tags: payments

Alaric International Unveils New Asia Pacific Headquarters and Centre of Excellence Global Growth and Expansion Continues With Opening of New Software Development and Support Centre in Key Asia Pacific Region London, England – March 4th, 2008 - Alaric International, a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry, today announced the opening of a new dedicated Asia Pacific headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Headed up by Peter Parke, Director of Regional Operations Asia Pacific and Paul Griffin, Regional Manager Asia Pacific, the office incorporates a Centre of Excellence ― a software development centre, complete with build and test facilities, and a locally recruited team that will provide both technical and customer service support. The new Centre of Excellence will enable smoother implementation and support for Alaric’s customers throughout the region. With its central location, English speaking skills and rapidly growing IT sector, Kuala Lumpur represents the ideal location for supporting Alaric’s payment solutions in the region. In addition, Alaric is privileged to have been awarded MSC Status by the Malaysian Government’s Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) in recognition of its contribution to the country’s fast growing information and communications technology sector. “The opening of our new Asia Pacific headquarters reflects our strong focus in the region and reinforces our commitment to deliver the best possible solutions to our customers worldwide,” comments regional manager Paul Griffin. “We see huge opportunities for Alaric in Asia Pacific and our new regional base will provide an invaluable launch pad to introduce our advanced technology solutions into this important market.” The newly established HQ represents yet another stage of growth for Alaric in the region, and follows fast on its recent 2007 office opening in Melbourne, Australia ― now dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand markets ― which is headed-up by newly appointed Ron Hill. This now sees Alaric present across the globe, with key operations in Europe, USA, Australia and Asia Pacific. Alaric’s UK offices will continue to act as the hub for strategic design of existing and new products, and overall project management. - ends - About Alaric Headquartered in London, Alaric is a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry. Alaric offers java based solutions for card payments authorization and switching, fraud detection and prevention, risk management and payment systems integration. Alaric’s customers include First Data International, Swisscard, Cornèr Banca and Yorkshire Building Society. Alaric's product set was launched in 2001. Being written in Java, the solutions are fully portable while scalable to meet the needs of the smallest through the largest institution. Alaric's success is a result of its dedicated focus on the payments industry together with a clear recognition of the need to collaborate with partners. For further information, please visit us at www.alaric.com Press contact: Nicky Davis EvokedSet PR for Alaric International Tel: +44 7747 017654 Email: alaric@evokedset.com Distributed on behalf of Alaric International by NeonDrum Liz Hartney Tel: +44 7510518732 liz.hartney[at]neondrum[dot]com www.neondrum.com

Alaric International’s Martin Hewgill To Head Up Debate on Fraud Prevention at Prepaid Card Expo 2008 Alaric Head of Marketing to Lead Key Session at World’s Largest Prepaid Card Conference and Exhibition London, England – February 26th, 2008 - Alaric International, a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry, today announced that Alaric’s Head of Marketing Martin Hewgill will lead a key panel session on fraud prevention at Prepaid Card Expo 2008 – the world’s largest gathering of prepaid, stored value and emerging card payments professionals (Las Vegas, 3-5 March 2008). Hewgill will be heading a panel of leading industry experts in a discussion on ‘Practical approaches to mitigating risk and fraud issues through advanced monitoring, detection and data collection practices’. The session, which will take place on Tuesday 4th March from 2:00 – 2:50pm, will explore fraud risk challenges in the retail prepaid value chain – within both closed and open loop systems – and examine strategies for mitigating fraud risk and implementing best practices and technologies for effective detection and prevention. The session is being given as part of a specialist Risk Management, Legal and Regulatory conference track incorporated into this year’s conference programme, with sessions dedicated to fraud detection, interchange trends and card security. Alaric International will also be exhibiting at the show (Stand no. 431) showcasing its full range of high-performance, future-proof card payment products, including the award-winning Fractals payment card risk management and fraud detection system. “The industry has recognised that complacency about fraud and anti-money laundering is not an option for prepaid portfolios,” comments Hewgill. “This session will provide a compelling insight into how organisations can determine points of weakness or vulnerability, and what proactive steps they can take to drive down or avoid fraud in this fast expanding business.” Members of the media interested in scheduling a briefing with Alaric at the event can do so by contacting Nicky Davis at nicky[at]evokedset.com. For more information about Prepaid Card Expo, please visit: http://www.iirusa.com/prepaidcardexpo/eventhome/21858.xml - ends - About Alaric Headquartered in London, Alaric is a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry. Alaric offers java based solutions for card payments authorization and switching, fraud detection and prevention, risk management and payment systems integration. Alaric’s customers include First Data International, Swisscard, Cornèr Banca and Yorkshire Building Society. Alaric's product set was launched in 2001. Being written in Java, the solutions are fully portable while scalable to meet the needs of the smallest through the largest institution. Alaric's success is a result of its dedicated focus on the payments industry together with a clear recognition of the need to collaborate with partners. For further information, please visit us at www.alaric.com Press contact: Nicky Davis EvokedSet PR for Alaric International Tel: +44 7747 017654 Email: alaric@evokedset.com Distributed on behalf of Alaric by NeonDrum Liz Hartney Tel: +44 7501518732 liz.hartney[at]neondrum[dot]com www.neondrum.com

Alaric’s Authentic system links Barbados Credit Union to Caribbean Integrated Financial Services network in impressive time Alaric completes key authorisation and switching project for largest island credit union from specification to go-live in just two months London, England – February 19th, 2008 - Alaric International, a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry, today announced that Barbados Public Workers’ Co-operative Credit Union Ltd (BPWCCUL), the largest island credit union, has gone live with the first phase of a major programme to provide enhanced customer debit card facilities. Alaric’s Authentic EFT authorisation and switching system was implemented by BPWCCUL to provide an online interface into the National Debit Switch, known as the CarIFS (Caribbean Integrated Financial Services) network, run by the islands’ major banks. CarIFS was initially instituted to facilitate debit switching capability among the commercial banks on the island, but has recently invited the Credit Unions to join the network. The entire project phase, from functional specification in September to certification and completion of the live production system in November, took just two months. The physical implementation and testing was achieved in under four weeks. Following a rigorous selection process, Authentic was chosen to link BPWCCUL’s ATMs into the CarIFS network and support the authorisation and switching of both issuing and acquiring transactions, interfacing to BPWCCUL’s Symitar host system. This successful initial implementation marks the first part of a three-phase project which will also see further credit unions on the island being given access to the CarIFS ATM network. “The speed and ease of this implementation is a tribute to the flexibility and performance of Alaric’s Authentic system, as well as the quality of the entire Alaric project team,” comments Irwin Gibson, Head of IT for BPWCCUL. “Alaric has proved itself to be a great business and technical fit for the needs of our organisation, and we are looking forward to the next phases of the project, which will deliver considerable benefits for our members and customers.” Prism Services Inc, project Managers for CarIFS, was full of praise for the ease and professionalism with which the project was completed, and CarIFS commended BPWCCUL on their choice of Alaric International. PRISM Services Inc, which has gone through this exercise numerous times before with different service providers, remarked that “Alaric’s personnel were proactive, thorough, and demonstrated due diligence in ensuring that each step was correct on the first try, and that the project was completed on time. Alaric’s personnel queried all uncertainties in the project plan and scripts beforehand, so that once a certification window was provided, all systems were go.” Poul Laursen, Head of Professional Services for Alaric International said, “As a solution provider, we set ourselves extremely high standards and we are delighted to have delivered phase one of this major implementation in just two months. Our aim is to continue to exceed expectations in the levels of our service and support as we move to the next stages of this milestone project for BPWCCUL.” The BPWCCUL is the largest of the 37 credit unions on the island, with assets of over $240m. A not-for-profit financial co-operative which provides savings & investment products, loans and mortgages to its members, the credit union also offers internet banking facilities in addition to its enhanced debit services. Alaric’s Authentic is a modern EFT authorization and routing system for issuers and acquirers of credit, debit, charge and prepaid cards. Authentic addresses the needs of banks, retailers and processors. Written entirely in Java and using open, relational databases, Authentic is truly platform independent. Authentic is designed with future business needs in mind, with an emphasis on user configuration rather than programming. - ends - About Alaric Headquartered in London, Alaric is a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry. Alaric offers java based solutions for card payments authorization and switching, fraud detection and prevention, risk management and payment systems integration. Alaric’s customers include First Data International, Swisscard, Cornèr Banca and Yorkshire Building Society. Alaric's product set was launched in 2001. Being written in Java, the solutions are fully portable while scalable to meet the needs of the smallest through the largest institution. Alaric's success is a result of its dedicated focus on the payments industry together with a clear recognition of the need to collaborate with partners. For further information, please visit us at www.alaric.com Press contact: Nicky Davis EvokedSet PR for Alaric International Tel: +44 7747 017654 Email: alaric@evokedset.com Distributed on behalf of Alaric International by NeonDrum Liz Hartney Tel: +44 7510518732 liz.hartney[at]neondrum[dot]com www.neondrum.com

Alaric International appoints Ron Hill to drive growth in Australia and New Zealand markets Payment industry expert joins leading card payments technology provider to head activities in key ANZ region London, England – January 7, 2008 - Alaric International, a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry, today announced that it has appointed payments industry expert Ron Hill to drive the company's growth activities in the Australia and New Zealand markets. Ron Hill joins Alaric as Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Regional Manager and will spearhead all Alaric’s activities in the region. Ron has a 20 year pedigree in the payments industry and is a familiar name in the Australian payments arena. Most recently Ron Hill held CIO and CTO positions with Customers Limited and Cashcard Australia, both based in Sydney. “Australia and New Zealand is a key market for Alaric’s expanding presence in Asia Pacific,” says Peter Parke, Alaric’s Asia Pacific Director. “The overwhelming majority of institutions are still reliant on first generation platforms and the need to move to more flexible open systems is becoming pressing. Ron is highly regarded in Australia and comes to Alaric with a comprehensive market knowledge and payments background. Ron will be a key figure in enabling a transition to a second generation of payments systems and continuing to build our momentum in this region.” “Alaric is fostering a worldwide reputation for progressive, best-in-class solutions that deliver control and flexibility for critical systems, and competitive edge to customers. I am excited to be joining a team of such high calibre, and I look forward to accelerating Alaric’s expansion and serving the growing customer demand across these important territorities,” comments Ron Hill. Alaric currently has operations in Europe, Australia and the US and has plans to expand its global distribution network in major markets with further office openings this year. - ends - About Alaric Headquartered in London, Alaric is a leading supplier of advanced technology solutions for the card payments industry. Alaric offers java based solutions for card payments authorization and switching, fraud detection and prevention, risk management and payment systems integration. Alaric’s customers include First Data International, Euronet Worldwide, Swisscard, Cornèr Banca and Yorkshire Building Society. Alaric's product set was launched in 2001. Being written in Java, the solutions are fully portable while scalable to meet the needs of the smallest through the largest institution. Alaric's success is a result of its dedicated focus on the payments industry together with a clear recognition of the need to collaborate with partners. For further information, please visit us at www.alaric.com Press contact: Nicky Davis EvokedSet PR for Alaric International Tel: +44 7747 017654 Email: alaric@evokedset.com Distributed on behalf of Alaric International by NeonDrum Liz Hartney Tel: +44 7510518732 liz.hartney[at]neondrum[dot]com www.neondrum.com

Alaric Signs As Business Development Partner for Hi-Tech Financial Crimes & Fraud Event London, England - April 16, 2007. Alaric International, a leading supplier of advanced technology and fraud detection solutions for the card payments industry, today announced that it will be the Business Development Partner at Hi-Tech Financial Crimes & Fraud, a key conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on June 14th - 15th 2007. This is the first time that Alaric has taken a role such as this at a major anti-fraud event and it is a reflection of its growing focus on the Asia Pacific region.

SCM Microsystems Launches Wearable, Wireless Smart Card Reader SCM Microsystems, Inc. has shipped the E-25, the first personal multifunctional smart card reader. SCM developed the E-25 reader to match the new generation of smart cards that offer several different applications on a single card. Slightly bigger than a smart card, the E-25 reader can be kept around a person's neck as a corporate badge or simply attached to a belt.

MasterCard Unveils New Payment-Processing Platform Credit card giant MasterCard International has announced it is deploying a global payment-processing platform with wireless applications, which will allow member financial institutions to take advantage of emerging technologies and react quickly to new business opportunities.

by Strand Consult

Making money from the Internet has proven to be harder than one would think. This especially finds expression in the sites that are providing information, content and services. Between 1998 and 2000, during the height of the dot.com wave, talk of charging users was taboo. Focus was entirely on securing as much traffic as possible and the best way to achieve this was to give away content for free. Much has happened in the past year and the Klondike days have past. The question is not whether to charge but when and how micro-payment is best implemented. Consequently the Internet business is looking for solutions to the problem of how to effectively organise micro-payment for the information, content and services that sites can offer.

Micro-payment via SMS
A number of possible solutions to the problem of micro-payment on the Internet have been put forward. These include SET and digital money/e-wallets. Common for these are that they have failed because they did not gain a broad enough user base. Now there is a new solution and one that already enjoys high penetration rates and a broad customer base: The mobile phone and premium priced SMS messages.

From a customer’s point of view, micro-payment via SMS is as simple as paying with a credit card in a supermarket. Here the mobile phone acts as a credit card – and the mobile operators act as a bank. The basic transactional process can be illustrated as follows:

The unique thing about the micro-payments via SMS solution is its user-friendliness: It is fast. The customer needs not to invest in new technology and there will be no need for the customer to share credit information with 3. parties. To fully understand the micro-payment via SMS solution, it is necessary to understand the different players and ‘ingredients’ required to configure, organise and implement an SMS-based micro-payment solution. These players and ‘ingredients’ are:

Advantages over Existing Micro-payment Solutions
The advantages of micro-payment via SMS over existing micro-payment solutions are multiple:

• High penetration
  Contrary to existing micro-payment solutions, mobile phones and as such SMS technology already enjoys penetration rates well above 50% in most of Western Europe. As such the solution already exceed all existing expectations relating to the penetration of micro-payment solutions. Furthermore, regular SMS messaging has proven very successful amongst mobile phone users.

• No need for new software
  Micro-payment via SMS does not require the user to install any new software on the mobile phone or the PC.

• Easy to implement for all Internet sites
  Both large and small sites can implement micro-payment via SMS. Depending on the size and nature of the site, it may chose between one of three different business models. These different models are further explained below.

• Mobile operators as trusted 3. parties
  Up till now the only practical means of payment on Internet sites have been credit cards. And although several sites have proven e-commerce successes, this payment solution is neither widespread nor very used compared to the number of sites with own content, which could generate income. There are a number of practical reasons for this. One such reason is that the credit card solution requires that the site is a trusted part in the mind of the customer.

To the many sites that offer services and content for which there is a demand, but who are not able to achieve status of trusted part in the mind of the customer, the credit card solution has not been a realistic option. It is not sufficient that the site offer services and content for which there is a demand. Because the site will have to handle credit information, the customer will need assurances regarding safe handling and security. These many sites are in need of a payment solution, which involves an already established and trusted 3. part. And in the case of SMS, the mobile operators become those already trusted 3. parties.

Already, operators are implementing technology. Because SMS messaging in general and premium priced SMS messages in particular have proven so profitable, most operators are in the process of implementing the technology necessary to handle premium priced SMS messages and as such micro-payment via SMS.

National- and international roaming Another significant advantage in using mobile phones as the platform for micro-payment is that relatively few operators share the market. As such relatively few agreements are needed in order for the solution to cover an entire market. Such roaming agreements ensure that revenues are shared between the different operators involved.

In Norway where the two operators Telenor and Netcom have had such an agreement relating to premium priced SMS services since the beginning of 2000.

As premium priced SMS services are launched across Europe, this increases the demand for international roaming agreements. Handling these new services and entering into international roaming agreements means that micro payment via SMS will soon also be available on international sites. We expect the first of such international agreements to be in place during 2001.

Security
Secure payment is paramount in relation to making a micro-payment solution a success. Recent experiences with e-business have proven just how hesitant consumers are when it comes to using credit cards on the Internet. One of the great advantages of micro-payment via SMS is that is based on, and make use of an already trusted 3. part – the mobile operator.

And since premium priced SMS messages are priced according to pre-arranged categories, it is not possible for the site to over charge the customer without his consent.

If you want to now more about the future of SMS we will be happy to send you more information in form of our first press release concerning the report: How to make money on SMS. For further information please contact us at info@strandconsult.dk.

We help our clients move more merchandise in less time, at reduced cost.

About Strand Consult
Strand Consult specialises in analysing and optimising sales- and marketing processes - both in the physical and virtual world. We provide strategic advice on how to optimise performance in the fast changing and global marketplace of IT, Telecommunications, Media and Finance.

E-Billing Comes of Age More people are choosing to pay their bills online than ever before, and many companies are responding to that desire by spending huge amounts of money to set up e-billing systems, a newly released report reveals. The recent study shows that utilities, broadcasting companies and telecommunications firms are among the fastest to adopt online billing systems, while manufacturers are slowest.

Fraud Prevention Tools Fortunately, many real-time credit card processing services have now integrated anti-fraud screening tools from vendors such as CyberSource or HNC. In addition to these integrated tools, there are a number of standalone anti-fraud tools available that are suitable for e-tailers who are either processing their credit card payments offline or who are looking to employ some additional anti-fraud protection measures.