BANK tech-trends News
 

April 6, 2009 - April 10, 2009

• 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

If your bank is looking to deploy thin clients or interested in desktop virtualization, BOSaNOVA wants to help. They have an offer available until May 31st that gives you one free thin client for every four thin clients that you purchase - any desktop model and any OS. If you are not sure which thin client is best for your environment, they even have a demo policy that makes it easy to decide by obtaining a free no-obligation trial unit.

The AdderView CATxIP 1000 from Adder is an affordable IP KVM (keyboard - video - mouse) unit that meets smaller organization's remote-management needs well. While it doesn't deliver the high end management features that you will find in offerings from Raritan and Avocent, the AdderView is far less expensive.

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ATMs/Kiosks

Some large retailers are starting to use kiosks to target consumers who don't qualify for credit. For example, a company called ReadyCredit has partnered with Macys on a kiosk solution that dispenses open loop prepaid Macy’s ReadyCARDs. The ReadyCARD, which is MasterCard- branded, offers the same loyalty benefits, such as in-store discounts and access to special sales, as the Macy’s Star Rewards card. The cards can be used to pay bills, and can be reloaded at any readySTATION kiosk, which is manufactured by NCR. To reload funds, users insert cash.

Video Display Corporation announced the introduction of its Display Concepts new low-cost drop-in replacement monitor for NCR and Diebold ATMs. The new model V084S1 display is an 8.4” flat-panel LCD to replace existing LCDs or upgrade older 10” CRTs. The company says that their Display Concept LCD technology offers brighter, sharper images than CRTs, will not degrade over time due to screen burn, and is very energy efficient.

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Gemalto and Precise Biometrics have introduced Gemalto .NET Bio which is a smart card that utilizes Precise Biometrics' fingerprint technology, Precise Match-on-Card. The Precise Match-on-Card technology stores and verifies users' fingerprint information directly on the Gemalto .NET card. The fingerprint information never leaves the card and is never stored in a database, thus protecting their digital identities and privacy. The firms claim that Gemalto .NET Bio works seamlessly with a wide range of applications for Windows.

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INSIDE Contactless and First Data announced a three-year agreement to develop contactless payment stickers, which First Data will market as GO-Tag products. According to the companies, INSIDE will supply MicroPass payment sticker prelams exclusively to First Data-qualified card manufacturers for production. First Data will be marketing and distributing GO-Tag products to financial institutions, major U.S. merchants, and other distribution channels in a variety of form factors.

At the recent CTIA Wireless 2009 tradeshow, Verizon Wireless announced plans for a new 4G network that they claim will blanket the entire continental United States, including the far corners of rural America. They plan to roll out LTE (Long-Term Evolution) throughout the entire country, including places where they don't offer CDMA cell phone service today. Currently, only about 38% of rural American households have access to high-speed Internet connections, according to a study published by Pew Internet & American Life Project.

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According to the Association for Financial Professionals, check-related crime remains by far the most common type of payment fraud reported by corporate financial officers. Sixty percent of the organizations that sustained losses identified checks as the payment method most responsible for them, followed by consumer credit or debit cards, 20%; commercial cards, 10%; automated clearing house debits, 5%; ACH credits, 3%; and wire transfers, 1%. According to the study, the most widely used techniques to commit check fraud were counterfeit checks using the organization’s magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line data, with 72% of victims reporting fraud from that method; altered payee names on organization-issued checks, 59%; and altered employee paychecks, 27%.

The number of websites blocked for hosting malicious content rose by 197 percent in March, according to MessageLabs, the highest number since October 2008. They attribute the spike to a sharp increase in web-based and email-borne images with injected scripts like JavaScript and VBScript. The primary target appears to be people using older browsers without updates to prevent script execution in images.

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Security:

Protecting Customer Data at Rest and in Motion

CheckFree - http://www.checkfree.com Read Christopher Beier's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/CheckFree.pdf

Code Green Networks - http://www.codegreennetworks.com   Read Rod Murchison's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/CGN.pdf

e-DMZ Security - http://www.e-dmzsecurity.com   Read Kris Zupan's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/e-DMZ.pdf

Gladiator Technology - http://www.gladiatortechnology.com Read Danny Johnston's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Gladiator.pdf

Guardian Analytics - http://www.guardiananalytics.com Read Tom Miltonberger's comments:     http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Guardian.pdf

HEIT - http://www.goheit.com   Read Dan Holt's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Heit.pdf

Integrated Computer Solutions - http://www.icsinc.com   Read Keith Young's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/ICS.pdf

Intrepidus Group - http://www.intrepidusgroup.com   Read Rohyt Belani's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Intrepidus.pdf

Netsecuris - http://www.netsecuris.com   Read Leonard Jacobs' comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Netsecuris.pdf

Network Box - http://www.networkboxusa.com   Read Pierluigi Stella's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/NetworkBox.pdf

Perimeter eSecurity - http://www.perimeterusa.com   Read Kevin Prince's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Perimeter.pdf

Reclamere - http://www.reclamere.com   Read Kevin Doyle's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/Reclamere.pdf

Simpler-Webb - http://www.swinc.com   Read Jeff Simpler's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SimplerWebb.pdf

SkyRecon Systems - http://www.skyrecon.com   Read Sean Martin's comments:   http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SkyRecon.pdf

Software and Management Associates - http://www.smausa.com Read Michael W. Taylor's comments: http://www.banktt.com/roundtable/SMA.pdf

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AbilityCRM, a CRM seller based in Tempe, Arizona, is rolling out their myCRM-Appliance which is a CRM server appliance designed for small to medium sized organizations. The product is billed as a solution that gives customers a choice of mid-market CRM systems from either Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sage SalesLogix CRM for 10-25 users. It features a price point between $59 and $89 per user, which includes installation, configuration, training and ongoing 24-hour system and network monitoring support.

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A new study sponsored by Fiserv confirms that consumers who pay bills online are more profitable and loyal to their financial institution due to their use of online bill payment services. Customers who began using online bill payment during the course of the study delivered 15 to 20% more profit to their financial institution when compared to similar customers who did not adopt the online service. Further, online bankers who paid bills online were 76% less likely to churn, or leave the financial institution.

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Internet Access

my1voice has announced a number of enhancements to their virtual PBX phone service. Currently they support: conference calling, caller ID tagging, request routing, caller ID routing and call forwarding to an extension. The new conference calling feature allows users to bring in resources as-needed rather than having several people sitting through the entire call, and my1voice users can act as a host to bring an unlimited number of parties onto a call. The Request Routing feature asks callers to enter numbers or letters on their phones’ keypad. Once the caller enters their zip code or area code, calls are routed to an extension in that geographical area or the person with knowledge of a particular area. Caller ID Routing enables organizations to route the calls directly to an extension, mailbox, or informational message. All of these can be done based on the incoming caller ID.

Polycom announced a partnership with Microsoft to start distributing Microsoft’s “RoundTable” product – renamed the “CX5000 Unified Conference Solution.” The CX5000 is a plug-and-play device that connects to a PC through a USB connection, and the companies tout the fact that any user can walk into a conference room, plug in a laptop, and start a meeting. Specifically, the CX5000 is designed for enterprises that use Microsoft Office Live Meeting 2007 or Office Communications Server 2007 and want a simple way to add audio and visual communication to an Office Live Meeting or Office Communications Server 2007 session. The device combines content, a panoramic 360-degree view of an entire meeting room, and a separate view of the active speaker for voice and video.

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Call Centers

Avaya announced a new contact center solution called Avaya Intelligent Customer Routing that uses advanced session initiation protocol (SIP) technology. Using speech self-service, callers can provide key information such as account numbers, transaction history and their primary needs to get connected to the best available agent regardless of their location. Intelligent Customer Routing also enables a reliable transfer of caller information to the agent.

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