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Equifax Inc., a global leader in information solutions, announced recently that it has chosen Anakam, Inc. to provide the electronic authenticator for the Equifax I-Card. Anakam will implement its Anakam.TFA® Two Factor Authentication service, making the Equifax I-Card the first to have the maximum ease of use as well as the highest level of authentication security (Level 3) in the marketplace.

The Anakam platform will be incorporated into the Equifax I-Card offering to provide on-going two-factor authentication without the need for distribution of smart cards and hard tokens to end users while still complying with the standards established around these devices. With Level 3 authentication, there is high confidence in the validity of the user’s asserted identity as determined by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines and the technical recommendations of the National Institutes of Standards and Technologies (NIST). This standard is commonly applied for the protection of remote or Web access to sensitive or private information, and it is typically used in government, healthcare, financial, and education transactions. It also complies with international privacy and security requirements.

Anakam.TFA Two-Factor Authentication uses flexible authentication channels to offer a variety of solutions for the secure authentication of users and customers. The company leverages existing devices such as cell phones, home phones, office phones, and voice biometrics to deliver a secure, expiring one-time pass code (OTP) that confirms that the person possessing the device is the one attempting to access the systems.

Launched in 2008, the Equifax I-Card is a digital identity management solution containing information that consumers and businesses need to conduct online transactions or verify identity. For Websites that accept I-Cards, consumers can click-in without the need to type in a user name, password, or other personal information. The Equifax I-Card is designed to verify that a consumer’s identity is true, which can reduce fraud for online merchants, services and destinations. In addition, because the I-Card only works with trusted Websites, it diminishes the danger of phishing.

The Equifax I-Card is part of the growing trend to provide increased anonymity and security for a consumer’s financial and credit information online. Equifax is working with multiple data sources for identity verification, along with open source technology that is endorsed by The Information Card Foundation (ICF), an industry consortium of consumer, data, and technology companies.

For more information, visit Equifax.com.

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DigitalPersona, Inc., a leader in fingerprint identity and authentication solutions, today announced that the company’s U.are.U® fingerprint biometrics solution was selected by Epicor® Software Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise business software to midmarket and Global 1000 companies. Epicor plans to add “touch-and-go” identification to its upcoming Retail Store Point-of-Sale (POS) solution, using DigitalPersona’s OneTouch® I.D. SDK. This Software Development Kit (SDK) will enable Epicor to provide retailers with fast fingerprint identification for manager authorization of transactions and staff time clock activities, reducing unauthorized overrides and “buddy punching.” Epicor will be demonstrating its biometrically-enabled application in booth #2105 at the National Retail Federation tradeshow.

Many of the world’s leading retailers use Epicor Retail solutions and services to become more profitable, productive and competitive. Delivering comprehensive retail management solutions to enterprises in all tiers–from regional chains to multichannel global brands–Epicor Retail Store software solutions offer robust retail POS and in-store systems. These POS solutions perform functions from returns and merchandise credits, to credit/debit card handling and manager dashboards. The integration of fingerprint identification into the upcoming Epicor Retail Store POS solution will enable retailers to increase accountability and decrease fraud, providing a quick return on investment.

DigitalPersona fingerprint authentication SDKs provide developers with a fast and easy way to make their applications identity-aware. This enables applications to rapidly identify employees, resulting in reduced fraud and improving the bottom line.

For additional information, visit digitalpersona.com.

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Debt counselors are now getting calls from confused and desperate consumers spouting interest rates of 27% to 33% who are looking for credit card debt help.

Late fees make up nearly 70% of the 17.1 billion dollars in fees collected by credit card issuers. Many credit card companies are located in states that have no limits on interest rates and fees. Numerous banks are demanding $39 late fees, fees for same-day payment, payments made by phone, and for usage overseas, and the kicker is, that instead of declining a transaction that will put you over your credit card limit, they approve it and smack you with a “courtesy” fee. Yes, thank you very much.

There is no end to the sneaky methods credit card issuers will utilize to entice you to spend more money. Believe it or not, one-third more people increase the amount they charge if the purchase doesn’t require a signature. This is according to a MasterCard study. By not requiring a signature for charges of $25 or less, consumers are reaching for their credit cards instead of paying with cash. And because your credit card is so handy why not add a few extra things to the bill; it’s not even $25, right? Before you know it those small charges will add up.

Remember when earning rewards was a great way to receive cash back or airline miles? In 2006, American Express removed its double points reward system for everyday purchases on their credit card. And Citibank reduced its cash back on purchases from 5% to 2%. All in all, consumers need to be vigilant and careful with their credit card spending and they must read notices and bills so they don’t end up with a “gotcha!”

For more information, visit consolidatecredit.org.

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Robert Johnson, President of Consumers for Competitive Choice (C4CC), issued the following statement in response to Andrew Martin’s front page story in today’s New York Times titled, “The Card Game: How Visa, Using Card Fees, Dominates a Market.”

“I am pleased that the New York Times is drawing attention to the issues of debit card steering and interchange fees, or swipe fees — two of the many methods that Visa has been using to line their pockets on the backs of small businesses and consumers for far too long. What this article makes abundantly clear is that the most important thing to card companies like Visa is their bottom line — at any cost! Is there any other industry where we put up with practices like this?

“As the article points out, not only do signature debit purchases cost twice as much as PIN debit purchases for retailers, but PIN debit cards are less vulnerable to fraud making them a safer choice for card carrying customers. Yet Visa, MasterCard and others continue to steer customers toward signature debit purchases, even going so far as offering glittering prizes that customers only qualify for by making signature debit purchases. Why? I think that answer is clear … because at the end of the day it means higher profits for big banks and Visa and MasterCard. It is truly disgusting.

“Small businesses have long been willing to pay their fair share with regard to interchange fees, but as the article makes clear, debit purchases were somewhat fee neutral until visa changed that in order to incentivize big banks to issue more credit cards. It is this greed that has led to an escalation of over 300% in interchange fees since 2001, resulting in interchange revenue that has increased to $45 billion today. These fees are excessive and reasonable reform is absolutely necessary.

“I hope that by highlighting these bad business practices, and the perverse form of competition that has been taking place in the credit card industry — on the basis of raising prices as opposed to lowering them — Congress will take swift and appropriate action, and immediately address interchange fees. Small businesses and consumers have been unfairly bearing the burden of the greed that has been prevalent in credit card companies for far too long.”

For more information, visit thecreditcardcon.com.

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