guidelines, which was just released. Completing the audit was the firm RSM McGladrey whose Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) were onsite for five days delving into the specifics of eCommLink’s systems and infrastructure. eCommLink, Inc. - www.ecommlink.com THE SHOW FOR THE PREPAID SERVICES INDUSTRY WWW.PREPAIDPRESSEXPO.COM MARK YOUR CALENDARS! AUGUST 18-20, CAESARS PALACE, LAS VEGAS “The Prepaid Press Expo is the rebirth of prepaid.” Pete Pattullo, CEO, NetworkIP - Sponsor of the Gladiators of LD Pavilion & Toga Party FiCentive, Inc. (OTCBB:PYDS) a turnkey prepaid card solutions provider, has signed a multi-year agreement with Encompass Communications, Inc. to deliver instant issue Encompass Prepaid MasterCard cards to more than 1,000 retail outlets. The card program will provide consumers with a reloadable MasterCard card that is issued instantly and is able to be used by the cardholder as soon as they leave the store. The card program will allow for the cardholder to use the card to facilitate direct deposit and bill payment. It is anticipated the cards will be available for distribution in 1,000 retail stores by the end of the fourth quarter of this year. FiCentive, Inc. - www.ficentive.com Encompass Communications www.encompasscommunications.com “The best part of the show as an exhibitor was the quality of exhibit hall guests. The show size was perfect ” Bob Bench, Dial World Network Monika Jerabek has joined i2c company as Manager of Marketing and Communications. Jerabek comes to i2c with extensive multicultural experience, having developed and managed integrated communications strategies and programs in the training and consulting, Internet, software engineering, and biotechnology industries in the U.S. and Czech Republic. At i2c, Jerabek will direct i2c’s marketing and communications strategies and programs to promote i2c’s prepaid payment solutions. i2c Inc. - www.i2cinc.com “The quality of the traﬃc and the vendors was impressive. As just an attendee this year, I’m looking forward to my company exhibiting at next year’s show.” Derron Winfrey, President, ECS & Softgate Systems CardWare International has been awarded a Certificate of Compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS.) PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures. The purpose of the standard is to help organizations proactively protect customer account data. The compliance certificate was awarded by TrustWave’s TrustKeeper Validation “The Prepaid Press Expo is exactly what this industry needed and at exactly the right moment in time. We are all looking forward to even bigger and better things in 2009!” Jonathan Marashlian, Helein & Marashlian, LLC, The CommLaw Group EMPEROR SPONSOR SENATOR SPONSORS CENTURION SPONSORS http://www.corporate.visa.com http://www.cardwareinternational.com http://www.mtb.com http://www.transcard.com http://www.ecommlink.com http://www.pinncorp.com http://www.rechargeplus.com http://www.smokinjoe.com http://WWW.PREPAIDPRESSEXPO.COM http://www.ficentive.com http://www.swipepaymobile.com http://WWW.PREPAIDPRESSEXPO.COM http://www.ecommlink.com http://www.ficentive.com http://www.encompasscommunications.com http://www.i2cinc.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - January 2009

The Prepaid Press - January 2009 Economic Crisis Sharpens Focus on Stored Value Cards Industry Veterans Weigh In on 2009 Prepaid Opportunities Contents From the Publisher: Ready for Change? The Prepaid Press Thanks its Editorial Advisory Board Regulatory Rundown 2008 Milestones Prepaid Wireless Providers Capitalize on Economic Downturn Prepaid Telecom in Brief APCC Services Settles With Calling Card Providers Boost Mobile Offers All-in-One Prepaid Package SonarTel Prepaid Customers Can Use Accounts in More Countries BillSoft Selected by Integra Telecom Pingo Adds PC “SoftPhone” Calling kajeet, the Cell Phone Service for Kids, Wins Award Prepaid Wireless Roundup The State of Prepaid Technology: Wholesalers & White Label Services New Millennium Releases Wireless Survey Results 5 Minutes With Paul Amick, EVP & Co-Founder, PhoenixSoft Millions Could Cut Cell Phone Bills in Half New Virgin Poll Reveals Buying Habits The Legal Line BioPay Expands Offering for Underbanked IDT to Sell European Prepaid Payment Business iPayStation Launches Network for Distributor Stored Value Solutions Appoints New VP Cellular South Offers Mobile Banking for Regions Bank Javelin Research: Processor Important in Prepaid MiCash Announces New Prepaid Debit Card Monitise and eCommLink Partner Platamovil Selects PhoenixSoft’s Cirrus Softswitch Prepaid Market Forecasts to 2011 Payments & Processing in Brief Prepaid 101: Gift Cards SCA’s PrizeSuite Enables Promotions MT&L Offers Gift Card Removal and Destruction Heartland Payment Systems Acquires Chockstone Amex and Rymax Offer Gift Cards TransCard Announces Corporate Gift Card Website Gift Cards & Promotions in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - January 2009

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