The Frontier Times Canada's Payments Journal is the all Canadian independent publication dedicated to serving electronic transactions and payments businesses in Canada. The FT is the principal source of Canadian information on the credit card, debit card, merchant account, merchant acquiring, ISOs, EFT, ACH, loyalty card, gift card, ATM/ABM, e-wallet and related businesses.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Check Imaging eh? CPA Consultations on Image-Based Checks in Canada - Issue 6 - December 31, 2004
Check Imaging eh? CPA Consultations on Image-Based Checks in Canada
Montreal, – November 23, 2004. – The most recent public consultation on check imaging in Canada by the Canadian Payments Association (CPA) was held in Montreal, entirely in French. Hosting a session entirely in French was a first for the CPA. Every one of the two hundred or so seats in conference room at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel was taken as a whose who of Montreal banking services spent the afternoon soaking up the general principles behind Canada’s version of the US Check 21 legislation permitting financial institutions to present checks to each other electronically rather than delivering original paper checks. The CPA panel consisted of: Gilles Pelletier, Director Cheque Redepmtion Control Directorate, Government of Canada; Andrée Lavigne, Principal, Research Studies, Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA); Isabelle Lepage, Legal Counsel, CPA; Jean-Paul Pérusse, Partner, YSI Inc.; and Pierre Roach, Vice-President, Payment Services CPA.
The audience included a considerable number of merchants. Large merchants (i.e. neither banks nor financial services companies), such as Ciment St-Laurent, were present to learn about how to reducefraud in their accounts payable by using check imaging. Merchants and other members of the audience questioned the panel as to why it would take another two years to implement check imaging in Canada.The most substantive response came from Pérusse, of YSI Inc., a consulting company that is helping the CPA draft its check imaging policy. Péruse explained that Parliament has a regular schedule of amending banking laws and that schedule was the reason for the delay until December of 2006. Members of the audience expressed an interest in a faster implementation.
The CPA check imaging standard is scheduled to be published concurrently with the printing of this edition of the FT, in December of 2004, and is scheduled to come into effect in December of 2006.
In response to a question by the author, Péruse emphasized that the CPA program would not expressly enable checks to be digitized at the POS. The CPA program is limited to exchanges of checks between financial institutions. Counter-top US check scanners integrated in a number of US POS solutions are now commonplace in the US. They allow merchants to convert a check transaction into an ACH transaction using the scanner to capture account information from the payor. Canadians will likely have to wait until well after December 2006 to think about offering these kinds of solutions within the framework of the current CPA program.
Pelletier spoke for the people at the Government of Canada who are responsible for sending out all Federal Government checks. He noted that 38% of Canadian government checks are now send in the form of electronic wire transfers. The move towards electronic checks in Canada is expected to improve: post payment services, security and fraud detection, said Pelletier. The new standards now being finalized by the CPA are expected to help the Government reduce the amount of human involvement in the check drafting and settling process, and thereby attain the improvements cited.
Lavigne, of the CICA, made the observation that auditors would not longer have so much of a paper trail to follow when auditing companies, as part of the audit trail would consist of electronic records of checks. On a related topic, Lavigne commented that banks should report on the reliability of the check imaging systems that they implement. The reliability of the systems implemented by the banks will dictate the reliability of the whole system, and will become a matter of general public interest.
The thrust of remarks by Lepage, legal counsel at the CPA, was to explain that the most important legislative amendment required to implement check imaging in Canada is an amendment to the Bills of Exchange Act allowing the substitution of electronic documents for paper bills of exchange. This amendment, which is part of a package of legislative amendments required to give effect to check imaging in Canada, will be the first substantive amendment to the Bills of Exchange Act in a century. Some of the issues facing the legal team working on the new legislation include: issues relating to laws of evidence, return of original checks and minimum periods during which original documents must be preserved. While the CPA, the banking industry and payment services providers are ready to move forward on the check imaging program, Parliament might not. Lepage comforted the audience by saying that if Parliament did not enact the proposed legislative amendments, the CPA has a ‘plan B’ to implement check imaging without them. Lepage would not disclose the substance of plan B.
Pérusse, a consultant from YSI Inc. hired by the CPA to help develop check imaging in Canada,outlined some of the improvements in the positive payment option (PPO) that check imaging would enhance. PPO is a system whereby the payor on a check sends the core check information (i.e. payor, payee, amount, date and additional descriptor) to the payor bank of the check electronically concurrently with its drafting of the check. The same information will also be encrypted in a two-dimensional bar code to be added to checks. The payee’s bank will then be able to confirm the accuracy of the check against both electronic files available from the payor bank and encrypted on the check itself.
More information concerning the CPA’s check imaging program
Thank you! You, the readers of The Frontier Times have responded generously to the call for participation in this unique all-Canadian publication. The Frontier Times is proud to have made it to its first anniversary. We have seen our readership grow from a few hundred to well over 2000 in our print and online editions. We have also seen the breadth and depth of our stories reach new levels.
We are proud to have been able to facilitate encounters between the numerous new entrants into the payments business in Canada. We are always surprised to learn that there are still some banks in Canada that sell merchant services only through their in-house sales forces. The chat forum at www.frontiertimes.ca and our phone line is often busy with questions from US resellers and Canadian entrepreneurs looking to make deals to resell services of those banks that want to expand their merchant account business.
Of all the major payers in Canada, including Moneris, TD and Paymentech, only Global Payments appears to have responded actively to the demand for merchant services reseller (a.k.a. ISO) deals in Canada. Time will tell whether the old “we’ll serve you if we want to” position of Canadian banks will be effective in competing against the more entrepreneurial “may we serve you” position of Canada’s new frontier of payment professionals.
We wish all our readers a healthy, peaceful and happy Holiday season.
Adam N. Atlas
Editor in Chief
atlas@frontiertimes.ca
Highlights From The Frontier Times Online Chat Forum
Does anyone know of a US acquirer that offers Canadian merchant accounts? The Canadian acquirers just don’t seem to get it...if they don’t support ISOs, they’ll go elsewhere...where there’s a will there’s a way! Thanks in advance for the info.
Reply by: westcoast, Fri Sep 03, 20043:07 pm
This is a great question. I know First Data/Cardservice International (Cardserve International in Canada) is currently offering Canadian merchant accounts through their partner HomeTrust. I believe HomeTrust markets these merchant accounts through CollectivePOS. I have also heard of EVO payments entering the Canadian market as early as this month. The last time I talked with them (August), they were still waiting for regulatory approval. This is all I know, but I would love to hear feedback from anyone else who knows of US aquirers entering the Canadian market.
News
Motion Wireless Inc. on Course
Markham, Ontario, Canada, December 2, 2004. – Canadian technology firm Motion Wireless Inc. sells a completely wireless integrated point of sale (POS) system, CartMasterTM specifically designed for golf courses that offer debit and credit-card transactions from a remote terminal, or even from a golf cart. It’s a complete point of sale system that the company is already selling in the U.S. and has introduced to the Canadian market. CartMasterTM accepts cash, debit, credit and third party card transactions, and can be configured to manage inventories, members, tabs, tournaments and events. Fully certified, CartMasterTM can process debit & credit in both Canada and the US and has the ability to issue a receipt for any transaction. Currently CartMasterTM can run on 1XRTT, CDMA, GPRS, GSM, EDGE and Ethernet. Credit transactions for wireless typically take 6 to 9 seconds and Ethernet 1.5 seconds. Installation takes on average 20 minutes and complete system training can be completed in less than one day.
NCR Unveils New ATM Fraud Countermeasure Device
Mississauga, December 2, 2004. – NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) has introduced the Fraudulent Device Inhibitor, its latest, patented fraud prevention countermeasure for automated teller machines (ATMs). The new fraud protection measure is part of NCR’s holistic approach to ATM security and while ATM fraud is significantly lower than card fraud at the retail or point-of-sale location, it is still an industry concern.
NCR has developed the Fraudulent Device Inhibitor in response to criminal attempts to skim card details by attaching devices to the ATM that can then be used to read information on the magnetic stripe. In addition to card skimming, the Fraudulent Device Inhibitor defends against the introduction of card-trapping devices that retain the card in the machine, with the intention of a fraud artist to withdraw it once the customer leaves the ATM.
The Fraudulent Device Inhibitor is placed in front of the entrance to the ATM card reader and is designed specifically to prevent an ATM customer from inserting his or her card into the machine if a trapping device has been added to the card reader.
Does anyone know of a US acquirer that
NCR’s countermeasure device has a number of unique features, including a hologram built into the design that makes it more difficult to replicate.
The introduction of illumination behind the countermeasure device also makes any attempt to attach a fraudulent device even more visible. An on-screen, animated graphic can also be used to heighten consumer awareness.
The introduction of a stop-start, or jitter motion, is designed to distort the magnetic stripe details being copied by the criminals’ device.
Nicholas Hames, vice president of NCR’s Financial Solutions Division in Canada, said, “This is the latest in a range of solutions designed to address the multifaceted nature of ATM and card fraud. The integrity of the ATM channel is at the core of everything we do at NCR. We have developed countermeasures to each type of attack, whether it is an attempt to capture card details, to steal the PIN or a physical attack on the ATM in order to steal the card.”
TTC Gets Smart: Toronto Transit Smart Card
November 27, 2004. – The TTC – Toronto Transit Commission has joined in the province of Ontario’s regional transit “smart card” plan. Contactless smart cards and smart card readers will replace paper tickets, tokens and transfers along with TTC fare boxes in an estimated 5 years. First test runs could be installed as early as 2007 to begin payment rechargeable smart cards with tap and go access onto buses, streetcars and subways in the Greater Toronto Area.
RBC Cheque Imaging for Individuals
November 1 2004. – RBC Royal Bank is giving clients direct access to digital images of paper-based transactions online, making cheque tracing accessible by the click of a mouse. Through online digital imaging, paper-based transactions such as personal and business cheques, business deposits and personal credit line transactions are stored in an image bank (for up to 90 days) and can be called up instantly through online banking. It limits extended waits of up to a week for tracing. Bill payments and transfers are two of the most common activities performed online and account for over 72 million transactions processed annually. See interview with Carolyn Burke at: http://www.canadanewswire.com/en/media/details.cgi?EventID=76
BestBuy.ca Launched
Burnaby, BC, October 29, 2004. – Best Buy, a US-owned entrant into the Canadian market of consumer electronics and entertainment products, has launched BestBuy.ca, their new fully functional e-commerce website, for the holiday shopping season. The site features over 50,000 items including Home Office, Home Theatre, Digital Imaging and Entertainment products, with free shipping on everything to any city in Canada. The site also features a Research Centre designed to help customers better understand the latest technology through detailed descriptions, FAQs, guides, glossaries and side by side comparisons.
OATH Announces Charter to Drive Adoption of Open Strong Authentication
Cross-Industry Initiative to Drive Adoption of Strong Authentication
Across Networks, Applications and Devices
Denver, October, 26. – More than 30 leading device, platform, and application companies supporting the initiative for Open AuTHentication (OATH) today entered into an agreement that forms a charter to drive the adoption of open, standards-based strong authentication technology. By enabling a broad range of interoperable hardware, software, and services, OATH participants are working to help customers reduce the cost and complexity of deploying strong authentication within enterprises, and across the Internet. Since its formation, OATH’s membership has expanded to include industry leaders from a range of technology sectors, including token manufacturers, platform vendors, smartcard providers, and security services companies.
The current membership includes the following companies: ActivCard, Inc.; Aladdin Knowledge Systems; ARM; Assa Abloy ITG; Authenex, Inc.; Aventail Corporation; Axalto, Inc.; BEA Systems; BMC Software; Checkpoint Software Technologies; DataKey, Inc.(soon to be a SafeNet company); Digital Persona; Diversinet Corp.; Entrust Technologies, Inc.; Forum Systems, Inc.; Gemplus Corp; I.B.M.; IMCentric, Inc.; Juniper Networks, Inc.; K.K. Athena Smartcard Solutions; Livo Technologies SA; Passlogix, Inc.; Phoenix Technologies Ltd.; Signify; Smart Card Alliance; VASCO Data Security; and VeriSign, Inc.
Experts have long recognized the need for strong forms of authentication for critical applications. Strong authentication, which requires users to possess a second, physical factor in addition to a password or PIN, is an essential component in protecting against the various forms of security attacks prevalent today. In recent years, the rise in malicious attacks, combined with growth of mobile computing and the increasing openness of most corporate networks, has increased the need for strong authentication for remote access, user log-in, and single sign-on. Most existing incumbent two-factor technologies, however, have proven too expensive and inflexible for broad-based deployment, thus constricting and enterprise’s ability to offer stronger authentication to their employee and customer bases.
“The transition from proprietary to open architecture should expand the use of strong authentication across all industries,” said Bob Blakley, Chief Security and Privacy Scientist, IBM, and OATH participant. “OATH and its focused efforts will help create online security that is stronger and faster to deploy. OATH participants encourage others to join this effort and become active participants driving the evolution of authentication.”
OATH participants have agreed to work across standard bodies to complete a set of open standards supporting a common architecture. The OATH reference architecture was introduced earlier in the year and a draft is available for download at http://www.openauthentication.org.
Credit Union’s Online Payment Service Most Comprehensive in Canada
Winnipeg, November 9. – Now Canadians can go to their online banking site via Pay Anyone in Canada. November 9th, marked the official launch of CS CO-OP’s online Pay Anyone services. Ottawa-based CS CO-OP, one of Canada’s largest Credit Unions boasts that the payment services offered through their online banking site, are the most comprehensive in the country. TelPay Online is the payment technology that enables CS CO-OP to offer these competitive services to their members. TelPay developed the technology with the ability to integrate with any internet banking application in Canada. In the case of CS CO-OP, TelPay Online has been integrated with the MemberDirect® online application.
CS CO-OP members can now go to their online banking site and make 100% of their payments electronically. Online payments can arrive at their destination by the end of the next business day and are accompanied by whatever payment details the sender wishes to include.
Recours Collectif contre 14 institutions financières émettrices de cartes de crédit
Class Action Suite Filed in Quebec Against 14 Credit Card Issuing Financial Institutions
Montréal, le 5 octobre 2004. – Option consommateurs et Mme Monique Desjardins Émond ont déposé une requête pour autorisation d’exercer un recours collectif contre 14 institutions émettrices de cartes de crédit, soit la Banque Canadian Tire, la Banque de Montréal, la Banque Royale du Canada, la Banque Nationale du Canada, la Banque Canadienne Impériale de Commerce, la Banque Laurentienne du Canada, la Banque Toronto-Dominion, la Citibanque Canada, la Banque HSBC Canada, la Banque Amex du Canada, la Banque Le Choix du président, la Banque de NouvelleÉcosse, la Fédération des caisses Desjardins du Québec et MBNA Canada. Les institutions financières poursuivies contreviennent à certaines dispositions de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur. Ainsi, ces institutions imposent non seulement des frais de crédit, mais aussi des frais d’avance de fonds aux consommateurs qui font cette transaction au Canada ou à l’étranger. Ces frais varient entre 1 et 10 $ selon les institutions et les modes de retrait. Lorsque ces frais sont exigés, le taux de crédit demandé est alors plus élevé que le taux annoncé. Or, la loi prévoit que les frais d’avance de fonds doivent être inclus dans le taux de crédit.
Electronic Transactions Rank 3 in The Technology Fast 50 in Canada:
Chartwell Technology Inc., enTrac Technologies Inc., and Diversinet Corp.
Currently in its 7 th year, the Deloitte Canadian Technology Fast 50 is a prestigious annual award based on percentage revenue growth over a five-year period and is the only award specifically for technology companies in Canada. “To rank on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50, companies must have phenomenal revenue growth over five years,” said Garry Foster, National Director, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte. Winners of the 19 regional Technology Fast 50 programs in the United States and Canada are automatically entered in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 program, which ranks North America’s top 500 fastest growing technology companies.
enTrac Technologies Inc. (enTrac), the creator of ExpressPay, has been recognized for the third successive year as one of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies in the 2004 Deloitte Canadian Technology Fast 50 survey. enTrac placed 24th.
enTrac was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company develops and integrates software and hardware for card-based access, control, and billing of equipment and point-of sale systems for the copy center, business center, and hotel market. With ExpressPay, customers pay directly at the copier, fax, rental computer, or laptop docking station with a smart card, credit card, or corporate charge card. ExpressPay is already installed in over 1,100 copy and business centers, hotel business centers, and fitness centers across North America.
Ranked 6th of the fastest growing technology companies in Canada, Chartwell Technology Inc. (TSX: CWH) is a provider of gaming software systems and entertainment content to the online and mobile gaming.
Chartwell Technology Inc. specializes in the development of leading edge gaming applications and entertainment content for the Internet and wireless platforms and other remote access devices.
Chartwell’s Java and Flash based software products and games are designed for deployment in gaming, entertainment, advertising and promotional applications. However, Chartwell does not participate in the online gaming business of its clients, but focuses on delivery of software and customer support.
Chartwell invites you to preview and play games at: www.chartwelltechnology.com
Based in Toronto, Diversinet Corp. (OTCBB: DVNTF), has been ranked 4th of the fastest 50. A provider of security management products for the mobile data ecosystem industry has been ranked 4th of the fastest 50. Diversinet provides secured mobile solutions to the enterprise, financial services, and gaming and wagering marketplaces. With expertise in wireless and security, Diversinet delivers secure, reliable and scalable mobile solutions through security products and professional services such as application development and integration, consulting, training and technical support. Diversinet enables companies and their customers/employees to securely access applications and critical information from anywhere, at anytime and via any mobile device.
Diversinet Introduces Open Platform for Two-Factor Authentication on Mobile Devices
Digital, Denver, Co. and CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment, San Francisco, CA, October 26, 2004 – Diversinet Corp. (OTCBB: DVNTF), a leading provider of security management products for the mobile data ecosystem, announced the availability of the industry’s first open platform to support two-factor authentication on mobile devices, based on the OATH reference architecture. By extending the company’s Passport Trust Platform™ Mobile Client to support the OATH One-Time Password Algorithm, industry vendors and service providers can license Diversinet’s Mobile Client to support strong authentication solutions on mobile devices.
Diversinet’s Mobile Client is available for RIM BlackBerry®, Symbian, Palm and Microsoft-based handhelds. Diversinet (who’s Head Office located in Toronto, Ontario,) is a leading provider of wireless data security management products and services to application, device and service providers. The company’s flagship product, the standards-based Passport Trust Platform™, provides strong end-to-end security for wireless applications and other infrastructure services, enabling Diversinet customers and partners to achieve trust across the mobile data ecosystem, as well as higher productivity and new revenue channels. Passport ensures the security and integrity of wireless data transactions such as mobile payments, messaging, data access, gaming and wagering, high-value content download, enterprise mobile work force and other applications. The Passport Trust Platform enables application developers, wireless carriers, service providers and manufacturers of mobile devices, operating systems, SIM/OTA platforms and DRM platforms to implement secure wireless data services more quickly and at significantly lower cost.
Diversinet’s customers and partners include Visa, Fleet Credit Card Services, First National Bank, Hongkong Post, and Research in Motion (RIM). Diversinet is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices in Boston, Massachusetts, Fremont, California and Hong Kong, SAR.
Moneris Extends Gift Card Options to Independent Merchants
Toronto, October 5, 2004. – Independent Canadian merchants can offer their own Gift Card Programs, an option that was previously only available to large retail chains, through a new Gift Card Program from Moneris Solutions Corporation (“Moneris”), Canada’s largest processor of debit and credit card payments.
Gift card programs originated with large retail chains and they have reaped great rewards from them in the form of increased sales and enhanced customer service. Today, one in three Canadians have shopped at certain merchants because they offer gift cards,” said Jim Baumgartner, President and CEO, Moneris. “Now, independent merchants can level the playing field by offering their own gift cards to consumers.” According to a recent report by the J.C. Williams Group1, the gift card market is set to grow by 55% by 2006.
Caisse Desjardins Orders EMV Card Terminals
November 04, 2004. – In a move to advance to chip and pin related services, Caisse Desjardins, one of Canada’s largest financial institutions has ordered approximately 30,000 EMV compliant POS terminals and PIN pads for use with EMV payment cards in Canada.
CIBC: Junkfaxing Personal Information and Dispensing Canadian Tire Money at ATM
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) made front page news in November for repeatedly faxing personal financial and other information of its customers to a US scrap yard. The information disclosed included social insurance numbers, signatures and account records. Despite complaints by the scrap yard, the CIBC kept sending the faxes.
In another, less sensational but more humorous event, a CIBC ATM dispensed 11 bills that were supposed to be real 20 dollar bills but were instead Canadian Tire bills in denominations ranging from 10 cents to two dollars. Four customers were affected the bank’s problem. CIBC said that they’ll all get their money.
hyperWALLET online payments launched at 87 Saskatchewan Credit Unions
Vancouver, November, 13. – hyperWALLET Systems Inc. announces the completed integration of its payment services suite at 87 Saskatchewan Credit Unions. Credit Union members across Saskatchewan now have access to a range of hyperWALLET funds transfer capabilities from within their secure MemberDirect® online web banking application. Utilizing hyperWALLET’s extensive suite of multi-currency payment products, members can make email money transfers, conduct real time foreign exchange, complete online auction and website payments, and conduct personal transfers to any financial institution account in North America. Saskatchewan becomes the seventh province in which Credit Unions have partnered with hyperWALLET to expand their service offerings, and brings the total number of hyperWALLET-enabled Credit Unions to 179.
UseMyBank accepts invitation from CPA for research
Toronto, Ontario, November 11 /PR Direct/ – UseMyBank Services Inc. accepts an invitation to be interviewed by the Canadian Payments Association (CPA) for research on Third Party Payment Systems and Non-FIs (Financial Institutions) in the Payment Value Chain (ie. Internet online payments). The CPA wishes to gain an understanding of the market, and the potential risks to the CPA members and payment system users over the medium term. UseMyBank is one of several companies being asked by the CPA to provide input. The CPA further acknowledges that these parties are playing an ever-increasing role in the payments environment, both in Canada and in other global markets.
The research will focus on three areas:
·determine how payment solutions utilize CPA and FI systems to offer new payment services;
·determine the potential exposure of third party payment systems and individual non-FIs to specific types and degrees of risk to the payments system and users; and
·examine the potential impact of third party payment systems or non-FIs on the Canadian payments environment.
BCE Emergis signs a new agreement with Desjardins for the use of its eLending Interchange platform
Montreal, November 30. – BCE Emergis (TSX: IFM) announced today the signing of a new five-year agreement with the Mouvement des caisses Desjardins du Québec according to which Emergis will extend the electronic connection and residential mortgage instruction management services that it has been offering to the caisses in Québec since 2002 to the commercial and industrial sectors. Starting in spring 2005, the Emergis® e-Lending Interchange platform will allow some 125 caisses and Desjardins’ Corporate Financial Centres to exchange with notaries information required for awarding and managing mortgages and for closing mortgage loans for commercial and industrial buildings. A separate agreement also foresees Desjardins’ use of the Emergis Archiving Platform to archive, consult and transfer documents encrypted by notaries. Emergis estimates additional revenues of around $2.6 million for the duration of the agreements.
R. Moroz Ltd. makes official launch of 2nd Canadian RFID Conference
Markham, December 1. – The Canadian RFID and Bar Code System integrator R. Moroz Ltd. has officially launched its 2nd annual Canadian RFID Conference which will take place April 19 and 20 in Markham, Ontario, in partnership with Canadian Transportation & Logistics magazine, among other sponsors.
News compiled by Angela R. Read, Managing Editor, read@frontiertimes.ca
Features
Contactless Prepaid comes to Canada: MasterCard, People’s Trust and Mint Technology Deploy PayPass
MasterCard International, Peoples Trust and Mint Technology Corp. (TSX-V: MIT) recently announced the pilot of MasterCard PayPassTM-enabled prepaid cards over the next year in Canada. MasterCard PayPass is a contactless payment system using radio frequency technology. To pay, consumers tap or wave their PayPassenabled payment card near a specially equipped merchant terminal. The further step to add a prepaid functionality to PayPass, MasterCard boasts, is a worldwide first. Further, MasterCard PayPass is being developed to work in a variety of forms, such as key fobs and mobile phones. In October, Motorola announced it will conduct a field trial of mobile phones enabled with MasterCard PayPass capability.
As a major contribution to the PayPass evolution, Mint Technology, of Toronto, will leverage its electronic payments platform in conjunction with prepaid functionality and MasterCard’s PayPass platform to offer services and features under the PayMint brand name. “The PayMint card will combine the broad acceptance of MasterCard, the revolutionary technology of MasterCard PayPass, the budgeting and control abilities of prepaid, and the convenience of value top-up,” said Frank Maduri, President Mint. PayPass is already in use in the U.S. McDonald’s has already announced an agreement to accept MasterCard PayPass at select restaurants in the United States starting with participating McDonald’s restaurants in Dallas and the New York metropolitan area later this year, with additional locations to be added in 2005.
Cell phone applications of the PayPass have also been in trial in the US. Over the last two years, MasterCard has tested PayPass in real market environments. In Orlando, Florida, MasterCard conducted a MasterCard PayPass trial with Chase, Citibank and MBNA involving more than 60 retail locations and 16,000 cardholders. In Dallas, Texas, MasterCard worked with Nokia and Chase to incorporate MasterCard PayPass into mobile phones. Korea is the jurisdiction where contactless payments are most advanced, with transit passes and payment accounts embedded in wristwatches and mobile telephones.
As of this writing, there are “no plans to deploy cell phone PayPass use” in Canada, despite ongoing trials.
The PayMint platform does, however, supply a new wireless park and pay by phone system at 29 Toronto Imperial Parking (Impark) lots and along the Yonge St. corridor in downtown Toronto. Customers can drive into a parking lot, dial the PayMint phone number via mobile phone, and pay for parking. PayMint will even send a reminder text message a half-hour before the meter expires, at which point the customer can call to reload the meter again, if desired. Mint is working on other card-based parking solutions in Toronto.
For service industries such as parking, quick serve restaurants, gas stations, drug stores and movie theaters, the combined efforts for the evolution of Paypass are aimed at service industries where consumers desire quick payment environments where speed is essential.
Nagesh Devata, Vice-President, MasterCard Canadatold The Frontier Times that “in PayPass trials in the US, customers wanted convenience speed and simplicity.” Devata said PayPass can be seen as a form of convergence of payment technologies where each technology exists independently, and then enabled through PayPass. “Receipts of purchases can be received by credit card, bank account, payment, or by a pre-paid account ie. via SMS messaging, depending on the preference of the issuer and the card holder”, Devata told The Frontier Times.
MasterCard PayPass is rapidly gaining momentum in the United States, and it now has the foundation for its roll-out in Canada. The addition of prepayment capability to PayPass gives cardholders more convenience, and gives merchants flexibility in payment acceptance options.
Peoples Trust of Vancouver will be the issuer. “We are excited to be the first in the world to market this type of card product,” said Frank Renou, President of Peoples Trust. “The fit between Peoples Trust and Mint’s technology is very strong. Mint’s expertise and market vision combined with our knowledge and ability in card issuance has produced a new product we believe will be tremendously successful in Canada.”
Mint provides electronic transaction solutions that streamline the entire procurement and payment process to deliver time and cost savings, better security, reduced fraud exposure and improved revenue management abilities for clients. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, and began trading publicly on January 21, 2004.
Angela R. Read, Managing Editor, read@frontiertimes.ca
Frontier Directory
Entities active in the electronic transactions business in Canada. A free service of The Frontier Times.
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