By Don Canning
Emerging Business Team, Microsoft
Financial institutions have recently recognized the opportunity in desktop real estate to capture the attention of the underserved small and mid-sized business (SMB) market and provide commerce services. To succeed in this often elusive market, FIs will have to address the real needs of the SMBs – like cash management tools and financial services, and make them easy to access and use. The Small Business Association reports that over 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within the first five years and the main reason identified for failure (and conversely for success) is visibility to and management of cash flow.
Why haven’t financial institutions made headway with getting more SMBs to sign up for commerce services? Mainly the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) factor has been too great for all parties concerned. What FI wants to get a $500,000 fine for non-compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard rules? The toughest part about providing financial services to SMBs has historically been ensuring they are secure and compliant. But now the security features and new capabilities of Windows Vista are providing the catalyst to change the way FIs do business with SMBs.
An application like IP Commerce’s PASS Gadget is a perfect example of exactly the kind of security checks and functionality that the FIs and SMBs have been waiting for. The PASS Gadget runs in the Windows Vista sidebar – a dynamic area of the desktop that keeps information and tasks at your fingertips. The PASS Gadget leverages new security features in Windows Vista, such as User Account Control (UAC) and Windows Security Center and helps SMBs comply with the strict security regulations set by PCI.
PASS Gadget’s live monitoring of the PC’s security health brings security to top of mind. For the first time, security and transactions are inextricably linked. Security status messages are prompted by transaction submissions from the desktop if desktop security isn’t up to snuff.
When a payment transaction, e.g. a bankcard transaction using the PASS credit card processing functionality, is submitted, a user knows immediately if the computer is secure or not. Because the PASS Gadget leverages Windows Vista security settings, it provides real-time status of critical settings and access to the associated option panels in Windows, like Windows Firewall, Windows Security Center Security, Windows Defender, and UAC. If any of the settings aren’t correct, it immediately prompts a message – for example, if the firewall is off. To turn it back on, first the UAC verifies the user has the rights to do so. For payments, UAC protects the SMB from other users tampering with his PC. Once Windows Vista verifies the access credentials for a security change, the firewall issue can be addressed through the Windows Security Center.
With the PASS Gadget’s messaging capabilities, an FI can push business critical messages right to the PASS Gadget in real time, for instance a notice that a check has been returned. Since cash flow is such an issue for SMBs, this can be make it or break it news. One big check returned could mean not meeting payroll. Or, if an SMB is depositing a lot of checks, the bank can push a message telling the business that remote check deposit is available to them. Being able to deposit checks right from the desktop is a big time saver and gives immediate access to cash.
Other financial services, like onsite financing for equipment loans from CIT, the country’s leader in SBA loans, can be launched directly from the gadget through PASS Commerce Center. Additional tools in PASS Cash Management Center include ways to manage invoice requests, cash flow, and purchase orders.
The PASS Gadget even has a sales ticker for instant payment notifications from a PayPal merchant account. The IPN data can be plugged right into the Cash Management Center, giving the SMB visibility to a holistic picture of his finances, all from the desktop.