I hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th of July weekend. Mine was rather hectic – my husband was training at Lake Elsinore for this first parachute jump on Saturday, BBQ on Sunday, and multiple errands day on Monday. Needless to say – I’m tired and it’s only Tuesday. Looking back – it is hard to stop for a minute and remember that 4th of July holiday is not about BBQ, or fireworks, or shoe sales (yes, I said it!), but about the concept of freedom, about making our own choices, and ability to have your own version of the American dream.

My long “relaxing” weekend is not unlike the SCAFP for the last couple of years. We, as organization, have done a lot of amazing things. A lot of little and not so little changes have been made – everything from our monthly lunch events to the SoCal Expo has been touched by the fairy dust of the wonderful group of volunteers that comprise SCAFP board and various committees. I would like to thank the SCAFP Board, SCAFP Committees, and SCAFP members for being part of SCAFP and to encourage you to increase your participation with the organization.

As I am passing the presidential button to Susan Mah, I would like to ask for your support in all the new beginnings that Susan will champion. I hope that you will have fabulous plans for the rest of the summer and I look forward to seeing all of you at the next lunch meeting in August!

Zoya Lieberman, CTP, MBA
Immediate Past President, SCAFP

As the incoming President of the Southern California Association of Financial Professionals, I’d like to thank you for the opportunity to serve in this role for the next 12 months. I look forward to the challenge in building upon the organization’s success and positive momentum of this past year.

Big thanks to Zoya Lieberman, Immediate Past President for her leadership and tireless energy and drive. She created an environment that was a breeding ground for new ideas and for “thinking outside of the box”.

The SCAFP Officers and Director for this year are as follows:

We will continue to move our monthly luncheons to different locations and offer a couple of webinars during the year. Speakers will continue to be of high quality and knowledgeable in their respective topics. Should you have any suggestions on luncheon locations, topics, speaker referrals or want to be on the planning committee, call or e-mail Robert Garrett.

Randy Gehres, So Cal EXPO (formerly EXPO LA) Chair is at the beginning stages of planning and putting his planning committee together. If you are interested in joining in on the fun, call him or e-mail him to be included on the committee.

In the past, we have had tours at the Federal Reserve District Bank and at Lockbox Processing Operation Centers. We are looking at scheduling two educational events for the next year. If you have any ideas in what you’d like to see and tour, or want to join in on planning, e-mail Morgyn Taylor.

SCAFP will introduce a New Member campaign in an effort to increase our overall membership. If this is the committee for you, call or e-mail Lynn Shulim.

Another opportunity is to work with Susan Farbenbloom on the quarterly newsletter. What do you want to see and read? If you feel that you can make a positive impact, call or e-mail Susan for your spot on her committee.

I’d like to see more SCAFP members consider to participate in serving on a committee this year. With our schedules and jobs becoming more and more demanding, I know it may seem like you couldn't possibly make the time, but the rewards are great. Please seek out a Board Member past or present if you are interested in joining a committee. A strong Association is dependent on the continued and enthusiastic participation of its members. I encourage you to take full advantage of all that SCAFP has to offer. There are plenty of opportunities to participate.

I look forward to seeing all of you at the August luncheon meeting.

Susan Quan Mah
SCAFP President

University of Southern California
Treasury Associate
(213) 740-5417
mah@usc.edu

• According to the Digital Transaction Magazine, there are at least 30 available payment processing iPhone applications as of February 2010.
• Mobile payments help small businesses and even consumers increase revenue and sales.
• Mobile merchant services have the same PCI security as standard terminals, but are more convenient, less expensive and easier to use.
• Mobile payments should have little effect on the merchant services industry, since it serves a different purpose by focusing on micro-market and small business companies, but it can also work with large field businesses.

• The card swiper and application are both free and include access to an online dashboard with analytics that help merchants track exactly what they have been selling.
• The fee charged is 2.75% + $0.15 per transaction.
• The service actually includes a plastic cube that is plugged into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android.
• Once the card is swiped, a phone number or email address must be entered and a receipt is emailed or a text message is sent.
• An added feature is that a photo can also be verified at the point of purchase to prevent fraudulent transactions.

• The download of the service originally cost $49.99 and now is only $0.99.
• There is a $25.00 monthly fee and a per-item cost of $0.24 + 2.09% - 3.79%.
• The credit card information is key-entered and an optional card swipe will be available soon.
• The transaction is processed securely through Authorize.Net and is encrypted end-to end.
• The card information is not stored after the transmission is completed.
• The recent addition is the ability to accept signatures and to integrate invoices with payments using third party software.
• There is a plan to release a version of the credit card terminal for the iPad and an application for Apple’s iMac desktop.

• VeriFone’s PAYware includes a free application and card swipe for the iPhone. It is turning the iPhone into a "card-accepting terminal." This device, as VeriFone claims, is as secure as any other payment processing devices since the information is encrypted at the point of swipe. PAYware retails for $149.00, but VeriFone gives it for free to merchants that sign a two-year contract. Similar devices will be released for Android and BlackBerry later in 2010.

• Apriva announced AprivaPay in January 2010, a Web-based service that processes card-not-present transactions on the iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones. They also offer AprivaPay Professional, a downloadable application that can process card-present transactions through an optional swipe. Apriva is not focusing on a particular market niche, but rather is offering the product to any merchant who is interested in this service.
• USAepay is offering a product called PaySaber which is marketed as a wireless ePay product. Unlike other devices, it also has printing capability, which gives more conservative users a “standard terminal” feel, while giving the merchant much needed mobility. Some of the features of the PaySaber include:
  • A built-in Encrypted Swiper that reads level 1 and level 2 card data which is then encrypted at the time of swipe and sent over to the payment gateway for processing.
  • A quick, integrated, thermal printer is built into every PaySaber device to allow merchants to print receipts or detailed invoices on-site for their customers.
  • An optional UPC Barcode Scanner makes the PaySaber more than just a credit card machine and into a complete point-of-sale system. Barcodes are also printed on all receipts, so returns are as simple as scanning the receipt and clicking the process buttons.