Equity Commerce, L.P.

Scottsdale, Ariz., Dec. 3, 2007 -- Apriva, the leading wireless solutions provider announced today that the company has added Equity Commerce to its Authorized Reseller Program. Apriva Secure POS was selected because of its advanced security, superior service, reliability and breadth of functionality and features, which sets the company apart from other gateway providers. Apriva offers the most comprehensive solution available in the POS industry with a convenient, single point for boarding, servicing, managing and billing of wireless POS solutions.

“We are excited about the opportunities that our partnership with Apriva creates for our company as well as for our customers,” commented Jerry M. Julien EVP of Business Development for Equity Commerce. “By partnering with Apriva, we are able to offer our customers a truly seamless solution and the highest level of security available in the market.”

“We are pleased to add Equity Commerce to our Authorized Reseller Program. We look forward to providing them with the tools, exposure and expertise to sell, program and deploy a variety of innovative and secure wireless payment solutions,” said Bill Clark, Apriva’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Founded in 1999, Apriva is the leading wireless solution provider integrating the hardware, software and network infrastructure required to develop and deploy high-performance high-reliability solutions in the Point of Sale (POS) and Secure Mobile Messaging markets. Apriva offers end-to-end solutions for Point of Sale that make it easy and cost-effective to develop, deploy and maintain highly secure and reliable business critical mobile applications. Visit www.apriva.com for more information. Apriva – Proving the Possibilities.

Equity Commerce, L.P. is a full service payments company servicing sales agents and offices across the country. Equity Commerce, L.P. was started by industry veterans Jeff Brown and Jerry M. Julien in January 2005.Equity Commerce, L.P. is a registered ISO/MSP of Bank of America, NA, Charlotte, NC. Equity Commerce, L.P.’s experienced veteran management team and its experienced employees makes sales agents and offices more efficient and profitable by taking advantage of the wide variety of products, programs and services. This combined with aggressive revenue splits, low pricing, extensive industry knowledge and personalized service levels allow Equity Commerce, L.P. agents and offices to exceed sales goals consistently. To learn more about the Equity Commerce, L.P. please contact EVP Jerry M. Julien at jjulien@equitycommerce.com or 866.790.3995 X203

Charging the rent to your credit card sounds insane -- it seems like it would be the eighth deadly sin, tied with going to a payday lender to get gambling money.

But as the New York Times points out, the strategy can be great if you're in good financial shape: If you pay off the balance each month you pay no interest, and you can rack up rewards on your credit card -- possibly round-trip airfare anywhere in the country each year if you have high rent!

But there are some pitfalls: Because of the way FICO scores are calculated, drawing down a large percentage of your available credit, even if you pay it off each month, can hurt your score. So if paying your rent by credit would leave you with little additional credit available, it might be a bad idea -- something that you cost you thousands on your mortgage when you do buy your own home.

The Times also points out, somewhat obviously, that if you can't afford to pay off your rent in cash each month, you shouldn't put it on your card. But if you can't afford to pay your rent out of your monthly income, that's a whole other problem...

FTC Releases Consumer Fraud Survey

30.2 Million Americans - 13.5 Percent of U.S. Adults - Fell Victim to Fraud

The Federal Trade Commission today released a statistical survey of fraud in the United States that shows that 30.2 million adults – 13.5 percent of the adult population – were victims of fraud during the year studied. More people – an estimated 4.8 million U.S. consumers – were victims of fraudulent weight-loss products than any of the other frauds covered by the survey.
Fraudulent foreign lottery offers and buyers club memberships tied for second place in the survey. Lottery scams occur when consumers are told they have won a foreign lottery that they had not entered. Victims supplied either personal information such as their bank account numbers or paid money to receive their “winnings.” In the case of buyers clubs, victims are billed for a “membership” they had not agreed to buy. An estimated 3.2 million people were victims of these frauds during the period studied.

“The FTC uses a one-two punch to fight fraud,” said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Our enforcement program stops the most widespread and egregious practices, and our education program helps alert consumers to the tricks of the fraud trade. We encourage everyone to click on our Web site – ftc.gov – not only to find out how to recognize a scam, but also to report it. That’s the best way to help end rip-offs of all kinds.”
Fraudulent prize promotion schemes ranked fourth in the fraud survey, with an estimated 2.7 million victims reporting making a purchase, a payment, or attending a sales presentation to receive a prize that either was never delivered or was not what the consumer expected.

Work-at-home programs, in which the purchaser earned less than half of the income the seller had promised, ranked fifth among the fraudulent schemes covered by the survey. An estimated 2.4 million individuals fell victim to these schemes, and many purchased more than one fraudulent work-at-home program.

Twenty percent of African Americans and 18 percent of Hispanics are estimated to have been victims, while the rate for non-Hispanic whites was 12 percent. In addition, the survey found that younger consumers, those who did not complete college, and those with high levels of debt were more likely to be victims of fraud. Consumers between 65 and 74 years of age were 32 percent less likely to report having experienced fraud than those between 35 and 44.

Consumers also reported falling victim to other specific scams, including pyramid schemes.

Print advertising – direct mail, including catalogs, newspaper and magazine advertising, and posters and flyers – was used to pitch fraudulent offers in 27 percent of reported incidents. The Internet, including Web sites, auction sites, and e-mail, was used to make 22 percent of the fraudulent pitches. Television or radio accounted for 21 percent of the pitches, and telemarketing accounted for nine percent.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, click http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.shtm or call 1-877-382-4357. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. For free information on a variety of consumer topics, click http://ftc.gov/bcp/consumer.shtm.

Check out the 2 great links below to videos regarding PCI Compliance and what our merchants need to do to protect themselves and their customers.

Equity Commerce, L.P. Achieves Record Growth and New Processing High for July 2007

Executive Management Forecasts Continuation of Growth Trend Through Q4
Hagerstown, MD – (Business Wire) – Equity Commerce, L.P., a full service ISO/MSP, today announced that its total credit card dollar volume, transactions processed and number of active merchants during the month of July set a new record. On an unaudited basis, July’s credit card dollar volume rose 61% compared to July volume one year ago. Additionally, the number of credit card transactions processed increased 70% over the same period one year ago and the number of active merchant accounts increased 57% compared to the same period one year ago.

Jeff Brown, President, commented, “We continue to be very pleased with the Company’s growth since inception and are building on the momentum generated from record results each quarter. Equity Commerce will be making other announcements soon regarding new exciting opportunities and some key personnel additions to our already great team of industry leaders.”

About Equity Commerce, L.P.
Equity Commerce, L.P. is a full service payments company servicing sales agents and offices across the country. Equity Commerce, L.P. was started by industry veterans Jeff Brown and Jerry M Julien in January 2005.

Equity Commerce, L.P. is a registered ISO/MSP of Bank of America, NA, Charlotte, NC.
Equity Commerce, L.P. experienced veteran management team and its experienced employees makes sales agents and offices more efficient and profitable by taking advantage of the wide variety of products, programs and services. This combined with aggressive revenue splits, low pricing, extensive industry knowledge and personalized service levels allow Equity Commerce, L.P. agents and offices to exceed sales goals consistently.

To learn more about the Equity Commerce, L.P. please contact EVP Jerry M Julien at jjulien@equitycommerce.com or 866.790.3995 X203

NEWS

Apriva adds Equity Commerce to authorized reseller program

Financial tip of the day: Charge the rent to your credit card?

FTC Releases Consumer Fraud Survey

30.2 Million Americans - 13.5 Percent of U.S. Adults - Fell Victim to Fraud

Equity Commerce, L.P. Achieves Record Growth and New Processing High for July 2007