ACI and IBM forge
ties..
PayPal acts to counter
online fraud…
Mobile
wallet from Telecom Italia…
Nationwide opts
for Xiring…
ALLIANCES
ACI and IBM forge ties
US payments software developer ACI Worldwide and technology giant
IBM have forged an alliance that will enable ACI to use IBM data
centres globally to host its integrated software in an on-demand
environment. In addition, joint sales and technical teams will sell
ACI Worldwide’s solutions on IBM systems and support migrations to
IBM platforms. Notably, IBM has also acquired an option to purchase
up to 8 percent of ACI Worldwide’s outstanding shares.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
PayPal acts to counter online
fraud
In a bid to improve online transaction security, PayPal is to
acquire Israeli security specialist Fraud Sciences from a private
consortium in a cash deal worth $169 million. According to PayPal,
Fraud Sciences has developed verification technology that
differentiates between real and fraudulent transactions with
“unprecedented accuracy” and is expected to enhance its proprietary
fraud management systems and accelerate development of
next-generation fraud detection tools.
MOBILE PAYMENTS
Mobile wallet from Telecom Italia
Italy’s largest communications service provider, Telecom Italia,
will launch a mobile web-based service this year that will enable
users to link a credit or prepaid card to their mobile phone
number. Services to be offered include small value purchases and
authorisation of payments from bank accounts. Telecom Italia, which
has 29 million mobile phone subscribers in Italy, has also
announced that it has begun trials using mobile phones equipped
with near field communications technology for contactless payments
for employment in applications such as public transport.
SECURITY
Nationwide opts for Xiring
Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, has begun
distributing over 1 million Xiring O2S chip and PIN card readers to
more than 1 million of its internet banking customers. Since the
launch of the O2S remote card authentication reader, more than 3
million have been sold to UK financial institutions by the French
transactions hardware and software vendor. Xiring claims a 70
percent share of the UK’s authentication solutions market and a 50
percent share of the overall European market.
