NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Newtek Business Services Corp., (NASDAQ: NEWT ) ( www.thesba.com ) The Small Business Authority ® , with a portfolio of over 100,000 business accounts, announced today the findings of its SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey, a monthly window into the concerns of independent business owners. Based on a poll of over 1,300 respondents, the key finding from the October survey is only 41% of business owners have a point of sale (POS) terminal or other method of taking credit and debit payments that is EMV compliant. Of those who do not have an EMV compliant terminal, 53% do not plan on upgrading their terminals to become EMV compliant.
The full October 2015 results showed the following:
| Poll Question | Poll Answer | 2015 Percentage | ||
| Is your existing POS terminal and method of taking credit and debit cards EMV compliant? | Yes | 41 | % | |
| No | 32 | % | ||
| N/A – Do not take payments | 27 | % | ||
| If no, are you planning to upgrade your POS terminal(s) to become EMV compliant? | Yes | 47 | % | |
| No | 53 | % | ||
Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority ® commented, “These October poll results are incredibly insightful as they comport with current trends and data that we are hearing from the major payment processors. With the October 1, 2015 deadline for EMV compliance behind us, we are now at the point in the payments business where businesses or card acceptors are being asked to have payment acceptance hardware that can read a microchip in a credit or debit card. Prior to October 1, 2015, a fraudulent card swiped by magnetic stripe readers would cause the financial institution that issued the Visa or MasterCard to incur the loss. Now that the deadline has passed, the merchant taking a card with a microchip on it must have a terminal that is EMV compliant with downloaded software to read the chip. Without the hardware and software, if a fraudulent card is taken, the merchant will be responsible for the fraud risk, instead of the issuing financial institution.”
Mr. Sloane continued, “We do find it shortsighted that our poll and other industry data is confirming that 60% of the credit and debit card acceptance universe is not ready for EMV compliance and could be subject to substantial fraud-related card risk. We have started to see some modest risk infractions on parts of our merchant portfolio, but are just in the first month of this card-acquiring industry change. We are hopeful that our efforts and industry efforts to invest in technology will lead to a reduction in the fraud risk in credit card acceptance.”
About Newtek Business Services Corp.
Newtek Business Services Corp. , The Small Business Authority ® , is an internally managed BDC, which along with its controlled portfolio companies, provides a wide range of business services and financial products under the Newtek ® brand to the small- and medium-sized business (“SMB”) market. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to over 100,000 SMB accounts across all 50 States to help them grow their sales, control their expenses and reduce their risk.
Newtek’s products and services include: Business Lending , Electronic Payment Processing , Managed Technology Solutions (Cloud Computing) , eCommerce , Accounts Receivable Financing , The Secure Gateway , The Newtek Advantage ™ , Insurance Services , Web Services , Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval and Payroll .
The Small Business Authority ® is a registered trade mark of Newtek Business Services Corp., and neither are a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this press release including statements regarding Newtek's beliefs, expectations, intentions or strategies for the future may be "forward-looking statements." All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, intensified competition, operating problems and their impact on revenues and profit margins, anticipated future business strategies and financial performance, anticipated future number of customers, business prospects, legislative developments and similar matters. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other conditions, which could cause Newtek’s actual results to differ from management’s current expectations, are contained in Newtek’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through www.sec.gov
For more information, please visit the following websites: www.thesba.com
FROM: Newtek Business Services Corp. http://www.thesba.com Contact: Simrita Singh Telephone: (212) 356-9566 / ssingh@thesba.com Investor Relations Contact: Jayne Cavuoto Telephone: (212) 273-8179 / jcavuoto@thesba.com
