BANK tech-trends News
 

September 24 - September 28, 2007

• Hardware News
• Software Updates
• ATMs/Kiosks
• Biometric Digest Highlights
• Wireless World
• Security Section
• Leaders Roundtable
• Technology and Marketing
• Online Banking/E-Commerce/
  Website Design
• Internet Access
• Call Centers

Hardware News

LogLogic wants to help IT Departments get a handle on log files with their two appliances: the Log Data Warehouse and the Reporting Appliance. The former stores the data (up to 4Tb per appliance of compressed data) and comes with connectors to capture the relevant log data from various sources (servers, routers, switches, etc) that you might have, and it also indexes all of the incoming log data. The Log Data Warehouse stores all the log information exactly as it originated, while the Reporting and Analysis Appliance enables the generation of template-based reports that put the log data into easily readable and understandable formats.

Hewlett-Packard plans to offer solid-state drives (SSDs) as an option in all professional series laptop PCs starting next month because the drives operate faster, conserve battery life, and are more durable than hard disk drives. HP will first offer the option of 64GB NAND flash memory drives in the HP Compaq 2710p, 2510p, 6910p, and 8000 series, and will continue to offer it in future models, Unfortunately, the SSD option will add around $1,000 to the cost of a laptop, but HP expects the cost to come down as SSDs gain acceptance in the marketplace and volumes increase.

MagTek®’s ExpressCard 1000 is the industry’s first “ALL-IN-ONE” instant issuance and complete card personalization platform forCredit, Debit, ATM, and Financial Gift Cards designed to fit securely and comfortably within a branch location.

For the first time, card personalization features such as color card-printing, magstripe encoding, smartcard encoding, card embossing, indent printing, and foil tipping have been combined into a single device which provides both the physical and logical security features required to meet the demands of a branch or retailer’s card issuing environment.

Equipped with MagnePrint® card authentication technology (www.magneprint.com), the ExpressCard 1000 offers the capability to capture the card's reference MagnePrint at the time of card issuance so that reference value may be used in conjunction with complementary risk management analytics with card present transactions. The ExpressCard 1000 can be connected as a peripheral to MagTek’s IntelliCAT and MCAPS 3000 PIN selection and instant issuance software suites creating a complete and secure card issuing platform.

For more information on ExpressCard 1000, go to www.magtek.com or call your MagTek sales representative at 800-788-6835.

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ATMs/Kiosks

Bank of America's plan to raise fees for non-customers at many of its ATMs to $3 per transaction has kicked off a fury among consumer groups. The consumer groups say they fear the ultimate consequence would be a squeeze on low- and middle-income consumers. Americans for Fairness in Lending, California Reinvestment Coalition, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Service Employees International Union, and Woodstock Institute call the fee hikes "unreasonable and unjustified." 

An ATM services company is targeting banks that deploy ATMs with its patented prepaid card technology that enables existing ATM machines to dispense prepaid cards through ATM cash trays without a “sidecar.” Learn more about it in the upcoming issue of BANK tech-trends - subscribe today.

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David P. McGuinn, President Safe Deposit Specialists, has reviewed a new “keyless” biometric safe deposit box system and will give us his verdict in the upcoming issue of BANK tech-trends - subscribe now and get the full details. 

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Forrester's Catherine Graeber has published a report titled "Raining On The Mobile Banking Parade" in which she takes a skeptical view of mobile banking. Graeber says: "We hate to rain on this parade, but here's the reality: Today's consumers still aren't very interested in mobile banking. Before putting a mobile offering at the head of the development queue, eBusiness banking execs should sit patiently on the sidelines and wait to see if the early leaders succeed in growing adoption and delivering a solid ROI."

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Pilfered financial institution account numbers are commanding the highest price in an underground trade of personal details, according to a recent survey by Symantec. Account details command prices of up to $400, while credit card details sell for between 50 cents and $5, e-mail passwords from $1 to $350 each, and e-mail addresses from $2 to $4 per megabyte, according to Symantec's "Internet Security Threat Report," which covers the first half of the year. 

In a related story, Panda Software is reporting that the global market for malware now operates like a supermarket, complete with special offers and volume discounts. According to Panda's latest quarterly report, the malware industry now appears to be turning from being just a shop from which malware can be bought, to one where services are offered.

MAGENSA™ is a trusted verification authority (TVA) that provides real-time remote-hosted credential authentication services. These services enable banks, businesses, and government agencies to integrate PCI DSS and FFIEC multi-factor authentication and end-to-end data encryption capabilities into their existing processing environments without the need for substantial financial investments or massive changes to the existing infrastructure.

Specifically tailored to enhance the security of internet banking and ATM applications, MAGENSA delivers unprecedented security and authentication using the familiar magstripe card credentials (secure tokens) that a bank has already issued to its customers. MAGENSA is powered by the trusted and proven card authentication technology known as MagnePrint® (www.magneprint.com). MagnePrint differentiates a customers’ authentic magstripe card from an altered or counterfeit version, transforming the traditional magstripe card into a powerful security token.

MAGENSA’s Secure Data Center (SDC), a reliable 24x7 operations center that is maintained 365 days a year, simplifies the integration of data decryption and MagnePrint scoring into existing websites, and allows for data federation across institutional domains.

For more information on MAGENSA, please visit www.magensa.net or call 877.MAGENSA.

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ONLINE BANKING: 

Embraced by Customers - The Next Steps

Digital Resolve - http://www.digital-resolve.net Read Dennis Maicon's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/DigitalResolve.pdf

First Internet Bank - http://www.firstib.com Read David Becker's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/FirstInternet.pdf

Microsoft - http://www.microsoft.com Read Greg Haislip's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Microsoft.pdf

Open Solutions - http://www.opensolutions.com   Read Michael D. Nicastro's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/OSI.pdf

TowerGroup - http://www.towergroup.com   Read George Tubin's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/TowerGroup.pdf

uMonitor - http://www.umonitor.com   Read Dinesh Sheth's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/uMonitor.pdf

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A significant number of mass affluent consumers having investable assets of $100K to $1M have established relationships with Internet-based financial organizations, according to a study by SYNERGISTICS Research. William McCracken, CEO of SYNERGISTICS, stated "there is obviously an appeal among mass affluent households for Internet-based providers. Of course, it can be assumed that these institutions to some extent have ‘bought share’ with bonus rates and deposits or other incentives. Traditional providers must position themselves against the challenge. Deposit relationships can be weakened as customers move balances to online savings products that have a significant rate advantage over those offered in the local branch."

Grow your membership and your revenue with a unique youth program, plus get $1 for each card sign-up!

Unique tools for customer growth, a way to differentiate yourself in the market and a great revenue generator. PAYjr is the youth program that will help you grow your bank with younger members. It is not just marketing material to send out to customers, but the tools to help them learn money management.

We offer a turn-key branding solution that allows you to offer financial education, an online chore and allowance program and a teen prepaid card that teens can design themselves! These programs show your involvement in your community and will help parents show their kids how to earn and save money the smart way. The online chore and allowance program schedules chores and tracks their completion, making chores interactive and fun for the whole family. The prepaid Visa Buxx card is a great tool for teens to learn how to budget and it is a great revenue generator for you. Get $1 for each card sign-up!

Check out our site where you can design your own prepaid card: www.PAYjrVisaBuxx.com

Contact Information & For Partnership Opportunities:


Jessica Stroud
Jessica@payjr.com
(214) 618-7037

www.PAYjrCorp.com 

The PAYjr Visa Buxx® Card is issued by BankFirst, Sioux Falls, SD, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. BankFirst; Member FDIC.

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Mint is a free online financial management service, clearly designed to compete with Intuit's Quicken and Quicken Online. Mint is a straightforward personal accounting product, with a typical register view. Each night, Mint downloads transaction data from more than 3,500 financial institutions and credit card providers, giving users a unified view of all account activity in a single interface. Mint claims to be the world's first free, online, fully automatic way to manage all your checking, savings, and credit accounts in one place. Mint makes money by looking at your spending habits and your accounts and recommending offers that will save you money. Not all of its advice is paid, but selling those alerts is the Mint business plan. 

TransUnion has debuted TrueCredit.com which they say marks the first time that U.S. consumers have the ability to instantly lock and unlock their TransUnion credit file to prevent unwanted activity. Once enrolled, use of the new feature is available to website subscribers online at no additional charge 24/7. The TrueCredit Lock introduction comes on the heels of an announcement by parent TransUnion that in upcoming it will become the first credit reporting company to enable consumers nationwide to freeze their credit files via either telephone or mail, regardless of whether a file freeze law has been enacted or is currently in effect within their state. Currently, more than 30 states have such legislation in place.

Revolutionary Convergence of Security Technology for Secure Internet Banking!

MagneSafe^TM P55 is a portable card reader/authenticator with four key technologies for secure online banking: Cardholder Data Encryption, MagnePrint^® card authentication technology, Website Authentication and Track 1, 2 and 3 card reading capabilities. In conjunction with MAGENSA^TM, the MagneSafe P55 is designed to offer secure, multifactor authentication for Internet banking, empowering consumers with the freedom and confidence of knowing that their transactions are protected anytime, anywhere.

MAGENSA, a Trusted Verification Authority that provides real-time, remote-hosted credential authentication services, allows credit unions to integrate PCI DSS and FFIEC compliant multifactor authentication, data encryption, website authentication, and data federation capabilities without the need for substantial financial investments or massive changes to the existing infrastructure.

For more information about the MagneSafe P55 or MAGENSA, visit www.magensa.net, or call 877.MAGENSA.

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Internet Access

Voice and data services provider Speakeasy has expanded its connectivity speed options by adding standalone ADSL2 which features download speeds of up to 8.0, 10.0 and 15.0 megabits per second (Mbps), and upload speeds of up to 1.0 Mbps. The new service, Speakeasy OneLink, offers ADSL2 packages which are geared towards smaller organizations needing more available bandwidth per employee. The new service is powered by the national network of Speakeasy’s longtime partner Covad Communications. The service, which runs on their nationwide, multi-redundant private fiber network, will be available in eleven key markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC. 

FaceTime Communications, a maker of network security appliances, just announced the USG (Unified Security Gateway), one of the first devices directed at the full gamut of UC (unified communications) services. USG will include security, management and compliance for Web communications like public instant messaging services, VoIP, and P2P communications as well as securing and managing enterprise UC platforms, such as Microsoft Office Communications Server and IBM Lotus Sametime. The USG appliance will allow IT to set and enforce policy for all parts of Web browsing, UC, and IM. It also includes Web filtering to manage employee Web access, uses malware scanning of file attachments, and content filtering. For regulatory compliance issues, the device includes capture and archiving of IMs and file attachments. Pricing starts at $4,995.

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Call Centers

LivePerson, a provider of online conversion solutions, announced the release of Timpani 8.0. The latest version of the company's hosted enterprise platform provides an enhanced version of Timpani Voice, an invite-to-talk and click-to-talk solution that bridges the gap between an organization's website and call center. The new version offers deeper computer telephony integration (CTI) options and talk by PC for website visitors, a feature that allows consumers to use VoIP through their computers to speak directly with call center agents.

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