Plan Now For Adoption Of IFRS, 8/07/08

Execs Say Data Volumes Unmanageable, 8/07/08

Creditron and Netvantage Integrate Operations, 8/06/08

Myers Joins Purepay Receivables Automation, 8/06/08

New Check Scanner Cleaning Product, 8/06/08

Streamlined Electronic Check Management, 8/06/08

IBT Partners With Thillens Service Corp., 8/06/08

Sea Tow Selects Remittance Solution, 8/06/08

Bank Taps Imaged-Based Item Processing, 8/06/08

First National Bank of Wynne Deploys Merchant Capture, 8/06/08

Fraud Events Represent “Moment of Truth", 8/07/08

For credit card users, a trust-damaging event like fraud can be the “moment of truth” in their relationship with their issuer and a negative experience can lead them to switch providers, according to a new survey of consumers in the United States conducted by Deloitte. Among those surveyed who have been victims of fraud, almost one-third reported reducing their business or terminating their relationship entirely.

“With payments estimated to drive as much as 30 to 50 percent of an average bank’s revenue, financial institutions can ill afford to make mistakes that may result in losing customers — especially in the current environment,” said Brian Shniderman, one of the leaders for Deloitte’s U.S. Payments service line and a director of Deloitte Consulting LLP. “This moment of truth, as we call it, can give a credit card company or issuer a customer for life, or lose them entirely. Consumer trust is not something to be taken lightly.”

According to the report, fraud is seen as a growing problem by 84 percent of card users, and 89 percent feel that an incident of fraud could have a major negative impact on their lives.

The survey found that 40 percent of fraud victims had been pleasantly surprised by the service and assistance they received, saying that their level of trust in the provider involved had actually increased as a result of the fraud incident. And, surprisingly, the majority of those surveyed who had experienced fraud actually rated their providers higher than those who had not experienced a fraud related event.

However, when badly handled, a fraud event directly impacts a financial institution’s bottom line — in lost customers and fewer customer transactions. Dissatisfied customers will also tell friends, relatives and co-workers of their unhappy experience. The result could be lower revenues, pressure on margins and higher customer acquisition costs to replace the lost business.

In fact, roughly two-thirds of the fraud victims surveyed — and half of other consumers — said they knew of friends, relatives and colleagues who had recently experienced fraud.

“A poorly resolved fraud event can create ripples that travel far beyond the original consumer; customers need to feel confident that their transactions and data are being handled safely and securely,” said Shniderman. “While payments providers depend upon trust to help secure and build consumer relationships, it is often an overlooked, unmeasured and — to a great extent — unmanaged asset, even though it is ranked as the No. 1 customer concern. Sound management needs to be based on an understanding of what drives trust, the costs and benefits of investing in trust and the actions institutions can take to build trust. They need to have a plan of action.”

Plan Now For Full Adoption Of IFRS, 8/07/08

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) implementation is expected to result in significant changes for companies and, in light of the regulatory landscape, the time is now for companies to develop a plan for the accounting switch according to Deloitte.

“As economic turmoil has brought accounting and financial issues to the forefront, investors, companies, regulators and the public are paying close attention to how IFRS can impact financial reporting and market conditions,” said D.J. Gannon, a partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP and leader of its IFRS Solutions Center. “IFRS emphasizes transparency in financial reporting which, ultimately, is expected to provide financial information that is more closely aligned with the economics underlying the transactions and events accounted for in the financial statements. This is expected to enable executives and investors to make proactive and better-informed business decisions.”

The consultancy suggests taking a proactive approach to IFRS implementation, with particular emphasis on understanding “big picture” issues that go beyond accounting and financial reporting. Specific action steps include:

Take an inventory of current IFRS reporting requirements and opportunities. Inventory current IFRS reporting requirements and locations to understand the extent of IFRS reporting already occurring at the company and to identify the resources within the organization to assist in the IFRS effort.

Identify and inventory first-time adoption issues. Another important step in adopting IFRS involves identification of first-time adoption issues, such as conversion elections available and other IFRS accounting standards that may have an impact.

Determine changes to key tax positions, provisions, processes, and technology. An IFRS tax assessment is likely to identify tax positions and tax accounting methods that may be impacted by changes to financial reporting standards. Tax professionals should consider performing a high-level impact analysis that highlights potential changes to the tax provision.

Determine key changes to technology infrastructure. IFRS can have broad implications on front-end systems, general ledgers, sub-ledgers and reporting applications that may need to be evaluated as part of an impact analysis.

Identify the impact on existing system projects. As new systems projects are scoped and planned, it is important to align these project requirements with the likely impact of IFRS reporting.

Conduct a key stakeholder analysis. Identifying target audiences and stakeholder groups impacted by IFRS and assessing their current level of understanding and communication needs is an important step in planning for the impacts of IFRS.

Develop IFRS communication and training plans. Communication and training will be an essential element in effectively planning for and managing the necessary changes resulting from an IFRS conversion. Establishing a proactive plan to address the near and long-term training and communication requirements for each stakeholder group can further support the overall IFRS plan.

Execs Say Data Volumes Unmanageable, 8/07/08

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended 18 months ago, requiring that companies have the ability to access quickly an inventory of various electronically stored information in the event of litigation. Yet, a recent online poll, conducted by Deloitte, found that nearly two out of every five executives (39.7 percent) felt that data volumes in the organizations they’ve worked for are increasing in size and becoming unmanageable.

“Discovery is a very serious issue to business today. There are real stakes and real penalties associated with poorly handled discovery. In the past few years we have seen cases where defendants have faced jail time and millions of dollars in sanctions or penalties,” said Bruce Hartley, a director in the Analytic and Forensic Technology (AFT) practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP (Deloitte FAS). “As the volume of data continues to amass — doubling in size every 18 to 24 months — strategic steps should be taken so that electronic discovery can be handled correctly.”

In fact, 17.5 percent of executives surveyed said their companies are not ready to handle complex discovery requests.

“If companies have systems in place, they can really help ease the pain associated with discovery requests,” said Tony Reid, a principal in the AFT practice of Deloitte FAS. “By developing a wide-ranging, standardized written plan as well as processes that address all of the components of discovery from records management through evidence collection, preservation and production, discovery-related risks can be mitigated and costs managed.”

Nearly 12 percent (11.8 percent) of companies surveyed have no policy in place to share clear guidance with the IT department and all other employees on document retention and destruction. Another 9.4 percent have no policy in place, but distribute specific directives when litigation arises.

“Courts appear to be appreciative of organizations and their counsel when the companies have implemented a standardized practice and written policies, practices and procedures that are utilized to govern discovery procedures,” said Diane Barrasso, a principal in the Document Review Services practice of Deloitte FAS. “By implementing a policy of transparency internally, companies can effectively react to discovery requests, communicate with opposing counsel and significantly decrease errors when litigation arises.”

Executive respondents’ greatest concerns about document discovery included: the expense of going through large volumes of files, due to vendor or in-house costs (47.5 percent); damaged productions and exposure to sanctions, due to vendor or in-house error (16.3 percent); and failure to meet deadlines set by the court (12.9 percent).

Some leading practices Deloitte recommends to help companies ease the process of litigation include:

… Prepare and implement an e-discovery program

… In conjunction with counsel create records management policies, procedures and retention schedules

… Map the company’s data system and data source catalog

… Manage and remediate legacy data

… In conjunction with counsel develop a legal hold strategy and process to preserve all forms of relevant information in the face of litigation

… Establish discovery protocol with regulators

Creditron and Netvantage Integrate Operations, 8/06/08

Creditron, Inc. and Netvantage, Inc., both Purepay portfolio companies, announced today that they are integrating their operations and will adopt the name Purepay, functioning as the Receivables Automation group of the Columbus, Ohio based firm. Wally Vogel, founder and president of Creditron, will serve as president of Purepay Receivables Automation. The combined company boasts a customer base of more than 350 North American companies.

Purepay Receivables Automation will continue to sell and support the Creditron RP$ and Netvantage ItemAge product lines. The newly integrated sales team will offer both products based on unique customer needs across specific vertical markets. Existing customers of both companies will continue to receive superior support and product upgrades.

“Under Purepay’s superb leadership, Creditron and Netvantage have strengthened our market leadership, improved customer satisfaction, and invested in our respective operations, resulting in a significant competitive advantage,” stated Vogel. “The integration of our companies will enable us to build on this momentum while enhancing customer service and enabling greater focus and product innovation based on the requirements of our customers in key market segments.”

The integration of Creditron and Netvantage is expected to be completed in August 2008.

Myers Joins Purepay Receivables Automation, 8/06/08

Douglas M. Myers is the new vice president of sales and business development for Purepay Receivables Automation, a Purepay portfolio company. Myers brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the high-tech arena to the company, with broad sales and marketing expertise in multiple industries.

Myers will be based in Columbus, Ohio, with responsibility for driving sales and marketing strategy, planning and execution across all customer segments for Purepay Receivables Automation. This includes responsibility for customer, market and strategic planning, marketing operations, sales, communications, and development of go-to-market assets.

Myers comes to Purepay Receivables Automation from Vertical Solutions, Inc., where he was vice president of marketing and sales for the Cincinnati-based developer of Web-based CRM applications. At Vertical Solutions, Myers led a complete overhaul of the company’s brand, go-to-market strategy, and sales and marketing group. Previously, Myers was CEO of Powers Solutions Corp., where he successfully developed a new corporate business model, strengthened the company’s infrastructure, and created an effective reseller channel. Myers also has held senior positions at Easylink Services, SBC Communications, and Accenture.

“Doug brings world-class sales and marketing credentials and a strong strategic focus with the proven ability to achieve outstanding results,” said Purepay Receivables Automation President Wally Vogel. “I am delighted we will have an individual of his stature to lead our sales and marketing and help drive Purepay Receivables Automation’s continued growth.”

Myers holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Wright State University.

New Check Scanner Cleaning Product, 8/06/08

KICTeam has developed the Waffletechnology Cleaning Card for Epson’s CaptureOne Check Scanner. The cleaning card provides CaptureOne customers a way to clean all parts of the device including the transport, track, MICR head and scanner glass.

Working closely with Epson, KICTeam has developed a cleaning card specifically designed for use with Epson’s CaptureOne check scanner. With the introduction of KICTeam’s Waffletechnology in late 2004, the technological foundation was already in place to produce a preventative, effective cleaning solution. The cleaning card waffles are flexible raised platforms that allow the card to clean previously unreachable areas within the check scanner.

“In an effort to optimize the effectiveness of the cleaning card, it was extremely important to work closely with Epson during the development process,” stated Debra Ross, product manager of KICTeam. “Each company wanted to guarantee the integrity of the final product as well as ensure that the cleaning card would not damage a CaptureOne check scanner in any way. KICTeam is pleased that the final result has been so well received.”

“Many products currently on the market are either inefficient or harmful to the devices we produce. KICTeam’s Waffletechnology cleaning card offers CaptureOne customers an excellent way to clean all parts of the device,” said Ken Fang, product manager/banking and payments, Business Products Group. “The Waffletechnology helps to ensure better MICR accuracy and paper handling, extending the life of CaptureOne.”

Streamlined Electronic Check Management, 8/06/08

Heartland Payment Systems has integrated alphanumeric remittance ID tagging into its remote deposit capture solution – making it easier for businesses to handle check payments.

The tagging ties a check payment to a corresponding remittance document or file for streamlined accounting and occurs when checks are scanned for deposit using Heartland Express Funds. The user is provided the option to assign a remittance, account or some other ID number to associate with the check throughout the deposit, funding and returns process. The number can be keyed in or scanned. The user also has the option to place the number on the check for systemic transcription to avoid data entry in the deposit process. This enables the user to search for a check or checks connected to that payment using the assigned number.

“The remittance ID tagging feature not only adds a connection between the check and the remittance document for added search functionality, it also connects with the user’s accounting system for improved cross-referencing and simplified payment reconciliation,” explains Tony Capucille, director of check services at Heartland Payment Systems.

“Tracking the remittance, invoice or other relevant payment information at the point of scanning adds a level of control to accounting departments,” notes Michael Shirman, chief technology officer at transmodus, the on-demand, online check services processor that powers Heartland Express Funds and developed the ID tagging functionality. “Reconciliation processes are usually labor intensive, tedious and prone to a high level of exceptions. The ability to capture a remittance tag at scanning brings a new level of efficiency.”

Heartland’s Check Management solutions go beyond remote deposit, verification, and remittance ID tagging to funding, returned items processing, recovery, secondary collections and paperless submission of bad checks to prosecutor programs in more than 150 metro areas in the country. These services are delivered through a single system powered by transmodus which speeds and simplifies the entire check payment and collection process.

“Integrating the remittance feature throughout the entire process makes it easy for an accounting professional to access a live transaction real time,” concludes Capucille. “This includes deposits that are returned and later collected and paid. Attaining this level of detail in the check management process is often a manual process for most accounting departments. Now there is a single place for documenting and automating the lifecycle of a check payment ... even when returned."

IBT Partners With Thillens Service Corp., 8/06/08

Integrated Bank Technology (IBT) and Thillens Service Corp., a Chicago-based third party processing company, announced that the companies will partner to offer IBT’s remote deposit capture product to Thillens customers. IBT specializes in engineering robust software applications and provides 24/7 support services to community financial institutions, so this partnership will make IBT’s remote deposit capture available to a wider array of financial institutions.

“We have been searching for a remote deposit capture product for about two years and after reviewing the offerings of four or five companies, we selected IBT,” Mel Patrick Thillens, vice president at Thillens Service Corp., explained. “The simplicity of the interface, ease of use and cost effective structure of IBT’s product made it the best choice for our company, and we are pleased to offer it to our customers as they make the move from legacy check processing to remote deposit capture.”

Remote deposit capture will enable financial institutions that work with Thillens to enhance their customer service by allowing them to remotely scan their deposits at any time. Additionally, if a correction needs to be made during the scanning process, the institution can immediately address it, rather than waiting for all of the checks to be scanned. As time and gas continue to be premium resources, Thillens is providing the leadership for its customers through the flexibility that IBT’s remote deposit capture offers.

Sea Tow Selects Remittance Solution, 8/06/08

Southold, N.Y.-based Sea Tow Services International Inc. selected Goldleaf’s remittance processing solution to automatically handle the processing of payments and coupons received from its membership of more than 170,000 recreational boaters.

Sea Tow, the world’s largest professional marine assistance organization, has more than 121 franchise locations throughout the United States, Australia, Europe, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The company processes approximately 1,000 checks a day during its peak season that need to be cleared in a timely manner, a task too large for its old remittance system. After consulting with its financial institution, Bridgehampton National Bank (BNB), Sea Tow was referred to Goldleaf.

“We were delighted by Sea Tow’s request for a remittance processing solution to better manage its check volume,” Tom Simson, chief information officer at BNB, said. “We have seen Sea Tow triple its volume in the last few years. Now, using Goldleaf’s technology, Sea Tow enjoys the benefits of better funds availability, and we have another happy customer. The process is very smooth and efficient for both of us.”

Goldleaf worked with both Sea Tow and BNB to develop a custom interface to its core processor, that enhances efficiency, supplies a complete audit trail and provides a secure, seamless transfer. The remittance processing functions, which previously required three or four full time employees from Sea Tow, now require only one.

“We liked the ability to not only modify Goldleaf’s remittance solution to fit our current business processes but also to build on the solution as we grow,” Jim Foley, Sea Tow controller, explained. “Although the large majority of our payments are made by check with a remittance stub, we do receive some credit card payments. Goldleaf also accommodated our need for a credit card module, and it has exceeded our expectations. We are very happy with the business solution Goldleaf’s remittance product has provided us, and we look forward to the continued use as our business needs evolve.”

”Sea Tow is an excellent example of how businesses can benefit immediately from remote deposit and Check 21 initiatives – and how financial institutions like BNB can better meet customers’ needs with such a solution,” Lynn Boggs, CEO of Goldleaf said. “Businesses are becoming more aware of the remittance choices available to them, which in turn offer banks the option to increase profits through customer retention, increased market share and faster, more efficient practices.”

Bank Taps Imaged-Based Item Processing, 8/06/08

Clinton, MA-based Clinton Savings Bank selected Open Solutions Inc.’s imaged-based item processing solution, ISCheck, to streamline its check processing operations. Open Solutions is a leading provider of integrated enabling technologies for financial service providers across the United States, Canada and internationally.

Established in 1851, Clinton Savings Bank was the first bank to open in the Clinton community. Since its inception, the bank has grown to more than $463 million in assets with more than 34,000 client accounts.

Clinton Savings selected Open Solutions for its check imaging system because of the bank’s history with the company. The bank already uses The Complete Banking Solution, cView, interactive voice response, loan origination and the financial accounting suite. “We were in need of a system that would compliment our existing Open Solutions data processing platform,” said Michael Tenaglia, CIO of Clinton Savings Bank. “We were pleased with our core platform, and it was only logical to consult Open Solutions again to ensure a seamless integration between the two systems. Clinton Savings has a great relationship with the company, and we were comfortable expanding that relationship into payments.”

Open Solutions’ image-enabled item processing system drives a wide range of check-processing transports and streamlines a financial institution’s operations. In addition, the solution optimizes workflow, enhances business flexibility and generates fee income. Key benefits include improved funds availability, faster client service and greater abilities for institutions to retain more accounts and save on monthly mailing costs.

“Open Solutions provides customized imaging solutions that help financial institutions achieve greater efficiency, profitability and competitiveness,” said Tim Clewley, senior vice president and general manager, Imaged Payment Technologies Group. “Banks can implement solutions to provide the most cost efficient clearing path, provide unlimited access to image archives, combat fraud or increase fee income. Additionally, these solutions can be implemented, adjusted or added based on the individual institution’s timeline. Whatever the objective, Open Solutions has a solution that ensures the highest level of operational success.”

First National Bank of Wynne Deploys Merchant Capture, 8/06/08

First National Bank of Wynne (FNB Wynne) of Wynne, Ark., has expanded its product offerings with VSoft Corporation’s imaging suite. By implementing imaging technology, FNB Wynne has also been able to attract non-traditional merchants.

With more than $250 million in assets, FNB Wynne is a commercial bank serving the Mississippi Delta region, an area spanning seven states. In 2006, the bank realized a need to update their check processing system to better serve merchant clients. The bank selected VSoft’s suite of products, including image capture, image statements, archive, research, image exchange, branch capture and merchant capture software.

“At FNB Wynne, we knew that in order to provide outstanding service to our merchant clients, it was imperative to provide an imaging solution,” said Connie Watts, senior vice president of FNB Wynne. “Additionally, it was necessary that the solution be perfected in house first to ensure excellent service. We began with internal imaging tools including the archive and research solutions. The project was so successful that we quickly implemented merchant capture.”

Through merchant capture, FNB Wynne’s customers remotely capture payments and electronically send deposits to the bank. As a result, the bank expanded its merchant client base with organizations such as churches, dental offices, CPA’s and retail businesses. These organizations capture check images using a low speed scanner and securely transmit them to the bank. Customers benefit from saving time and money by eliminating the need to physically visit the branch.

“The check imaging landscape continues to evolve,” said Murthy Veeraghanta, president, VSoft Corporation. “The Fed’s initiative to restructure makes it necessary for banks like FNB Wynne to deploy imaging technology to remain competitive. FNB Wynne continues to stay ahead of the curve and has certainly realized the benefits of Check 21 through check imaging and exchange. Because FNB Wynne serves such a broad region, merchant capture will enable the bank to continue to offer excellent services to its current customers as well as expand its reach to provide services to other businesses.”

E-Commerce Sites Move Toward SaaS, 8/04/08

Although uptake of software-as-a-service (SaaS) e-commerce solutions is slow, more organizations will begin to utilize these services during the next few years, according to Gartner, Inc. By 2013, 40 percent of e-commerce deployments will use a complete SaaS e-commerce solution and 90 percent of e-commerce sites will subscribe to at least one SaaS-based service, such as product reviews, product recommendations or social sales capabilities.

“The trend toward SaaS applications has affected customer relationship management (CRM) and other applications, and e-commerce isn’t exempt from this trend,” said Gene Alvarez, research vice president for Gartner. “E-commerce SaaS solutions enable companies that couldn’t afford e-commerce to have these capabilities and compete online. It provides organizations with live Web sites, and enables e-commerce SaaS service providers to provide individual services, such as product reviews or click to call, that can be incorporated into e-commerce SaaS platforms, as well as on sites that are using licensed software.”

Even with the benefits from e-commerce SaaS solutions, commitment to upgrading e-commerce Web sites appears to outpace commitment to the SaaS model for e-commerce during the next couple of years. Gartner analysts believe several factors are contributing to this trend:

- SaaS e-commerce may not be appropriate for some Web sites, and may not provide a differentiated experience — Because the SaaS model has a low barrier to entry, some organizations feel that competitors can sign up quickly and easily with the same SaaS e-commerce provider, and deliver an equal online customer experience. However, organizations that are challenged in their e-commerce IT capabilities (such as lack of budget for people, hardware and software), and organizations that can have e-commerce capabilities without having to obtain hardware and software, find SaaS e-commerce appealing.

- Current SaaS e-commerce offerings can’t support business-to-business (B2B) — All SaaS e-commerce vendors support B2C online selling; however, for vendors with B2B requirements (such as quoting, proposal generation, lead management and purchase order payment processes), or for organizations that sell into a multilevel network of partners, SaaS e-commerce offerings won't be able to meet the necessary requirements.

- Concern about the impact of SaaS e-commerce on the total IT portfolio —Organizations are often concerned about the management of a mixed-application environment (SaaS and non-SaaS applications). Many IT people fear that they'll be held responsible for site outages or performance issues when they actually have no control over the SaaS e-commerce application or its operating environment, and can control only part of the systems that contribute to the overall customer experience.

- Uncertainty of SaaS e-commerce integration with other applications — Organizations that aren't familiar with SaaS offerings are uncertain how to integrate SaaS e-commerce with their existing applications and the stability of the integration over time. Although SaaS vendors don't operate in a stand-alone vacuum, some are able to loosely couple with an organization's applications via application programming interfaces, Web services or XML interfaces, while others have specific and tightly coupled integration requirements.

- Concern about data collection and data ownership issues in a SaaS e-commerce environment — Many vendors claim that all data associated with a client site is owned by the subscriber, but that aggregated data isn't. This belief may vary by vendor, so organizations should ensure that they cover this issue before entering into a contract.

- Some vendors have technical limitations, such a shortcomings in Web 2.0 capabilities — In some cases, vendors focus on providing commodity e-commerce functions (enabling organizations to have basic online stores) to a large audience, while other vendors focus on providing enterpriselike e-commerce solutions for large organizations, which are more aligned with Web 2.0 capabilities.

- Organizations may need IT and non-IT resources to support the Web site — This varies by the vendor selected, because some vendors require the organization to have some IT resources for integration support with back-end systems, and to have business users to manage the products and the site's user interface. Other vendors may provide both of these supportive services; thus, clients must understand their commitments before entering into a contract for the service.

- Various SaaS e-commerce payment models are creating confusion — Payment for SaaS e-commerce can vary by provider, so organizations must run test models to determine what they'll be paying for SaaS e-commerce in the short term (less than three years) and the long term (greater than five years).

“SaaS e-commerce is a viable solution for some organizations, however, they must make that determination based on the SaaS vendor’s capability to meet their technical and functional requirements, and on the type of subscription payment model that’s offered,” said Mr. Alvarez. “Before pursuing SaaS for e-commerce, organizations should develop a SaaS strategy that accounts for the scoping, evaluation, selection, operation and different architectures or SaaS solutions, as well as determines the organizations comfort level in leveraging externally provided IT applications.”

Brokerage IT Spending Tepid, 8/04/08

The cyclical nature of broker-dealer IT expenditure is once again in the spotlight as the credit crisis is set to pull large brokerages down for another several quarters. Celent projects that brokerage IT spending in North America for 2008-2011 will move forward at a tepid compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.3 percent, down significantly from a CAGR of 8.5 percent during the previous cycle.

Originally seen as a minor bump in the road, the credit crisis has now resulted in three consecutive quarters of write-downs reaching almost 150 billion. According to Oliver Wyman, there is more to come, as projections show that continued softening of the markets is likely to persist for at least another six quarters. Based on historical data, brokerage IT spending and headcounts have been correspondingly cut when times are bad, and boosted when times are good. Mitigating factors in this cyclical relationship are the specificity of markets directly affected and the growing strategic alignment of IT within business units.

“The trend seems to be that the closer the firms are to the subprime flame, the bigger and possibly longer the IT spending priority adjustments,” says Chermaine Lee, analyst with Celent's Securities & Investments group and co-author of the report.

Although brokerage IT priorities seem clear in the long run, the current market and economic volatility have been a cause for concern among CIOs and business unit managers. To combat the expected hit on revenue and profits, brokerages are adjusting their technological priorities in the short run. Areas like risk management, compliance, and portfolio valuation continue to be high on the IT list. Moreover, while brokerages have long been bolstering their front office execution capabilities, recent attention appears to be shifting to back and middle office operational efficiency projects rather than growth plans.

“In line with moderate expectations for growth and a decreased appetite for grandiose IT projects, operational efficiency and cost-reducing initiatives will be the centerpiece of many brokerage firms’ IT plans,” says David Easthope, senior analyst with Celent's Securities & Investments group and co-author of the report.

Despite the weakened environment, however, long-term IT priorities remain largely the same. With IT becoming more of a strategic driver, technological priorities tend to be more recession-proof. However, to be well positioned for the short and long term, IT vendors will have to meet the sell side’s needs for cost-efficient and flexible services and systems in these lean times.

Contactless Payment Cards Will Lead To Mobile Payments, 8/04/08

Javelin Strategy & Research, just released new findings about how contactless technology will become mainstream for payment card transactions. In a report titled: Contactless Strategy & Forecast, Javelin highlights how the promotion of non-network payment products will drive acceptance, thwart competition and pave the path for what card networks and issuers consider to be the eventual goal—mobile payments. In turn, the technologies and strategies described in the report will lead to radical changes in personal finance for every consumer, merchant and financial institution.

“Tap-and-go contactless payments will pave the way for cell phones and handheld computers to become “electronic wallets,” packed with consumers’ payment and merchant cards, coupon offers, even medical records, family pictures and more,” said Javelin’s Founder and President, James Van Dyke. “But consumers won’t benefit until the primary players—card networks, financial institutions, mobile carriers, merchants and handset manufacturers—work together toward a unified, simple solution that lets everyone win.’’

Javelin’s latest research shows that progress is slowed because there isn’t sufficient incentive for merchants and wireless carriers to make essential investments that will enable contactless infrastructure development and the evolution to NFC-based (Near Field Communications) mobile payments. If industry-wide cooperation occurs, Javelin’s projects that 57 million consumers will be using chip-embedded credit cards to make contactless payments by 2013, which is more than double the 24.8 million in 2008 and will be bolstered primarily by expansion of contactless products into gift cards and private label cards.

Momentum is occurring as significant subsidies from card networks spur progress with fast-food restaurants, stadium concessionaires, convenience stores, and gas stations. But such efforts are insufficient to serve as the catalyst for broad adoption of mobile payments and the projected 57 million consumer users could slip substantially—to a comparatively stagnant 34 million—if card networks fail to take recommended steps outlined in the report.

Card networks must create acceptance among merchants and migration among wireless carriers with a step-by-step contactless-to-mobile conversion strategy that builds on consumers needs for simplicity, integrated financial management, and control. “To drive the next phase of contactless payments, card networks must help merchants create competitive, desirable products: closed loop gift cards and private label cards,” say Bruce Cundiff, director of Payments Research and Consulting at Javelin. “This will create a robust contactless infrastructure, hinder the development of products and networks from threatening powerhouses such as PayPal and Google, and spur wireless carriers to push the spread of NFC technology.”

Three Out of Four Consumers Cling To Paper Statements, 8/04/08

A new report released today by Javelin Strategy & Research found that although most consumers expressed an interest in adopting green banking behaviors, three out of four consumers still receive paper statements. According to Javelin, if every U.S. household stopped receiving paper bills and statements, 687,000 tons of paper would be saved every year – enough to circle the Earth 239 times.

“Green banking clearly has a direct, positive effect on the environment, but the benefits go much further, reaching into security and cost,” said Jim Van Dyke, president of Javelin Strategy & Research. “Banks will save money every time a customer switches to electronic statements and transactions, and consumers significantly reduce their risk of becoming a victim of identity fraud by going paperless and using online banking services – everybody wins.”

While environmental issues have grown in importance with bank customers, green banking habits have yet to take hold. The report finds that this is largely because consumers are not aware of how they can make a difference and financial institutions have yet to find incentives that compel customers to participate.

“Most consumers want to do the right thing, but if the process appears confusing or inconvenient, they simply aren’t going to bother changing their banking habits,” said Mark Schwanhausser, research analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. “In many ways, it’s up to banks to influence consumers. They must offer tangible, compelling ‘green’ options and make them as simple as screwing in a CFL bulb.”

Banks Must Deliver New Approaches For The Unbanked, 8/04/08

More than 100 million consumers living in the United States today are considered "unbanked," "underbanked," or credit underserved, and often rely heavily on nonbank providers of financial services to conduct their financial transactions. Despite various regulations enacted to provide banking services to a broader range of consumers, many financial services institutions fail to offer the products needed by this significant portion of the U.S. population and bring them into the mainstream banking system.

New research from TowerGroup finds that traditional financial institutions must focus more attention on creating the right products for financially underserved consumers - given that existing products do not meet the needs of this population nor helps institutions win additional market share in this category. Institutions cannot simply strip down products designed for more affluent or mainstream American markets. They must make a full-scale evaluation of various segments of the underserved market and address these customers' unique needs, preferences, and economic circumstances.

While banking institutions may be largely absent in serving these markets, consumers are not without options. In addition to Community Financial Centers and Financial Service Centers, a new wave of providers such as retailers offering financial products (H&R Block, Wal-Mart) and online providers (peer-to-peer lenders) are working to fill the gap. The traditional banks will have to compete with the increasing number of providers who serve these markets and have developed large and profitable networks.

TowerGroup believes the most challenging aspect of serving unbanked, underbanked, and credit underserved consumers is defining and identifying the different segments of the market. The majority of the individuals in the unbanked sector - many of which have a distrust of the banking system - rely heavily on a cash-based economy, generating few to none of the records used in traditional credit reporting. Consumers who are more easily identifiable are those with thin credit files or "subprime" consumers with unfavorable credit profiles. They also tend to fall into the undeserved market due to their inability to secure loans and other banking services stemming from both their lack of credit history or negative history upon which an institution would make a lending decision.

KODAK Scan Station 120EX Integrated With docSTAR, 7/31/08

Combining networked scanning with effective software provides companies a convenient way to improve how businesses can use scanned documents with full featured document management systems to securely organize, store and retrieve information quickly. Kodak and docSTAR announce the integration of docSTAR’s document management software with the KODAK Scan Station 120EX networked scanner, a combination that will enhance information security, retrieval and organization, the companies say.

“More businesses are incorporating document capture and management into existing workflow processes. It’s important that these applications are flexible, quickly connectable and functional to offer the best solution for their needs," said Roger Markham, Marketing Manager for Distributed Capture, United States & Canada, Document Imaging, Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. "The Scan Station 120EX expands the circle of choice and simplifies the use of distributed scanning technologies available to customers by directly integrating third party software.”

The Scan Station 120EX is a specially configured version of the commercially available KODAK Scan Station 100 networked scanner. It is designed to give independent software vendors direct installation capability for their software and provide customers with an enhanced document capture solution.

“Pairing our software with the Scan Station provides customers with the ability to choose from multiple options for filing preferences at point of capture as well as providing options to configure applications that help to optimize work processes,” said Greg Laird, Marketing Director, docSTAR.

Kodak And Datacap Offer A Desktop Based Solution, 7/31/08

Businesses continue to develop new ways to strengthen their overall efficiency to get out from under the weight of paper documents. A new solution offered from Kodak and Datacap provides businesses with a desktop solution that helps manage information from various sources. The KODAK Scan Station 120EX used with DATACAP TASKMASTER Software securely organizes and stores information helping businesses reduce errors and maximize business productivity.

Integrating the Scan Station 120EX with TASKMASTER Software improves accessibility to critical information from paper based documents, such as medical claims, tax returns and other unstructured forms, such as invoices and shipping bills. TASKMASTER Software is a flexible program that can manage electronic files, paper records, images, print streams and email messages. Through the use of the Internet, companies can also access its information from virtually any location.

“One of the key requirements of a distributed capture application is ease of use because remote scanning is completed by people who are not specially trained for dealing with documents,” said Datacap CEO Scott Blau. “Pairing TASKMASTER Web Software with the Scan Station delivers the benefits of batch scanning for forms processing at the touch of a button.”

“More businesses are incorporating document capture and management into existing workflow processes. It’s important that these applications are flexible, quickly connectable and functional to offer the best solution for their needs,” said Roger Markham, Marketing Manager for Distributed Capture, United States & Canada, Document Imaging, Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group. “The Scan Station 120EX expands the circle of choice and simplifies the use of distributed scanning technologies available to customers by directly integrating third party software.”

Crooks Testing Online Vulnerabilities, 7/31/08

IBM’s X-Force 2008 Midyear Trend Statistics report indicates that cyber-criminals are adopting new automation techniques and strategies that allow them to exploit vulnerabilities much faster than ever before. The new tools are being implemented on the Internet by organized criminal elements, and at the same time public exploit code published by researchers are putting more systems, databases and ultimately, people at risk of compromise.

According to the X-Force report, 94 percent of all browser-related online exploits occurred within 24 hours of official vulnerability disclosure. These attacks, known-as "zero-day" exploits, are on the Internet before people even know they have a vulnerability that needs to be patched in their systems.

This phenomenon is being driven by sophisticated cyber-criminals' adoption and evolution of automated tools for creating and delivering exploit tools, as well as the lack of a set protocol for disclosing vulnerabilities in the research industry. The practice of disclosing exploit code along with a security advisory has been the accepted practice for many security researchers.

However, according to the X-Force report, vulnerabilities disclosed by independent researchers are twice as likely to have zero-day exploit code published, calling into question how researchers practice vulnerability disclosure and signifying the need for a new standard in the industry.

"The two major themes in the first half of 2008 were acceleration and proliferation," said X-Force Operations Manager Kris Lamb. "We see a considerable acceleration in the time a vulnerability is disclosed to when it is exploited, with an accompanying proliferation of vulnerabilities overall. Without a unified process for disclosing vulnerabilities, the research industry runs the risk of actually fueling online criminal activity. There's a reason why X-Force doesn't publish exploit code for the vulnerabilities we have found, and perhaps it is time for others in our field to reconsider this practice."

Key findings from the X-Force report include:

… Browser plug-ins are the newest target-of-choice. The threat landscape has evolved from the operating system to the Web browser to browser plug- ins. In the first six months of 2008, roughly 78 percent of web browser exploits targeted browser plug-ins.

… One-off manual attacks are growing into massive automated attacks. More than half of all vulnerability disclosures were related to web server applications. Structured Query Language (SQL) injection vulnerabilities, in particular, jumped from 25 percent in 2007 to 41 percent of all web server application vulnerabilities in the first half of 2008, and corresponded with a rash of automated attacks that compromised servers in an effort to compromise more endpoint systems.

… Spammers go back to basics. The complex spam of 2007 (image-based spam, file attachment spam, etc.) has almost disappeared and now spammers are using simple URL spam. This spam generally consists of a few simple words and a URL, making it difficult for spam filters to detect. Approximately 90 percent of spam is now URL spam.

… Russia continues to be origin of most spam. Russia is responsible for 11 percent of the world's spam followed by Turkey with 8 percent and then the United States with 7.1 percent.

… Online gamers are targets. As online games and virtual communities continue to gain popularity, they are becoming an enticing target for cyber- criminals. The X-Force report indicates that the top four password-stealing Trojans were all aimed at gamers. The goal is to steal gamers' virtual assets selling them for real money in online market places.

… Financial institutions remain key targets for phishers. All but two of the top 20 phishing targets were financial institutions.

… Secure virtualization grows in importance. Virtualization-related vulnerability disclosures have tripled since 2006 and are likely to increase as virtualized environments become more widespread.

Umpqua Bank Selects Online Solution, 7/31/08

Umpqua Bank (NASDAQ:UMPQ), an $8.3 billion bank headquartered in Roseburg, OR, selected Fiserv to provide next-generation online banking and payment services to its more than 250,000 customers.

Umpqua, which has been using CheckFree Web RXP for billing and bill payment services for seven years, will expand its partnership with Fiserv by adding Corillian Consumer Banking, Corillian Family Banking and Corillian Personal Money Manager solutions as part of a strategic initiative to enhance its overall online user experience. The bank's relationship with Fiserv began back in 1990, when they first licensed the Premier core system from another Fiserv business unit, Information Technology Inc., (ITI). The bank also uses Fiserv EFT for debit card and ATM services.

"Umpqua prides itself on bringing innovation into the customer experience, whether in our stores or online," said Ric Carey, executive vice president, Retail Banking, Umpqua. "By partnering with Fiserv, we're creating a next-generation online environment that will enable the bank to drive greater customer acquisition, retention and profitability through this increasingly efficient channel."

Umpqua selected Corillian Consumer Banking for its technology, depth of functionality and industry best practices. Tight integration between Corillian Consumer Banking and CheckFree's Web RXP billing and payment service, will enable Umpqua to provide its customers with an advanced online user experience that simplifies overall enrollment and drives overall usage of all of its online services. This integration will also increase the number of cross-sell opportunities and profit-per-customer that the bank derives through the online channel. The new solution replaces an existing online banking solution in use at the bank since 2004.

Umpqua also chose Corillian Family Banking and Corillian Personal Money Manager to provide their customers with the flexibility to manage their accounts according to the needs of the individual customer. Corillian Family Banking is a holistic financial management solution allowing users to securely grant access to family members and other joint account holders, as well as third parties, to more effectively manage their finances. Corillian Personal Money Manager is an innovative personal financial management solution with enhanced transaction reporting and analysis capabilities as well as expanded online access to account history, online reporting and tracking.

Hosted in an American Institute of CPA quality-certified data center, Corillian Consumer Banking will enable Umpqua to offer an analyst-certified industry-leading online banking service to its customers, while also maintaining the ability to tailor the site with flexible configuration. This will enable Umpqua to improve its online banking effectiveness and further differentiate the financial institution as it meets the growing needs of its customers.

Execs Overestimate Firms’ Ability to Achieve Goals, 7/29/08

Recently completed research from Unisys Corporation, involving 1,200 organizations worldwide, shows significant gaps between executives’ business and IT goals and their estimation of their organizations’ ability to achieve those objectives. Those gaps indicate that executives are not getting the most from their business initiatives and information technology (IT) investments, and need new approaches to modernize their business processes, strategic applications and IT infrastructures to address their core business challenges.

“Too many IT executives are in a budgetary straitjacket imposed by constricted notions of how IT can support business,” said Dominick Cavuoto, vice president, Global Industries and Worldwide Strategic Services, Unisys. “They’re spending 80 percent of their IT budget on infrastructure maintenance and funding innovation only as an afterthought. These strictures have been imposed largely by outmoded views of IT as a cost center, not an investment.”

Research Reveals Fissures between Aspiration and Execution
The double-blind Unisys study, which provides baseline information for the Unisys Modernization Benchmark, surveyed 1,200 business and IT executives in organizations worldwide. When asked to state their most important business objectives, the respondents to the Unisys study uniformly placed priority on customer-focused and customer-dependent goals, such as acquiring new customers, building closer relationships with existing customers, developing new products and services, growing sales and revenue and reaching new markets.

Those executive respondents identified 10 capabilities – nearly all dealing with information and IT investments – that they believed were critical to achieving those business objectives. The capabilities included ability to support innovation, IT management practices, strategic decision-making, approach to IT investment, communications (information flow within and between organizations), IT sourcing model and IT security model.

Each executive was asked to rate where their organization stands today in capability to execute in each area and where they expect the organization to be in the next three years. In each case executive ratings indicated a significant gap between their current readiness and expected performance. For example:

… 62 percent of respondents expect that they will encourage innovation or be market leaders at supporting it within three years. Yet 70 percent say that currently they have no support for innovation, or their capability is only evolving or moderate;

… In describing IT management practices, 52 percent of respondents expect to treat IT as an investment or differentiator in three years, yet 72 percent say that they currently treat it as a support function, a means to enhance productivity or a capital expense;

… 67 percent of respondents expect to have integrated, collaborative communications with critical stakeholders within three years, yet only 32 percent say they have such a capability now;

… While only 51 percent of respondents have a formal, mature IT sourcing strategy and model today, 75 percent expect to have one in three years;

… 60 percent of respondents currently rate their security model as non-existent, limited or moderate, yet 75 percent expect their security model to be state-of-the-art in three years.

IBM Targets Corporate Finance Function, 7/29/08

IBM is introducing an analytical financial transformation tool to help companies more effectively analyze and manage the performance of a company's finance function. Developed by IBM Research in conjunction with IBM Global Business Services, the Finance Transformation Workbench tool uses advanced IBM patented software and service methodologies to help Chief Financial Officers and other senior finance executives identify underperforming finance functions within their company and identify new opportunities to transform and improve the finance function.

Analysis has shown that traditional methods that companies employ to improve their finance functions are often lacking in their ability to effectively and accurately identify exactly where pain points and redundancies occur within the finance organization. Finance functions need to have access to key metrics and benchmarks in order for companies to gain optimal financial performance. CFOs and other senior finance executives need to have simple and standardized finance processes to make fact-based decisions reduce finance costs and effectively partner with business units to enhance growth opportunities through integrated reporting and analytical capabilities.

According to the recent 2008 IBM Global CFO Study, one-third of CFOs and senior finance executives stated they are ineffective at measuring and monitoring business performance. The study of 1,200 CFOs suggests that current financial management models lack the effectiveness and flexibility to accommodate the needs of global enterprises. The Financial Transformation Workbench tool has been designed to address the CFO agenda and help improve effectiveness of the finance function.

"CFOs need quick access to the truth, they need process and data commonality through enterprise standards to achieve higher levels of efficacy," said William Fuessler, Global Financial Management Leader, IBM Global Business Services. "The delay in understanding the true state of the business can mean the difference between profitability and lost growth potential. The Finance Transformation Workbench tool is yet another example of IBM's high-value services proposition which automates labor-based process and uses our Intellectual Property (IP) to create repeatable software-like assets."

IBM's Financial Management practice part of IBM Global Business Services, developed the Finance Transformation Workbench tool to help company's address key challenges in financial processes and data collection. By using this tool, companies can diagnose and develop specific opportunities to improve an organization's finance function and ultimately the performance of the overall company. CFOs can examine which finance functions and components are underperforming in comparison to industry benchmark measures and the reasons why they are not performing effectively.

Specifically, the Finance Workbench tool can:

… Analyze business performance

… Identify underperforming finance functions and components

… Identify transformation opportunities

… Assess the business value of finance function transformation initiatives

… Visualize linkages to various enterprise models

… Pre-populate finance function benchmark data and process taxonomies

… Leverage Finance Function best practices and methodologies

… Focus on increasing revenues and reducing costs

From an organizational and financial systems perspective, by investigating the organizational responsibilities and IT application portfolio in relation to business components, shortfalls such as duplications, over-extensions, gaps and deficiencies can be identified, IBM said.

The Bankers Bank Uses Hosted Image Exchange Solution, 7/29/08

The Bankers Bank (TBB) and its regional community client banks have begun live processing with X9 Express Direct, the new Web-based, hosted service from Endpoint Exchange LLC for X9.37 check image exchange and file transfer.

TBB, headquartered in Oklahoma City, handles correspondent banking services for over 240 banks throughout the region. For the past 22 years, TBB has invested in technology and innovation to help community banks run their back-office and IT operations with the most advanced products and competitive pricing. These strategic investments now include check image exchange services.

On May 8, 2008, TBB and several of its client banks began live processing with the new Endpoint Exchange X9 Express Direct hosted check image exchange and file transfer service. X9 Express Direct provides TBB and its community banks with a safe, convenient, low-cost point of entry for check image exchange services via a secure File Transfer Protocol (FTP).

“As a hosted solution, Endpoint Exchange X9 Express Direct delivers ease of deployment with no dedicated client station or VPN router needed on-site at the bank,” said Mark Keeling, chief operating officer, The Bankers Bank. “This creates a very economical image exchange entry point for TBB and our correspondent banks across Oklahoma.”

“We have seen an increasing demand for cost-efficient and easy-to-deploy image exchange services from community banks across the country,” said Jim Fancher, general manager, Endpoint Exchange, LLC, a Metavante company. “Endpoint Exchange X9 Express Direct delivers the infrastructure for cost-efficient connectivity and business continuity for check image exchange to the community banking market, all within a hosted, Web-based package.”

Hyland Software Partners With TeraMedica, 7/29/08

Hyland’s OnBase solution integrated with TeraMedica's Evercore solution allows physicians to instantly access medical images such as X-rays and MRI scans or Cardiology exams, as well as other types of clinical digital content such as electronic reports. All of the clinical content is accessed by the physician through the existing electronic medical record (EMR) system. This creates a single point of access for all electronic health information, both data and images.

“This partnership delivers a unique enterprise approach in providing a comprehensive clinical view to the resident EMR system. By enabling caregivers to easily view and share medical data, together Hyland and TeraMedica can help raise the standard of medical care,” said TeraMedica CEO Jim Prekop.

The joint solution provides caregivers and patients with timely access to up-to-date and relevant patient information, ultimately improving patient safety and care while increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

Bluepoint Solutions Acquires Avalon International, 7/29/08

Bluepoint Solutions, Inc. has acquired Avalon International, located in Norcross, GA. Avalon International will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bluepoint Solutions. Further terms of the agreement were not announced.

“This acquisition unites two industry innovators currently delivering feature-rich software technology solutions to financial institutions,” says Naseer Nasim, CEO of Bluepoint Solutions. “Our clients have asked us for an end-to-end image based Check 21 capture and item processing solution. With this acquisition, our combined solution offers the most comprehensive next generation suite of image-enabled products to the industry.”

“The transition to the combined operations will be seamless for current clients,” says Seth Narayanan, CEO of Avalon International. “Leveraging the strengths of our combined companies positions us to remain focused on our clients’ needs and provides new opportunities to better serve our clients and further support our commitment to delivering the most advanced technology and a superior customer experience.”

Department Speeds Workflow With Digital Signatures, 7/29/08

The South Carolina Department of Mental Health (SCDMH) has implemented the CoSign digital signature solution from ARX (Algorithmic Research), streamlining workflows and advancing medical processes by moving toward a paperless office.

More than 9,500 forms are generated to document the hundreds of medical procedures that are being performed each day throughout the 17 SCDMH medical facilities. These forms require signatures from both the healthcare professionals and their patients. Previous to the deployment of CoSign's digital signature solution, each form was printed out and signed by hand. As such, the SCDMH workflow was paper heavy and required the physical archiving of hundreds of thousands of documents each year. The processes' extensive costs in paper and time led the organization to implement an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system and the CoSign's digital signature solution, in order to expedite the workflow and complete their paperless cycle.

According to Rick Widdifield, Project Manager at SCDMH, "The vast amount of paper reduction the CoSign digital solution brought about can't be overstated in terms of how it advanced our workflow. As we move to implement CoSign at all 17 facilities, we expect to eliminate printing more than 2,850,000 documents each year."

Implementing the EMR system and CoSign’s digital signature solution at all of the SCDMH locations will eliminate the printing and signing of close to 10,000 documents each day. In the four healthcare facilities currently using CoSign, the migration to a paperless workflow has reduced the processing time by days. Paper-related expenses have been reduced by thousands of dollars. In conjunction with the implementation of CoSign, the organization has also employed numerous "point of service" signing pad locations. These locations allow patients to electronically sign documents, which healthcare employees can then verify with their own digital signatures, further alleviating SCDMH from having to reintroduce paper documents into the workflow for signing purposes.

"SCDMH's implementation of CoSign emphasizes the marketplace's increasing recognition of the benefits that the CoSign digital signature solution offers, including accelerated workflow processes and reduced workloads," said Rodd Schlerf, Sales Manager at ARX. Rodd added, "SCDMH's deployment also conveys the flexibility of the CoSign’s digital signature solution by highlighting its capacity to easily incorporate third-party elements using a signing pad."

WAUSAU Touts Corporate Capture, 7/29/08

WAUSAU Financial Systems (WFS) announced that its wholesale lockbox solution, called integraPAY, now accepts corporate payments captured remotely using WAUSAU Financial Systems’ WebDDL solution.

“With integraPAY’s new capability to integrate wholesale payments captured via WebDDL, our customers can offer their lockbox customers an affordable alternative to capture payments at their local business. Data and images captured at the corporate site are uploaded for processing and consolidated back-end reporting,” according to Kathy Strasser, Senior Vice President – Remittance and Enterprise Content Management Solutions for WAUSAU Financial Systems.

Handling “stranded payments” – payments received at the customer site versus the lockbox processing site – is expensive for the lockbox owner. Often, stranded payments are sent via courier or mail using overnight shipping to the lockbox for processing. Now with a small footprint, low-cost scanner, and a PC with an Internet connection, commercial bank customers can capture wholesale payments and corresponding documents, and upload them to the integraPAY database at their lockbox provider. Among other benefits, this saves time, reduces undesirable mail/check float, accelerates deposits and funds availability.

“Incorporating WebDDL remote capture capabilities into integraPAY is a continuation of WAUSAU Financial Systems’ integration strategy for our industry-leading remittance solutions. WAUSAU Financial Systems’ customers now have the flexibility to offer their commercial lockbox customers a consolidated view of receivables - deposits, images and related information - captured in wholesale lockbox, retail lockbox, or through corporate capture. No one else in the industry offers this today,” Strasser added.

Check Volumes Will Drop to 17.9 Billion by 2009, 7/28/08

Paper checks are in decline, but they remain an important part of the US payments landscape, primarily because of the continued challenges in making and receiving electronic business-to-business (B2B) payments. New research from TowerGroup finds that while the rapid adoption of electronic payments is driven by the desire of payers (both businesses and consumers) for faster, easier, and more efficient ways to make purchases and pay bills, B2B payments remain the last bastion of checks – making up nearly 60 percent of US check dollar value. These persistent challenges in making and receiving electronic payments are a main reason why average US check values are increasing faster than any other payment type, even as the numbers of checks themselves decline.

TowerGroup expects check volumes to decline to 17.9 billion transactions by the end of 2009 as consumers, businesses, and government entities increasingly make and accept electronic payments. However, TowerGroup believes that checks will remain an important and increasingly high-value part of the US payments landscape until all potential payees are willing and able to receive electronic payments – and until checks become too expensive for banks to process on a regular basis, as shrinking volumes drive up per-unit processing costs. TowerGroup’s new research is based on its own the findings as well as those from the 2007 Federal Reserve Payments Study.

“As check volumes continue to decline due to consumer and business demand to simplify payments processes, financial services institutions must work to make it easier for companies to process and receive electronic payments,” said Andrew Schmidt, research director at TowerGroup. “Until electronic payments become more readily accepted by all businesses, checks will remain the most frequently used noncash payment type in the US.”

Highlights of the research include:

… Checks have lost their long-held dominance of the payments market, shrinking from a 46 percent share of total US payment volume in 2003 to 31 percent in 2006. A graphic that depicts this shift can be seen and downloaded here: www.towergroup.com/research/content/page.jsp?pageId=3462):

… The continued growth in the use of online bill payment solutions and the increased acceptance of debit at the point of sale are the main factors driving down check volume.

… Online bill payment increased at a compound annual growth rate of 29.6 percent from 2005 to 2007, and TowerGroup believes it will continue to grow through 2012 – albeit at the lower compound rate of 18.7 percent.

… TowerGroup expects that the combination of payment migration to debit and the use of Automated Clearing House (ACH) for smaller-dollar items – alongside the ongoing use of checks for larger purchases – will drive the average check value ever higher over time.

JPMorgan Opens Asian Image Deposit Centers, 7/24/08

JPMorgan opened two new International Image Deposit Centers in Taipei and Bangkok, bringing the total number of image centers to 14. The new centers will extend JPMorgan’s ability to allow its financial institution clients to clear their U.S. dollar cash letters and lower check transportation costs, all without changing their cash letter operations.

The Taipei and Bangkok International Image Deposit Centers join 12 other JPMorgan Centers outside the United States that allow financial institutions to initiate their cash letter processing. JPMorgan unveiled its inaugural International Image Deposit Center in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2005. Two more centers are scheduled to open later this year in Pakistan and Jakarta. The firm continues to explore other markets to establish image deposit centers as part of its goal to grow its global offerings to clients.

JPMorgan says it was the first global treasury management services provider to establish image deposit centers in local markets around the world. The Taipei and Bangkok locations join centers located in Bournemouth, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Madrid, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Zurich.

The Taipei and Bangkok centers will further extend the ability for financial institutions in Asia to streamline their check clearing processes, alleviating worries over weather delays or loss due to customs inspections.

Credit Union Selects Core Processing Platform, 7/24/08

Los Angeles Firemen’s Credit Union (LAFCU), based in Los Angeles, Calif., selected Open Solutions Inc.’s latest version of its relational core data processing platform -- The Complete Credit Union Solution: DNA to address its enterprise-wide data processing needs.

With more than $800 million in assets, LAFCU has more than 26,000 member accounts and serves professional firefighters and their families throughout the state of California. The credit union cited Open Solutions’ flexible, open architecture as a key factor in selecting the solution.

“Open Solutions’ platform was simply the best fit because of its ability to support our on-going efforts in providing tailored services to our members,” said George Kings, vice president, Information Systems for LAFCU. “Additionally, TCCUS: DNA will give us the flexibility to not only support us now, but in the future.”

During the two-year vendor selection process, LAFCU’s entire institution participated in the final decision. “The decision was organizationally-driven. We work as a team, and we wanted everyone involved to ensure we made the best decision possible for our institution and for our members,” said Kings.

In addition to The Complete Credit Union Solution: DNA data processing platform, LAFCU will also implement Open Solutions’ full cView™ CRM suite, the Financial Accounting Suite, the loan origination system and telephone/VRU.

According to Mike Mastro, president/CEO for LAFCU, “By partnering with Open Solutions, we expect to expand our member services. We have an immense respect for the firefighters of California and regard them as friends and family. Open Solutions’ flexible, adaptable platform corresponds with our innovative efforts to enhance our members’ financial lives, and we are excited to work with Open Solutions moving forward.”

VeriFone Wins USPS Contract, 7/24/08

VeriFone Holdings, Inc. won a multi-year contract valued at up to $10 million to provide the U.S. Postal Service with electronic payment solutions for use across the U.S.

VeriFone will provide the Vx 570 countertop payment solution with dual communications capabilities to provide both traditional dial modem and Internet-based connectivity for 18,000-20,000 customer windows. The countertop solution will include the PINpad 1000SE for debit card PINs and the company will also provide thousands of the VeriFone Vx 610 portable powerhouse, including both CDMA and GPRS versions, for mobile, remote and disaster recovery purposes.

“This is a tremendous affirmation of VeriFone’s capabilities as the premier electronic payment solutions provider and one of the most significant competitive wins of the year worldwide,” said Bud Waller, VeriFone executive vice president, Integrated Solutions.

VeriFone’s payment platforms provide the USPS with PCI PED (Payment Card Industry PIN Entry Device) support and conform to the most stringent security standards around the world. VeriFone will develop a customer interface to a payment gateway that the U.S. Postal Service will operate to ensure it has access to the lowest cost credit and debit processing services.

VeriFone payment card acceptance systems will provide USPS customers with fast and secure processing of credit and both PIN debit and signature debit payments. The wireless Vx 610 will enable the USPS to set up remote promotions where phone lines and Internet connections are unavailable and will provide back-up capabilities in the event of a disaster that interrupts local phone services.

KeyMark Partners with KnowledgeLake, 7/24/08

KeyMark Inc, based in Liberty, SC, is partnering with KnowledgeLake, Inc. to bring Microsoft SharePoint integration capabilities to their customers.

KeyMark's solution with KnowledgeLake provides KeyMark customers the ability to implement a document management system on top of the SharePoint platform. KeyMark has a history selling high-end Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems, and now will be able to offer a SharePoint-based system that is straightforward, scalable and moderately priced.

SharePoint integration will be especially beneficial to the following industries; Healthcare, Finance, Government, Insurance and Higher Education. “This solution allows companies in our core industries to implement a document management strategy that is scalable and inexpensive,” stated KeyMark CEO Jim Wanner. “Companies are becoming more and more interested in SharePoint’s capabilities and with this partnership we will be able to utilize KnowledgeLake’s capture software to scan documents directly into the SharePoint document repository utilizing a familiar Microsoft Office interface.”

Richard P. McLoughlin Joins Fairfax Imaging, 7/21/08

Richard P. McLoughlin has joined the Fairfax Imaging, Inc. sales team as Vice President, Commercial Sales.

McLoughlin brings more than 25 years of business development experience of consultative selling in the document capture and imaging industry. During his career McLoughlin has worked extensively in consultative sales roles, developing products and services for financial, education, healthcare, government and other markets.

Prior to Fairfax Imaging, McLoughlin held key sales and management positions with REI/Plexus, Scan-Optics, Inc and most recently Document Conversion Associates.

McLoughlin is a current Commander in the US Coast Guard Reserve since 1979, and a member of the Teaching and Learning Advisory Council at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City.

West Virginia Selects New RP System, 7/21/08

The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office (WVSTO) awarded Fairfax Imaging, Inc. a contract to develop and maintain a full-featured remittance and forms processing solution. The system must process a variety of payment items and their accompanying documents. Fairfax Imaging will be the prime contractor for this project and will provide the development and integration for the entire solution.

Fairfax Imaging will install its award winning imaging and data-capture platform Quick Modules, which is scalable and can be tailored to meet the WVSTO’s requirements.

“The key elements of this solution must address not only a wide variety of payment items, but must satisfy unique storage, retrieval and legal requirements as well,” said Steve Chahal, COO of Fairfax Imaging. “Quick Modules’ versatility enables the Fairfax Imaging team to tailor our solution to meet these kinds of intricate business rules without adversely altering Quick Modules core software functionality.”

The WVSTO processes remittances for several customers in the state of West Virginia. Some of these customers have stringent requirements for how their data must be stored. Others must meet legal requirements for retention and permanent storage that includes optical write-once-read-many (WORM) capability. Finally, WVSTO must be able to retrieve optical WORM data in under five seconds.

“The WVSTO is charged with some of the most mission-critical and visible responsibilities of any State agency. To fully support these responsibilities, WVSTO must be on par with other such financial institutions in the government and private sectors,” Said Bill Merritts, vice president, Government Sales, Fairfax Imaging.

Such financial agencies require that electronic processing functions be backed up and secured with the latest proven architectures for storage, networking, and overall security of the system. To support these requirements, these architectural elements have been designed to secure the system and provide reliable recovery.

Fairfax Imaging assures the storage requirements by providing the Plasmon (LSE:PLM) optical storage device which will accommodate the WORM storage needs, meet the data and image retrieval speeds and satisfy State and Federal legal requirements for retention and image presentation. When the Plasmon optical storage appliance is stored at a separate facility, it can also provide the security and convenience of automated off-site backup and recovery. Fairfax Imaging, will accomplish the necessary throughput volume by providing OPEX Omation mail openers and IBML and NCR (NYSE:NCR) scanner transports along with multiple high-end Dell (NasdaqGS:DELL) servers clustered for redundancy.

The Fairfax Imaging solution will be able to process both remittance and full-page processing with the same suite of software. The solution will provide many options to WVSTO in terms of processing; for instance integrating the functionality of Accounts Receivable Check (ARC) and Check 21 to achieve the most economic and efficient use of both approaches.

Fairfax Imaging’s solution provides the WVSTO with a methodology combining ARC processing with Quick Modules’ Check 21 capability. For ARC processing, Quick Modules will incorporate US Dataworks’ (AMEX:UDW) Clearingworks product. The resulting solution captures an image of both sides of each check in a single pass operation.

For those items that cannot be processed using ARC, Check 21 creates an x9.37 file to hold the cash letter and images of checks to be deposited. Quick Modules then transmits the file electronically to WVSTO’s financial institutions. Both of these processes streamline the WVSTO operation, returning faster, more accurate deposits and eliminating the cost and time to ship paper checks to the bank for processing.

Siemens Offers NCR MediKiosk Solutions, 7/21/08

Siemens Healthcare and NCR Corporation are collaborating to offer NCR MediKiosk solutions to the Siemens customer base in North America.

As an authorized NCR reseller, Siemens will now offer the NCR MediKiosk, a self-service check-in solution that allows patients to identify themselves upon arrival at the facility, view and confirm demographic and insurance information, electronically sign consent documents and make co-payments.

“Today’s consumers are extremely tech-savvy and are already using self-service technologies in their daily lives, such as the self-checkout lines at the grocery store and automated check-in kiosks in airports and hotels,”said Marilyn Marchant, vice president, Foundation Enterprise Systems, Health Services, Siemens Healthcare. “This technology also makes sense for the healthcare industry and we are pleased to now be able to offer self-service solutions to our customers through our agreement with NCR. We anticipate that many benefits will be realized by our customers and their patients.”

Employing self-service technology helps healthcare organizations streamline the patient registration process, shorten wait times and reduce administrative costs by eliminating redundant and manual steps such as signature capture and forms scanning, as well as minimizing paper use. Hospitals, clinics and physician practices that deploy self-service can also improve revenue cycle management by reducing the number of denied claims and increasing collection of co-payments and account balances. All information entered by patients at check-in flows seamlessly to healthcare organizations’ health information systems or physician practice management systems, helping minimize the risk of error.

“The use of self-service kiosks in healthcare has been shown to reduce wait times up to 75 percent, while significantly improving patient care,” said NCR Vice President of Industry Marketing Bob Tramontano. “Working with Siemens extends NCR’s ability to improve the patient experience at every step of the healthcare process.”

U.S. Postal Service Selects NCR , 7/21/08

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) selected NCR Corporation as the exclusive provider of retail point-of-service (POS) hardware for thousands of postal counters across the United States.

Under the three-year, multimillion-dollar contract, the USPS will install NCR RealPOS 80XRT workstations at larger, high-traffic post office locations currently running the NCR POS ONE postal software solution. This solution from NCR, designed to deliver improved operational efficiencies and streamlined customer service, is expected to be installed beginning in the second half of 2008. NCR will also provide services, including help desk, project management and maintenance.

“This contract is an affirmation of the successful relationship NCR has shared since 1996 with the world’s largest postal service,” said Jim McMullen, president of NCR Government Systems, LLC. “NCR’s industry-leading solution is delivering dramatic improvements in performance and efficiency, enabling the USPS to better manage expenses while enhancing the customer experience.”

The NCR RealPOS 80XRT is NCR’s most advanced workstation. Coupled with the NCR POS ONE software, NCR’s solution allows the USPS to focus on accommodating customers with faster service and better information during visits to local post offices.

A Project Management Office Can Streamline IT, 7/21/08

IT organizations will be unable to meet rapidly changing business demands simply by working harder than they have in the past, according to Gartner Inc. Instead they need to embrace IT modernization as generations of technology, skills and expectations are inevitably replaced by the next ones.

Gartner defines IT modernization as the complete overhaul of the culture of IT with the specific goal of developing a portfolio of processes that will enable the IT delivery teams to close the gap on accelerating business demands.

“Effective IT modernization requires organization, and we believe that the concept of a project management office (PMO) or multiple project management offices is crucial to organize for, and facilitate IT modernization,” said Dale Vecchio, research vice president at Gartner.

According to Gartner, the creation of PMOs, combined with an investment in project and portfolio management (PPM) processes and technology, can provide enough organization, process definition and process automation to identify and address an expected increase and proliferation of IT artifacts needing retirement or replacement during the next five to seven years.

Investments in a PMO and in PPM as a work management discipline can help IT generate the visibility CIOs need to monitor network, telephony, server hardware, storage and system management portfolios, and make effective modernization decisions that funnel into strategic IT projects.

“A PMO can provide a common planning process with artifacts, a common reporting process and oversight and a common IT modernization process,” said Daniel Stang, principal research analyst at Gartner. “It brings structure and support to evaluating, justifying, defining, planning, tracking and executing IT modernization efforts. It also encourages more business-side participation in IT modernization efforts and in the resolution of conflicts caused by limited resources and other constraints.”

Gartner analysts said that moving the PMO outside of the IT organization promotes its independence, removes any perception of bias and encourages the planning of IT modernization efforts for the sake of the wider business and not solely for the sake of the IT organization. This positioning of an enterprise project management office (EPMO) — which plays more of a role in oversight and monitoring, and has no direct project management responsibilities — enables lower level managers to raise any portfolio issues related to IT modernization programs or projects with senior management.

Technology Will Play Key Role In Helping CFOs, 7/21/08

Technology will play a key role in helping chief financial officers (CFOs) deliver on an increasingly complex agenda and understand what drives corporate performance and value, according to Gartner Inc. However, increasing economic uncertainty means that the urgency to deliver this understanding is even greater, coupled with the need to reduce costs and optimize operating efficiency wherever possible.

Significantly restructuring finance operations can be challenging and many organizations are considering outsourcing some or all of their finance processes. Finance and accounting (F&A) business process outsourcing (BPO) is becoming increasingly commonplace. Although the market for outsourced finance and accounting services is beginning to mature, Gartner maintains that buyers are often not sufficiently organized prior to outsourcing to fully realize potential savings.

“What is often overlooked is the vast amount of work that needs to take place in advance of outsourcing in order for the outsourcer to support these finance processes effectively,” said Cathy Tornbohm, research vice president at Gartner. “It’s important to avoid losing precious time at the start of the initiative through lack of preparation and to be able to cost accurately the business and IT implications of the outsourcing endeavor.”

Tornbohm said that there are five common mistakes that organizations make when planning to adopt F&A BPO:

Mistake 1 — Providing insufficient funding for the internal sourcing management team
Many organizations fail to dedicate experienced staff to this initiative, leading to multiple problems in the early years of the deal. Gartner recommends creating a mixed discipline team comprising sourcing experts, IT and HR personnel and legal and operational members of the finance and procurement teams.

Mistake 2 — Not including the IT team in the early planning stages of the F&A outsourcing project or in the transition planning stages
The IT layer is often overlooked by the business process manager in terms of the overall impact on the organization’s IT and business intelligence strategies. Gartner advises the early inclusion of the IT team, including the software contracts manager as well as IT ERP and security specialists who can ensure that unnecessary delays in accessing internal systems are avoided.

Mistake 3 — Racing to issue an request for proposal (RFP) to learn about the market, instead of conducting research to learn about the market.
Gartner advises buyers to ask the BPO providers for clear guidance on how they will use the latest tools for automating F&A processes to enable the IT team to evaluate the different approaches. The best-practice use of sourcing and research consultants is also recommended together with gaining insight into the latest inshore and "nearshore" issues that have arisen.

Mistake 4 — Asking the BPO provider to monitor too many service-level agreements (SLAs)
The more mature adopters of F&A BPO have established fewer service-level agreements (SLAs) and not more than 15 key performance indicators (KPIs), even for complex work, making for more meaningful evaluation of providers. The CIO's team can help the CFO’s team to prioritize which SLAs to focus on how to blend these with KPIs.

Mistake 5 — Failing to get sufficient acceptance and collaboration for a project from business divisions and country locations — at the financial and technical support levels — and by the inability to obtain documentation about existing process activities.
Integration with existing processes must be costed-out and agreed with the provider in advance. The CIO and team should be in a position to help the business make the optimal decision to pursue an internally managed shared-service center or outsource to a business process provider.

“We strongly advocate a joint approach by finance leaders and the CIO to ensure that BPO deals are successful,” said Tornbohm. “Having an IT strategy that supports the whole organization is vital and the CIO can help the CFO’s team to avoid common mistakes as well as taking proactive steps to ensure that team members are well briefed about all the technical and outsourcing implications at the start of the process and, indeed, whether the process is suitable and ready for outsourcing.”

Security Delivered As A Cloud-Based Service, 7/21/08

Security applications delivered as cloud-based services will have a dramatic impact on the industry, as many cloud-based services will more than triple in many security segments, according to Gartner, Inc.

In messaging security controls, such as malware and spam detection/exclusion for e-mail and instant messaging, cloud-based services account for 20 percent of revenue in 2008, and by 2013 cloud-based services in messaging security controls will account for 60 percent of revenue.

Cloud computing will enable security controls and functions to be delivered in new ways and by new types of service providers. It will also enable enterprises to use security technologies and techniques that are not otherwise cost-effective.

Gartner defines cloud computing as a style of computing where massively scalable IT-related capabilities are provided "as a service" using Internet technologies to multiple external customers.

"The ability to provide massively scalable processing, storage and bandwidth inherent in cloud computing will require security controls and functions to be delivered to customers in new ways and by new service providers," said Kelly Kavanagh, principal analyst at Gartner. "It also will allow security technologies and techniques that are cost-effective to be used only with cloud-style computing. The massively scalable resources provided through the cloud also will be available to people who develop attacks that require intense processing, pursue cloud providers, or both."

Gartner said that the increase in use of cloud-based services, such as salesforce.com or Google Apps, means that many mobile IT users will be accessing business data and services without traversing the corporate network. This will increase the need for enterprises to place security controls between mobile users and cloud-based services.

"Although perimeter security controls will be required to protect the remaining data center functions and the large portions of enterprise populations that are not mobile, new approaches will be needed to secure cloud-based IT services," said John Pescatore, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "One answer will be cloud-enabled security 'proxies' whereby all access to approved cloud-based IT services will be required to flow through cloud-based security services that enforce authentication, data loss prevention, intrusion prevention, network access control, vulnerability management and so on."

Another feature of cloud-enabled computing will be the ability to obtain more enterprise security controls or functions on demand. Enterprises often struggle to justify the expense of security controls or functions that are needed to respond to unanticipated or infrequent events. Cloud computing, however, can make these types of services available at short notice, at the scale appropriate to address the threat.

Cloud-style computing will also enable more vendors to offer their security products as a service and quickly match the IT service delivery infrastructure — such as bandwidth, storage and processing — to the demand for their as-a-service delivery. Some security functions — such as vulnerability scanning, security event and information management, and log management — require the technology provider to make substantial infrastructure developments to deliver security as a service. However, cloud computing will enable the provider to scale delivery resources in line with customer demand, lowering the entry barriers to the security service market.

However, Pescatore said that the use of peer-to-peer in-the-cloud computing will also make enterprises more vulnerable to some security risks by reducing the cost of brute force attacks. "Inexpensive cloud-based processing will make it easier and cheaper to break encryption keys or find vulnerabilities in software, and financially motivated criminals will certainly seek to take advantage of that," he said. "Enterprises will need to prioritize the adoption of encryption technologies that provide easy movement to longer keys."

According to Kavanagh, as cloud-based security services emerge, some enterprises and providers will succeed, while others may miss the mark. The winners will be trusted security brands that can extend their products and services to assess and validate the security controls of cloud-style infrastructure and IT function providers, as well as security service providers that can implement and manage security controls for IT "cloud-style." He said that enterprises that use cloud-based security services to reduce the cost of security controls and to address the new security challenges that cloud-based computing will bring are most likely to prosper.

Bankers Should Explore Relationship-Based Pricing, 7/21/08

In the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis, banks are facing substantial profitability declines. US commercial bank net income fell almost 40 percent from Q1 2007 to Q1 2008 . New research from TowerGroup notes that current financial pressures underscore the importance of setting prices for new and renewing business that provide banks with sufficient profit, while still sustaining the customer relationship.

Too often, wholesale banking product pricing is either negotiated or market-driven, with little attention paid to profitability. TowerGroup believes that what it terms "relationship-based profitability and pricing" solutions can help a bank ensure that its pricing meets its profitability goals while retaining valuable customers. TowerGroup defines relationship-based profitability as the overall economic return (or loss) arising from a customer's use of various bank products or services.

Banks face a number of challenges when constructing the "building blocks" that support relationship-based profitability and pricing - which include account and transaction data, product and customer costs, credit quality and risk profiles, loyalty assessments, and profitability and pricing calculations. Without pursuing an approach that builds toward relationship-based profitability, a bank has no assurance that its pricing will adequately compensate it for supplying products and services while providing customers with a price that rewards them for their relationship with the bank.

As banks begin to address this need, best practices are emerging in the areas of model development, customer management, and information management. Ultimately, TowerGroup believes banks that implement relationship-based profitability and pricing will establish the foundation to provide one-to-one marketing for their business customers, improve customer satisfaction, increase retention, and deepen product cross-sell.

BancTec Sponsors Document Management Road Shows, 7/21/08

BancTec is sponsoring a series of free educational breakfasts with Craig Le Clair, senior analyst with Forrester. Le Clair will share his views on the state of transactional document management – where it is today, where it’s going, and key trends affecting its development.

Attendees also will hear about a new transactional content management solution from BancTec called CenterVision. The solution features a flexible capture interface, management dashboard, and automated processing and distribution capabilities.

The schedule for the educational breakfasts is:

July 22 – East Hartford, CT

July 23 – Chicago

July 24 – Atlanta

July 29 – Dallas

July 30 – Los Angeles

Registration for the breakfasts begins at 8:30 and the seminar presentation runs from 9 to 11 a.m.

Citigroup To Add 70 Employees In Iowa, 7/21/08

The Des Moines Register reports that Citigroup plans to add about 70 employees to its payment-processing center in Urbandale, IA. The facility supports Citi’s North American consumer businesses, including Citibank, CitiCards, CitiFinancial and CitiMortgage. It processes payments and prints, stuffs and posts statements.

Citi currently has 646 employees at the site, which is being expanded by 45,000 square feet to support the added workers. Job applicants can apply online for positions at www.citigroup.com.

Georgia Department of Revenue Seeks Check 21 Solution, 7/16/08

The Georgia Department of Revenue seeks an off the shelf Check 21 solution that can meet the needs of GA DOR. This procurement will include the development and implementation of the vendor provided Check 21 solution to accurately process check and voucher images captured on the existing Opex 3690’s. This process will shift processing paper checks to electronically processing check images for daily bank deposits. The project scope includes all the requirements identified in Section 2.1 Requirements. The proposed Check 21 vendor solution will be implemented to process tax payments according to the Project Schedules and Deliverables Section 2.1.8. Click here to view the RFP http://ssl.doas.state.ga.us/PRSapp/PublicBidNotice?bid_op=094740047400-094-0000000213

Understanding Compliance for PCI Standard, 7/15/08

Many smaller business owners may not realize that the Best Practice 6.6 of the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) became a requirement on June 30th. The regulation requires merchants dealing with debit and credit cards to tighten their security by both conducting application code reviews and installing Web application firewalls.

Best Practice 6.6 of the PCI Data Security Standard was put forth by the PCI Security Standards Council, which issues, maintains, and enforces the PCI security standards that govern payment account data security to which all corporations that deal with payment cards must adhere. However, across industries, small businesses are struggling to comply with the Council’s standards, designed to protect consumers’ personal data.

Consumers want to pay with their credit cards and be assured their data is safe; and small businesses want to collect payments in the most convenient way to customers as well as guarantee their data is secure. But since 2005, more than 80 percent of the instances of unauthorized access to card data have involved small merchants, according to Visa USA Inc.

These small businesses account for 85 percent of the seven million locations nationwide that accept credit cards. And if a business is found to not be PCI Compliant, its merchant account will be suspended, leaving the business unable to accept credit cards.

Not all merchants are evaluated the same in the eyes of Visa and MasterCard, though. There are several levels of PCI compliance, which are based on the number and type of transactions a business processes a year.

Level 1 Merchants - process over 6 million credit card transactions each year.

Level 2 Merchants - process between 1 million and 6 million credit card transactions each year.

Level 3 Merchants - process between 20,000 and 1 million e-commerce transactions each year.

Level 4 Merchants - process less than 20,000 e-commerce transactions per year, and under 1 million total transactions per year. The majority of small businesses fall into this category.

Level 1 Merchants are the only ones required to undergo an actual PCI Compliance Audit.

Level 2 and 3 Merchants must complete an annual PCI Self Assessment, as well as quarterly network security scans. Level 4 merchants must also complete an annual PCI Self Assessment, but in many cases are not required to complete the quarterly network scan. The self-assessment, results of the network security scan (if applicable), and an attestation of compliance must be submitted to the Acquirer (the company issuing the small business its Merchant Account). The attestation of compliance certifies that the company has accurately completed the self-assessment, and th

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