Allstate Merchant Services, LLC. December 2009 SpendTrend Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) January 22, 2010 -- 2009 SpendTrend Report. Allstate Merchant services, LLC. a TOP RATED Merchant Service Provider located in New York's Financial District. AMS enables merchants to ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS nationally.
Whether opening a new business or expanding an established one, we provide flexible and reliable products and services that enable merchants across the nation to accept nearly all types of electronic payments including:
· Major credit cards: MasterCard®, Visa®, American Express®, Diners Club®, Discover® Network, JCB®

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Allstate Merchant Services, LLC. December 2009 SpendTrend Report

Welcome visit Our WebSite:

http://www.allstatemerchants.com

· PIN-secured and signature debit
· Electronic benefits transfer (EBT)
· Gift cards, purchasing cards
· TeleCheck Electronic Check Acceptance® (ECA®) Warranty service
· All Web-based, e-commerce transactions, Shopping Carts, on-line payment solutions

Fax: 866-908-8472 • Tel: 866-541-8472
"Credit Card Processing Made Easy"
Looking to partner with the Best Credit Card Processing Company in America?

AMS pays $1000 to you "the merchant" if we can't beat your rate!

*MERCHANT SERVICES *CASH ADVANCES *WEB DESIGN, HOSTING, SUPPORT AMS has the solution.

Successfully servicing thousands of restaurants, retail businesses, wholesale Businesses, lodging, service based, mail order, telephone order and E-Commerce businesses, established and start-up nationwide. Understanding the needs of our customer, pre-built and custom web design solutions are available which include shopping carts, web hosting services, search engine optimization (SEO), Internet marketing and numerous other web / Internet related services. All products and services are delivered with utmost speed, reliability and flexibility. Our experienced staff of professionals offers personal attention and support in various languages, allowing us to deliver the best service and value to YOU our customer.



Industry Insights
First Data Wraps Up Holiday Season with December 2009 SpendTrend Report
Last week, First Data released its SpendTrend transaction analysis for the full month of December 2009. SpendTrend tracks consumer spending via credit, signature debit, PIN debit and electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards at U.S. merchant locations.

Same-store transactions for December 2009 showed a growth of 8% over 2008, holding up well despite widespread winter storms on the last holiday shopping weekend. Transactions in the month of November 2009 were 8.9% higher than the previous year. Driven by increased usage at value retailers, PIN debit transactions continued to outperform with growth of 12.5% in December.

December Transactions Same-Store Growth
Credit and Signature Debit +4.6%
PIN Debit +12.5%
EBT +37%
Total Transactions +8%


Value retailers once again led transaction growth at a rate of 14.1%, and most industries posted gains. Hotels experienced lower transaction growth in part due to scaled back holiday-related travel by consumers. Average tickets were slightly down on a year-over-year basis, but up versus November as a result of increases in value retailer and grocery average tickets.

Other Findings
Industry perspective:
• Petroleum merchants and value merchants outperformed all other industries. General retail declined from November due to lower department store sales.
• Sales volume growth was up for all major merchant categories, especially petroleum. Gas prices were $0.90 per gallon higher compared to last year.
• Average ticket posted slight decreases on a year-over-year basis. However, average ticket increased from November.
Regional view:

• All regions grew more than 6%. The Midwest region led growth due to lower unemployment, an increasing population and higher manufacturing orders.

Same-Store Transaction Growth by Region: December 2009 vs. December 2008


Region:

New England 8%
Mid Atlantic 7.3%
South 7.5%
Midwest 10.7%
Southwest 6.6%
West 9.2%

Largest State
in Region

Massachusetts 8.6%
New York 8.7%
Florida 7.3%
Illinois 10.4%
Texas 6.4%
California 8.3%

Source: First Data SpendTrend Report

First Data Partners with VeriFone; New TeleCheck ECA and Petroleum Applications Released for VeriFone Vx570

First Data and VeriFone Form a Strategic Partnership

First Data and VeriFone Holdings, Inc. have signed an agreement to make First Data a preferred U.S. distributor and reseller of VeriFone countertop products through its TASQ Technology subsidiary. TASQ is a market leader in delivering value-added repair, maintenance and deployment services for payment devices to merchants of all sizes.

VeriFone will design, build and manufacture new, high-volume co-branded products that will expand First Data's award-winning line of payment solutions. Together, the companies will explore other opportunities, including Class A certification of more VeriFone devices.
"We are pleased that two leaders of the payment industry are working together to better serve the merchant community," said Ed Labry, president of Retail and Alliance Services at First Data.
"First Data's confidence in VeriFone is a tremendous honor and we will work diligently to continue to validate that trust," said Douglas Bergeron, CEO of VeriFone.
TeleCheck Electronic Check Acceptance (ECA) Application for VeriFone Vx570
(Nashville Front-End Platform)

First Data recently released a new terminal application for the VeriFone Vx570 product. The stand-alone application can be downloaded separately from other terminal applications, making it a great solution for Vx570 merchants who are interested in TeleCheck's ECA service but are unwilling to replace their terminals.
At present, the application is for dial-up connections only. An Internet Protocol (IP) version is in development. For more information, contact your relationship manager.
Petroleum Application for VeriFone Vx570
(BUYPASS Front-End Platform)

First Data has developed a new petroleum terminal application (BY062007) for the Vx570. Key enhancements include added support for Shell Proprietary, Shell Fleet and Visa Fleet cards. The application allows both dial-up and IP connections, uses triple DES encryption, processes all major credit and debit cards, and now supports most major fleet cards (Fleet One, FleetCor, MasterCard Fleet, Voyager, Visa Fleet, Wright Express, Shell Fleet and Valero Fleet). Contact your relationship manager for details.

© 2010 First Data Corporation. All Rights Reserved. All trademarks, service marks and trade names referenced in this material are the property of their respective owners.
First Data Corporation | 5565 Glenridge Connector NE | Atlanta, GA 30342



For more information visit www.allstatemerchants.com

Credit card processor and debit card processor, merchant service provider Allstate Merchant Services, LLC (AMS) www.allstatemerchants.com tel. 8665418472 fax 8669088472 enables businesses to accept electronic payment such as Visa, Master Card, Amex, Discover and numerous other Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Food Stamps and Charge Cards. AMS provides credit card readers, Check Readers and terminals as well as POS solutions for all businesses local and national. Dejavoo, Nurit, Hypercom, Omni and numerous other credit card terminals serviced and supported.
For a FREE consultation call today 866 541 8472

More information can be found online at http://www.allstatemerchants.com

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