Chase Paymentech has announced a joint initiative with VeriFone and Semtek to provide end-to-end encryption technologies for merchants to combat threats to security. The companies said they "will work together to market and distribute VeriFone’s VeriShield Protect solution to the Chase Paymentech base of retail merchants. The end-to-end encryption solution is designed to help merchants reduce the costs to comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements and associated security risk by protecting card information from the point of swipe to the Chase Paymentech authorization host." READ MORE »

VeriFone Holdings has announced that it has signed an agreement to become the lead investor in a Series B financing of Semtek Corporation - saying it "has doubled its investment in the security technology developer and acquired an option at a future date to purchase the remaining shares in Semtek." READ MORE »

VeriFone has announced the formation of a Global Security Solutions Business Unit - saying it will be "focused on delivering innovative security solutions, including VeriShield Protect end-to-end encryption, to protect cardholder data throughout merchant and processor systems." Jeff Wakefield, formerly vice president of marketing for VeriFone’s Integrated Systems business, was named general manager and vice president of the new business unit. READ MORE »

VeriFone Holdings has announced that RBS WorldPay has agreed to work jointly towards marketing VeriFone's VeriShield Protect end-to-end solution for encrypting payment card data. According to VeriFone, "RBS WorldPay is the first merchant acquirer to endorse a commercial end-to-end encryption solution. By encrypting the card number on swipe, right at the point of sale, RBS WorldPay merchants who choose the VeriShield Protect solution will be able to dramatically reduce both their own risk and that of their customers as well." READ MORE »

Hypercom, Ingenico, and VeriFone have announced the formation of the Secure POS Vendor Alliance - SPVA, a non-profit business organization chartered with implementing common payment security standards among vendors of secure point-of-sale (POS) devices used by retailers, acquirers and cardholders alike. READ MORE »

VeriFone has announced that VeriFone Transportation Systems has added new programming, including People.com, to the content available on the interactive mobile information screens at the heart of its integrated payment and information system in New York City taxis. READ MORE »

At this week's ETA meeting in Las Vegas, VeriFone has introduced PAYware PC - calling it 'the next generation of its popular PCCharge payment processing solution for standalone or integrated environments. PAYware PC provides end-to-end payment processing and customer management capabilities for small-to-medium-sized merchants of all types and a simple, yet highly-secure integration platform for developers.' READ MORE »

In an article subtitled "Payment Firm VeriFone Can't Count Its Money", Troy Wolverton of the San Jose Mercury News reports on VeriFone's announcement earlier this week that it "had overstated its pre-tax profit by 80 percent this fiscal year." Wolverton says that "the situation is not without its ironies: a high-tech company felled by a low-tech problem; a company that helps customers count money, having trouble counting its own."

Arik Hesseldahl reports for Business Week that "VeriFone has quietly expressed interest in buying the assets of Pay By Touch, a biometrics company currently in Chapter 11, according to court filings obtained by BusinessWeek.com."

VeriFone Holdings has announced "formation of VeriFone Access to provide merchant hosted services for managing electronic payments, beginning in Mexico. VeriFone Access was formed with VeriFone’s investment and in partnership with Tienda-kit, an innovative Mexican third-party acquirer and merchant services provider, which now operates as VeriFone Access."

VeriFone has announced that its annual Retail Payments Conference will be held October 17-19 at the Don Cesar Resort in St. Pete Beach, FL. "The Retail Payments Conference is the only event that focuses on payment security, payment standards and emerging payment trends from a retailer and a retail systems integration perspective."

Marilyn Alva writes for Investor's Business Daily about Verifone and how it's benefiting from wireless POS equipment sales in support of expansion of card acceptance into new segments such as taxis in New York City.

VeriFone has launched a new payment security web site at www.secureretailpayments.com. "VeriFone developed this web site to help retailers better understand the confusing set of payment industry standards. The web site includes white papers, links to industry standards, news updates and information about VeriFone products."