News Press Releases

First Data and Verifone Partner to Combat Consumer Payment Data Theft

PAY | December 15, 2014

First Data, one of the world’s leading payment technology companies, and Verifone, one of the world’s leading providers for secure payment acceptance, announced a partnership today to help U.S. merchants reduce exposure to large-scale consumer payment data breaches and expedite merchant acceptance of EMV-enabled credit and debit cards.

Large-scale theft of consumer payment data from merchants’ integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems is among the biggest challenges facing the payments industry. Another challenge comes from the significant number of merchants' POS integrators and other payment providers looking to certify new EMV-capable devices in response to the mandated fraud liability shift from bank to merchant in October 2015.

“As we have seen over the past few years, data breaches have become widespread and undermine consumer confidence and privacy. While EMV acceptance in the marketplace will strengthen data protection, it creates a burden on merchants and those that serve them,” said Guy Chiarello, president of First Data. “This partnership with Verifone furthers our objective of working with the leading payment technology providers to benefit merchants and their customers.”

To address this burden, First Data will now offer Verifone’s Secure Commerce Architecture (SCA) solution to its U.S. merchant clients who use Verifone equipment within an integrated point of sale (IPOS) system. SCA helps to solve the difficulties of EMV compliance by eliminating the flow of consumer payment data into the IPOS. Payment data will also now flow through First Data’s TransArmor data protection solution, enabling encrypted delivery directly to First Data from the Verifone payment terminal.

A visual illustration of SCA is available here.

“First Data’s support of SCA is a significant step in easing the burden on merchants of data breaches, and the related complexity from EMV acceptance in the U.S.,” said Paul Galant, CEO of Verifone. “This partnership will enable First Data merchants in the U.S. that use Verifone terminals to experience the benefit of an integrated POS, while enhancing the safety and soundness of the payments industry.”

“Getting EMV into the payment ecosystem and protecting customer payment data are both crucial to the establishment of a secure payment space,” said Thad Peterson, senior analyst for Aite Group. “By working together to increase adoption of the Verifone Secure Commerce Architecture solution, Verifone and First Data are taking important steps to simplify EMV implementation and remove sensitive data from merchant systems. It’s a sound approach that provides significant benefits for merchants and, ultimately, their customers.”

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for VeriFone Systems, Inc.

This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs and on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of the business of VeriFone Systems, Inc., including many factors beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those associated with: successful rollout of our Secure Commerce Architecture solution with First Data, execution of our strategic plan and business initiatives and whether the expected benefits of our plan and initiatives are achieved, short product cycles and rapidly changing technologies, our ability to maintain competitive leadership position with respect to our payment solution offerings, our assumptions, judgments and estimates regarding the impact on our business of the continued uncertainty in the global economic environment and financial markets, our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses into our business and operations, our ability to protect against fraud, the status of our relationship with and condition of third parties such as our contract manufacturers, distributors and key suppliers upon whom we rely in the conduct of our business, our dependence on a limited number of customers, the conduct of our business and operations internationally, our ability to effectively hedge our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, and our dependence on a limited number of key employees. For a further list and description of the risks and uncertainties affecting the operations of our business, see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 10-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date such statements are made. Verifone is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

About First Data

First Data is a global technology leader in the financial services industry. With 24,000 employee-owners and operations in 35 countries, the company provides secure and innovative payment technology and services to more than six million merchants and financial institutions around the world, from small businesses to the world’s largest corporations. Today, businesses in nearly 70 countries trust First Data to secure and process more than 2,000 financial transactions per second, totaling $1.8 trillion a year. First Data’s unparalleled infrastructure, scale and partnerships go "beyond the transaction" with next-generation point-of-sale technology fueled by powerful analytics to detect fraud, gain insights into consumer spending, and strengthen customer loyalty. All day, every day, First Data helps its clients thrive in the evolving world of commerce. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.

About Verifone

Verifone is transforming everyday transactions into opportunities for connected commerce. We’re connecting more than 27 million payment devices to the cloud—merging the online and in-store shopping experience and creating the next generation of digital engagement between merchants and consumers. We are built on a 30-year history of uncompromised security. Our people are known as trusted experts that work with our clients and partners, helping to solve their most complex payments challenges. We have clients and partners in more than 150 countries, including the world’s best-known retail brands, financial institutions and payment providers.

Verifone.com | (NYSE: PAY) | @verifone