Personnel Moves Highlight Emphasis on Product Management and Fraud PreventionHOUSTON, Apr 21, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- PULSE has made several staffing changes that reflect the company's
increased emphasis on value-added products and services, including the
safeguarding of financial institutions and their debit cardholders
from fraud.
As part of an expanded focus on bringing new products to market
while continuing to enhance the value of existing products, PULSE is
combining its product management, retail services and strategic
business development teams. These teams have been merged into one
department led by Judith McGuire, who has been promoted to senior vice
president, product management, from vice president, retail services.
McGuire has been with PULSE since 2002 and now directs product
management activities for all PULSE network products. She previously
worked for First Data Corporation in multiple roles, including product
development and marketing.
"PULSE is committed to serving the evolving needs of our network
participants in a changing financial services marketplace," said Dave
Schneider, PULSE president. "This effort includes the work of Judith
and her team, which is dedicated to managing our existing lineup of
products and services, as well as expanding this lineup."
PULSE has been aggressively enhancing and expanding its products
and services, and McGuire sees opportunities to accelerate this
momentum.
"In 2007, we introduced the Perks Everyday(SM)debit rewards
product, the recurring PINless Bill Pay service and DebitProtect(SM),"
she said. "Our participants are looking to us to provide even greater
value in the future, and we plan to deliver."
Perks Everyday is a points-based rewards program that allows debit
cardholders to choose from hundreds of reward items, while recurring
PINless Bill Pay gives consumers the flexibility to automatically pay
recurring bills using their debit cards without entering their
personal identification numbers, or PINs.
Recognized fraud expert James Cichy has joined PULSE as vice
president, fraud management. Cichy is responsible for PULSE fraud
protection and prevention services, including DebitProtect, which
provides risk scoring for all PIN, signature and PINless debit
transactions on the PULSE network. Prior to joining PULSE, Cichy was
employed at Fifth Third Bank, where he and his team were recognized
for their outstanding efforts to minimize fraud losses.
"The addition of Jim's expertise reflects the importance PULSE
places on fraud protection," said Warren Coles, PULSE executive vice
president and chief operating officer. "Addressing fraud is a top
priority of our participants, and it's a top priority of PULSE."
PULSE also has promoted Mike Urquizu from senior manager, business
development, to vice president, sales. A PULSE employee since 2001,
Urquizu oversees the national financial institution sales program and
manages a team of sales executives. He is responsible for sales of
PULSE network participation, as well as various processing solutions.
"Mike has extensive experience in the EFT industry, and manages a
broad and growing sales force for PULSE," said Fritz Weitzel, senior
vice president, sales. "His team's efforts have contributed
significantly to PULSE's phenomenal growth over the past two years."
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About PULSE
PULSE is one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks, currently
serving more than 4,500 banks, credit unions and savings institutions
across the country. PULSE is owned by Discover Financial Services
(NYSE: DFS). The network links cardholders with more than 265,000
ATMs, as well as POS terminals at retail locations nationwide. The
company is also a valued resource for consumer research related to
electronic payments and is committed to providing its participants
with education on evolving products, services and trends in the
payments industry. For more information, visit www.pulse-eft.com.
SOURCE: PULSE
PULSE
Anne Rhodes, 832-214-0234