If you've followed this blog, you have long ago realized that Pay By Touch (PBT) is "so much more" than simply a biometric payment/transaction company. It is for this reason, that I believe Pay By Touch will eventually, simply become a division of the company. PBT has cleverly acquired so many valuable assets/intellectual properties and companies, that the biometric payments aspect, albeit, a tremendously valuable asset, may be destined to become just a part of what is maturing into a "significant payment processing entity."
As such, it might be the very reason Saatchi & Saatchi is working up a whole new name and look for "Pay By Touch."
Consider that because of their acquisitions of payment processors such as Intercept, and Cardsystems, along with Paynet's Client Portfolio, PBT is now processing over $18 billion dollars per year in credit/debit/EBT and ACH transactions, making them one of the leading payment processors in the industry. They process these transactions for about 140,000 businesses nationwide.It is important to note that (in addition to biometrics) there are distinguishing aspects which separate Pay By Touch from other players in the payments industry. These differences are what make PBT truly stand out in the crowd.
The payment processing industry consists of basically three tiers. There are literally "hundreds" if not over 1000 of what is known as ISO's, (Independant Sales Organizations) in the payments industry. These are different than sales forces. Each ISO usually has it's own sales force.
The next tier, consists of the 146 or so "payment processors. This includes such publicly traded companies as Heartland Payment Systems (NYSE HPY $28.08), Global Payments, Inc (NYSE GPN $38.84). and Alliance Data (NYSE ADS: $78.82) ***(for a list of publicly traded processing companies and what they are trading at click here)*** Pay By Touch is in fact listed as a "Payment Processor", however this brings me to the next tier.
The number one tier consists of 15 or less "Processors" (i.e. complete "end-to-end single source" Processors." Known as "True Processors" they are few and far between, and Pay By Touch is listed as one of them.
In fact, according to the 2007 Buyers Guide, from Digital Transaction News, released in August, there are only 11 companies, including Pay By Touch Payment Solutions, which are A-listed as Processors.
The other "Processors" listed include: ATMAccess, Chase Paymentech, Discover Network, EDS (Electronic Data Systems), First Data, Fiserv, Moneris, NPC (National Payments Company) JetPay and TSYS, all of which/whom are major players in this industry.
So my point, is: To confuse Pay By Touch as simply a biometric payments company, is to ignore how powerful a player they have become in the "payments industry" period.When you take into account that PBT literally "owns" the biometric "payments space", it becomes even more dynamic, because they will become the "only true" full scale payments provider in existence, if and when biometrics become ubiquitous, as none of the aforementioned companies can offer a biometric payment mechanism. They already have a one-up on the competition, based on the comparison chart to the right, as they are currently the only one to offer an Online PIN debit platform.
This brings me to their online commerce division which offers the industry's first software-only PIN Debit option for the Internet, through it's ATM Direct Division.
Once again, according to Digital Transactions News 2007 Buyers guide, the PIN Technology companies consist of: First Data, GratisCard, Dynamic Card Solutions, Identitrust and Pay By Touch, further enhancing their value in the processing industry.
This is not to mention that everyday, more and more computers (millions) are being shipped with biometric finger sensors, Their strategic partnership with UPEK has created their innovative "TrueMe" program, an on-demand authentication service that enables employees, customers, and partners to authenticate themselves on the Internet. It's quick, simple to use, and most importantly, it's secure.
With TrueMe, there are no usernames or passwords to remember or enter, so they can't be forgotten or stolen. Instead, when customers wish to authenticate their identity they simply swipe their finger across a TrueMe certified finger sensor which is integrated with or attached to their computer. This division is a powerful tool to Securing Banking, Corporate, and Personal Online Sessions with Multifactor Authentication
PBT covers the gamut with their check processing division, which is called PayCheck Secure™ and is being used by more and more financial institutions everyday. Consumers love it, and financial institutions are hopping on board with enthusiasm. Paycheck Secure™ is a simple and secure check cashing system that enables financial institutions to attract under-banked customers by offering a service they already need and use today.The under-banked customer, as estimated by industry experts, will be responsible for over 50 percent of growth in the retail banking environment over the next 10 years. Paycheck Secure can help financial institutions penetrate this large emerging market by increasing under-banked customer traffic in your branches and providing them with a positive banking relationship.
Another division which also has an extremely promising and bright future, is one that I haven't covered much in this blog. It has more to do with my unfamiliarity with the Health Care Industry than anything. However, as of late, I have become more adept in my understanding of this market.
Pay By Touch's Healthcare Solutions Division is making good headway. For providers, payers and retail pharmacies, Pay By Touch Healthcare Solutions applies Pay By Touch's biometric patents and unique intellectual property to provide critical efficiencies in identity management, patient authentication and processing of healthcare transactions. With the touch of a finger, patients will be able to pay using credit, debit, health savings accounts or flexible spending accounts to pay for their healthcare products and services.Pay By Touch can also instantly verify patient insurance membership and benefit information, and provide real-time claims adjudication. The result for the healthcare industry is more accurate data collection, streamlined payments, and reduced insurance fraud. I'll detail PBT Healthcare Solutions in an upcoming post.
Of course, let's not forget their Loyalty Division, and their recently introduced SmartShop personalized marketing program. It reinvents the loyalty/rewards industry because it understands that consumers are are loyal to brands, not necessarily the stores, and therefore, offers consumers discounts on products they already buy/want.It has the potential to literally transform the loyalty industry. With the acquisition of such companies as 7th St. Software, Covena, Capture Resource and S&H Solutions, Pay By Touch is certainly also in an envious position to empower the loyalty/rewards industry.
Once a week, I'll provide a detailed look at each one of the divisions that make up Pay By Touch...as each brings tremendous value to PBT in it's own derivative way.
Next Up:Pay By Touch's SmartShop™
Personalized Marketing Program
