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• Nov 02, 2011 – 9:09 AM
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OUR OPINION: Plan better for our busiest road

While City planners meticulously set parameters for development in various parts of Peterborough, one of the most important and visible areas is left to grow wild. Were talking about the Parkway — the gateway to our city.

When Costco was making plans to come to town, we lamented the addition of yet another set of traffic lights along a stretch of pavement that was not designed as the arterial road it has become. As we predicted, the store has become a magnet for other retailers which will add even more cars and congestion.

At this point, the City is trying to sort out how the addition of Lowes hardware store will fit into the mix. If there had been any forethought at all, this would have been set out in a secondary plan years ago. Instead, businesses arrive with their wish lists and the City tries to accommodate them in the interests of building a stronger tax base and creating more jobs.

Apparently these retailers arent interested in the five retail nodes already identified in the Official Plan. They want to be near Costco and the draw to that area will only increase as more shopping transactions are made there.

Already, traffic gets backed up on Lansdowne Street as drivers steer their way to The Parkway. That congestion will only get worse if not handled properly.

The City has invested heavily into improving The Parkway interchange at Hwy. 115 but if more lights and store entrances are built just north of there, the arrival into Peterborough will be a slow and frustrating one.

Is this really how we want to greet people when they get here? Remember the value of a first impression.

It costs taxpayers a great deal of money to go back and rebuild roads and intersections to meet demands. Doing it right the first time is not only practical, it is more fiscally responsible.

Without a plan, how do you avoid creating another bottleneck down the street?

To top it off, the City has agreed to sell half the property it had set aside for a GO station, which could be shared with the Shining Waters Railway. What had been a forward-thinking purchase has now been sacrificed for shortterm gain of building a corporate hardware store. Just look at the crammed parking lots at the Oshawa and Whitby GO stations. If only they had the land we apparently think is surplus.

Whats done is done.

However, we beseech City officials to look further down the road when planning what happens around The Parkway. Otherwise, people stuck in crawling traffic will spend lots of time just getting into this city.

Will they want to come back? We would sure have to up our game to convince them its worth the drive.

Reports of the death of cash are greatly exaggerated, Mr. Carney said Monday as the central bank put the new polymer $100 bill into circulation. Our research shows that cash is used for more than half of all shopping transactions.

The Bank of Canada has a vested interest in touting the relevancy of cold hard cash these days. The shift to polymer banknotes represents the biggest change to Canadas money supply since the rainbow-coloured money was introduced in the 1960s.

As of Monday afternoon, Canadian banks are issuing polymer $100 bills instead of paper. The new polymer $50 bill arrives in March, while the rest of the denominations the $20, $10 and $5 will be released in 2013. Smooth and shiny, the sleek new bills are made of thin layers of plastic that are nearly impossible to rip, and believed to be almost as difficult to counterfeit.

Mr. Carneys comments come at a time when the banking industry is working on ways to make cash payments obsolete. Some of Canadas largest financial institutions and credit-card issuers have joined forces with phone companies to develop payment systems that will allow consumers to pay digitally from their phones at the cash register, similar to using a debit card.

While the development of those types of payments will make purchases more convenient for consumers who dont want to carry cash or bother with change, the chances of getting rid of currency bills entirely is remote, since cash is the most commonly accepted form of payment.

Canadians, as a consequence, need a currency that they can trust, Mr. Carney said.

Canada is one of about 30 countries to have ditched paper-style bills, including Australia, which pioneered the use of polymer bills in the 1980s.

The introduction of polymer bills in Canada comes after a sharp increase in counterfeiting rates a decade ago, as home computers, colour printers and scanner technology got cheaper and more sophisticated. Canadas paper banknotes, which are actually made of cotton fibre, will be removed from circulation over the next few years as more polymer denominations are introduced.

The central bank is using the $100 note as its test run for its other denominations, hoping to work out any kinks in the introduction of the polymer bills. Banks have been testing the new notes in their machines for months, said Martine Warren, the Bank of Canadas scientific adviser.

Weve been working with the market for over two years to make sure that ATMs and all banknote-processing equipment are ready for these polymer notes, Ms. Warren said. We distributed test notes and advance designs of the genuine notes to machine manufacturers far earlier than we have in the past to make sure that the circulation system is ready for these polymer notes.

The Bank of Canada has been working with the banking sector on the development of electronic payments, but the central bank has no plans to reduce the amount of banknotes in circulation. While the new polymer bills will cost about 19 cents to produce, roughly double what the paper notes of past series cost, they will last at least 2.5 times longer, Mr. Carney said.

Paper notes will still be legal tender, however banks will begin removing them from circulation as more polymer notes are introduced. Unlike the cotton-paper-based notes, the polymer banknotes have a see-through area that is not possible with ink on paper, which the central bank believes will be the most difficult aspect to counterfeit.

It is a great pleasure to be here in the MaRS Discovery District, where science and innovation meet.

I am here to announce the issue of the new $100 bank note which is available, as of today, in banks across the country.

We are very proud of our innovative polymer bank notes. They are more secure, more economical, and better for the environment than any we have issued previously. These notes are also potent symbols of our rich heritage.

The design of the $100 bank note celebrates Canadian innovation in medical research, including the discovery of insulin to treat diabetes. We are honoured to issue this note on the site where Banting and Best conducted their groundbreaking research almost a century ago.

Many forget that diabetes was once a death sentence. The discovery of insulin changed that.

It was at that desk, Sir Frederick Banting’s desk, where science and innovation met and the lives of hundreds of millions of people changed.

Today’s date is no coincidence. November 14 is World Diabetes Day and the 120th anniversary of Sir Frederick Banting’s birth.

This $100 note is a tribute to Canadian researchers who have left their mark in many areas. Allow me to mention the transformational work of John Hopps, who invented the pacemaker in 1950. He developed this life-saving device at the University of Torontos Banting Institute, located across the street from here.

This spirit of innovation carries on today and so the note also celebrates the scientists who continue to make our world a better place by improving the lives of many. Here in MaRS, medical professionals are mapping the human genetic code as well as tackling some of the most daunting medical challenges of our time, including cancer and macular degeneration.

These polymer notes don’t just celebrate innovation; they are themselves at the frontier of bank note technology. They were developed by a team of physicists, chemists, engineers and other experts from the Bank of Canada and from across the bank note industry.

There is no other currency like it anywhere in the world. These new notes contain a unique combination of transparency, holography and other sophisticated security elements.

In addition to impressive security features to stay ahead of counterfeiting threats, these bank notes will last longer–at least two-and-a-half times longer than paper–and will therefore be more economical.

These bank notes are also green. Their environmental footprint is smaller than that of the old currency made from cotton-based bank note paper. Once these new notes are removed from circulation, they will be recycled into other products right here in Canada.

Since the new notes were unveiled last June, Bank of Canada staff across the country have been training the millions of cash handlers and tens of thousands of police officers about how to check the security features of the notes. This training, of course, is ongoing. The RCMP continues to be a strong and committed partner in the fight against counterfeiting.

Reports of the death of cash are greatly exaggerated: Our research shows that cash is used for more than half of all shopping transactions. Canadians need a currency they can trust. That is why we are launching today the most secure and advanced note series in the Bank’s history.

In short, these new bank notes are a 21st century innovation in which all Canadians can take pride. We are honoured to launch them here at MaRS, with its links to past glories, current successes, and the promise of future Canadian medical innovation.

–>

Some 69% of the on-the-go UK mobile users have told a survey by JiWire that they are willing to share their location to receive more relevant content. In the US, 53% are willing, with mobile consumers under the age of 34 are more eager to share, with 60% offering their location for better information.

As people become increasingly mobile, they are looking for more relevant content and deals at their fingertips. In fact, 52% expect to use their mobile device more for holiday shopping this season, compared to last year, says the latest Mobile Audience Insights Report, which examines location-based and proximity marketing trends, mobile shopping behaviors, connected device adoption and public Wi-Fi trends.

According to the study, 31% said that the ability to compare prices is the most valuable aspect of mobile for shopping. When it comes to proximity, 29% want sales and promotions within one mile of a store, while 24% want promotions within 10 miles of the store. Some 38% prefer to receive local deals over email.

Interstingly, the average mobile consumer now owns 2.4 connected devices.

Sales and promotions are the most popular types of information that mobile consumers are looking for when engaging with location-based services. The study examined how consumers rated various services when one mile and 10 miles from a location. Sales and promotions took the top position at both distances in the US.

However, product availability and directions are of more interest at the 10 mile range, indicating consumer preferences for certain information begin to change with distance.

Customer reviews were the location-based information most sought after in the UK, regardless of distance. The data shows that proximity becomes a key factor for brands to consider when leveraging location-based advertising.

Looking ahead to the US shopping season, the report shows that 52% of the on-the-go audience is planning to use their mobile device more this holiday season. While mobile users are increasingly comfortable using their mobile devices for shopping transactions, more than half plan to compare prices and research or read reviews on products before purchasing.

“The mobile revolution continues to evolve and we are seeing much higher adoption of mobile devices, services and offerings than ever before,” said David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire. “Location is clearly a key driver of mobile commerce, whether it’s for finding local deals or engaging with major brands through location media. The early data suggest that this will be a major trend this coming holiday season.”

Local deals are increasingly an integral part of the mobile shopping experience, with 92% percent purchasing at least one deal per month. The growth in local deals is also being driven by sharing. Seventy five percent of the on-the-go audience is sharing deals regularly, up 21% from last quarter. The most popular way to share is through email, word of mouth and Facebook. On average consumers are spending less than $50 on local deals, though overall men are more willing to spend more than women.

Tablets continue to gain momentum with 32% already owning a tablet device in the US. This is even higher in the UK with 75% of respondents either already owning or planning to purchase a tablet. More than half of the on-the-go audience in the UK prefers the iOS platform.

Compared with other devices, the iPad saw the most growth this quarter to gain 20.9% of the mobile device landscape and overtake the iPod touch. While there was a dip in iOS marketshare, Windows has surged ahead with its Windows Mobile 7, taking the fourth spot in the top 10 devices and gaining 3.7% marketshare.

In the UK, iOS continues to decline for the second consecutive quarter while Android and Windows gain 1.5 and 2.2% respectively.

NEW YORK When it comes to mobile shopping, so far theres more buzz than buy.

As the number of people who use smartphones grows, companies selling everything from hardware to high fashion are touting all the applications theyre rolling out that enable shoppers to do anything from check a stores inventory to order prescriptions.

Retailers are betting that selling their wares on phones can encourage Americans to spend money. But so far, consumers mostly are using their phones to look up locations and compare prices while stopping short of tapping the buy button. Why? In part because they find it hard to shop on the tiny screens and dont quite think its safe to input their credit card information.

Mobile purchases are growing faster than online sales, which are increasing at around 10 percent a year, but mobile commerce is expected to account for $6 billion this year, just 2 percent of overall e-commerce sales, according to Forrester Research. By 2016, that figure could rise to $31 billion still a sliver of electronic sales.

Smartphone users are spending most of their time playing games, checking social networks, taking video, accessing maps and getting sports scores, according to digital research firm comScore. Shopping ranks at No. 13.

Less than a third of retailers polled by the National Retail Fedshy;eshy;rashy;tion in May said they have a fully implemented mobile strategy.
The most successful mobile shopping sites are eBay and Amazon, which together account for four out of every five mobile shopping transactions. Ebay reported nearly $2 billion in mobile sales last year more than tripling its 2009 total and expects to reach $4 billion this year. In July, Amazon capped off a 12-month period of mobile sales exceeding $1 billion.

NEW YORK — When it comes to mobile shopping, so far theres
more buzz than buy.

As the number of people who use iPhones and other smartphones
grows, companies selling everything from hardware to high fashion
are touting all the new applications theyre rolling out that help
shoppers, from checking a stores inventory while in the dressing
room to ordering prescriptions.

Retailers are betting that selling their wares on a device that
people carry around all day can encourage Americans to spend money
during an economic downturn in which theyre making fewer impulse
buys in their bricks-and-mortar stores. But so far, consumers
mostly are using their phones to look up locations and compare
prices and stopping short of tapping the buy button. Why? In part
because they find it hard to shop on the tiny screens and they
dont quite think its safe to input their credit card
information.

To be sure, mobile purchases are growing faster than online
sales, which are increasing at around 10 percent a year. But mobile
commerce is expected to account for $6 billion, or just 2 percent
of overall e-commerce sales this year, according to Forrester
Research. By 2016, that figure could rise to $31 billion — still a
sliver of electronic sales.

The transactions arent anywhere close to a big number, said
Siva Kumar, whose company, TheFind, offers mobile price-checking
applications. But the first stage of any revolution is that people
start using the new tool.

The use of smartphones is indeed growing. There are 82 million
smartphones in circulation today in the US — one of every three
people 13 and older owns one — and that figure is expected to
double by 2015. And smartphone users are increasingly using mobile
applications: The average user spends 81 minutes a day using mobile
apps, more time than is spent Web browsing on a computer or other
device, according to mobile analytics firm Flurry.

But smartphone users are spending most of their time playing
games, checking social networks, taking video, accessing maps and
getting sports scores, according to digital research firm comScore.
Shopping, meanwhile, ranks at No. 13, with less than 7 percent of
mobile users accessing online retail stores through their
phones.

Retailers are partly to blame for shoppers apathy. Less than a
third of retailers polled by the National Retail Federation in May
said they have a fully implemented mobile strategy, which might
include an application available for download by smartphone users.
Its far less pleasurable to hunt down a new pair of boots when it
requires zooming in and out of a site thats not oriented to the
mobile screen, shoppers say.

For instance, Sara Margulis, who runs an online wedding gift
registry in Sonoma County, Calif., uses her iPhone to buy books and
diapers on Amazon, but sticks to her home computer for the majority
of her electronic purchases in part because she likes the larger
screen.

If I know what I want, and its on Amazon, Ill do it on my
phone, she said. But not if it requires a lot of research.

Another big impediment is the payment process. Typing billing
information into a phone can be tedious and time-consuming, and
many shoppers arent convinced that mobile sites are safe. In one
Forrester poll, 44 percent of shoppers said they would use the
mobile Web to make purchases if the payment services were more
secure.

Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester analyst, says mobile payments are
generally safe and this is a perception issue stemming from fear
of the unknown. Overall, she says, it will take some time for
Americans to fully embrace mobile shopping — just as they did with
online shopping. After all, people were playing games of Solitaire
on their computers before they were willing to shop on
websites.

You have to walk before you run, she said. You have to do
things that are easy that dont require you to give up your money
first.

A few retailers are far ahead in mobile shopping. Although she
hasnt tested a lot of sites on her iPhone because her cellphone
plan caps the amount of data she can use each month, Nancy Pelaia,
who works at a Christian college in Beaver Falls, Pa., said she
likes shopping on the app from QVC, which is more cutting edge than
many other retailers mobile apps. It syncs up with the sales-pitch
TV network, showing shoppers the item currently being sold on-air.
Additionally, users payment info is stored, so they need only
enter a four-digit passcode to complete the purchase.

I usually have my phone sitting right there, and they make it
very easy, Pelaia said.

The most successful mobile shopping sites are eBay and Amazon,
which together account for four out of every five mobile shopping
transactions. Ebay reported nearly $2 billion in mobile sales last
year — more than tripling its 2009 total — and it expects to
reach $4 billion this year. And last July, Amazon capped off a
12-month period of mobile sales exceeding $1 billion.

Both companies were early to invest in mobile, but just as
importantly, theyve been able to smooth the checkout process by
accepting PayPal or storing payment information in users accounts.
Theyve also worked to make searching simpler. With Amazons
price-checking app, for instance, you can speak the name of an item
and it will show the lowest price in its marketplace. And with
ebay, customers can receive a notification when theyve been outbid
or the bidding is ending for a particular item.

You can be in a meeting and you can bid then and there, said
eBays spokeswoman Katherine Chui.

Their strategies seem to be working. In July, Amazon capped off
a 12-month period of mobile sales exceeding $1 billion. And ebay,
which said its iPhone app has been downloaded 18 million times,
reported nearly $2 billion in mobile sales last year — more than
tripling its 2009 total — and it expects to reach $4 billion this
year.

But other companies say even if consumers arent overwhelmingly
using their apps to make purchases on their phones, the devices
still are driving in-store purchases. Target, Best Buy, American
Eagle Outfitters and others are boosting sales with a third-party
mobile application called Shopkick that gives customers special
offers anytime they step into their stores. And inside Home Depot,
a shopper can launch the stores app and get more information about
a lawn mower or other item without having to ask a salesperson.

Hal Lawton, Home Depots president of online, says that gives
us opportunities to keep shoppers in our stores longer even if the
impact on the bottom line is hard to quantify.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire – Aug 17, 2011) – JiWire, the leading location-based mobile media company reaching the on-the-go audience, today announced its latest Mobile Audience Insights Report, which examines location-based and proximity marketing trends, mobile shopping behaviors, connected device adoption and public Wi-Fi trends. In the latest report, 53 percent of the on-the-go US audience revealed they are willing to share their location to receive more relevant content. Mobile consumers under the age of 34 are more eager to share, with 60 percent offering their location for better information. The UK trends even higher, with 69 percent willing to share location information.

As people become increasingly mobile, they are looking for more relevant content and deals at their fingertips. In fact, 52 percent expect to use their mobile device more for holiday shopping this season, compared to last year. Below are some of the key findings in this report:

• 31 percent said the ability to compare prices is the most valuable aspect of mobile for shopping.
• When it comes to proximity, 29 percent want sales and promotions within one mile of a store, while 24 percent want promotions within 10 miles of the store.
• 38 percent prefer to receive local deals over email; 78 percent spend less than $50 on local deals.
• The average mobile consumer now owns 2.4 connected devices.

Proximity Marketing Trends
Sales and promotions are the most popular types of information that mobile consumers are looking for when engaging with location-based services. The study examined how consumers rated various services when one mile and 10 miles from a location. Sales and promotions took the top position at both distances in the US However, product availability and directions are of more interest at the 10 mile range, indicating consumer preferences for certain information begin to change with distance. Customer reviews were the location-based information most sought after in the UK, regardless of distance. The data shows that proximity becomes a key factor for brands to consider when leveraging location-based advertising.

Holidays Will Drive Mobile Shopping
Looking ahead to the US shopping season, the report shows that 52 percent of the on-the-go audience is planning to use their mobile device more this holiday season. While mobile users are increasingly comfortable using their mobile devices for shopping transactions, more than half plan to compare prices and research or read reviews on products before purchasing.

The mobile revolution continues to evolve and we are seeing much higher adoption of mobile devices, services and offerings than ever before, said David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire. Location is clearly a key driver of mobile commerce, whether its for finding local deals or engaging with major brands through location media. The early data suggest that this will be a major trend this coming holiday season.

Local Deals Gain Momentum
Local deals are increasingly an integral part of the mobile shopping experience, with 92 percent purchasing at least one deal per month. The growth in local deals is also being driven by sharing. Seventy five percent of the on-the-go audience is sharing deals regularly, up 21 percent from last quarter. The most popular way to share is through email, word of mouth and Facebook. On average consumers are spending less than $50 on local deals, though overall men are more willing to spend more than women.

Mobile Device Trends and Adoption
Tablets continue to gain momentum with 32 percent already owning a tablet device in the US This is even higher in the UK with 75 percent of respondents either already owning or planning to purchase a tablet. More than half of the on-the-go audience in the U.K prefers the iOS platform.

Compared with other devices, the iPad saw the most growth this quarter to gain 20.9 percent of the mobile device landscape and overtake the iPod touch. While there was a dip in iOS marketshare, Windows has surged ahead with its Windows Mobile 7, taking the fourth spot in the top 10 devices and gaining 3.7 percent marketshare. In the UK, iOS continues to decline for the second consecutive quarter while Android and Windows gain 1.5 and 2.2 percent respectively.

About JiWires Mobile Audience Insights Report
JiWires Mobile Audience Insights Report is based on data from approximately 450,000 public Wi-Fi locations, as well as surveying more than 2,800 U.S customers and more than 2,000 UK customers randomly selected across JiWires Wi-Fi Media Channel from April 2011 to June 2011. JiWire serves advertisements to over 30,000 public Wi-Fi locations in North America and we record data from every ad request. This report is based on the ad request data we collected from April to June 2011. Quarterly public Wi-Fi location rankings and business model distributions are based on the final day of the quarter.

About JiWire
JiWire is the leader in connecting advertisers to todays on-the-go audience, using the worlds largest location-based interactive media channel. JiWires platform enables advertisers to identify and deliver ads to audience segments based on a persons physical location while taking the venue type and brand into account. JiWire also allows device manufacturers and wireless broadband network hosts to leverage advertising as a currency for wireless Internet access. With a goal of engaging users however they connect to the Internet while on the go, JiWire provides a cross-channel solution that extends location-based targeting to multiple devices, from laptops to smartphones, across content channels from Wi-Fi to the Internet to mobile. In the UK, JiWire has partnered with British Telecom to extend its media channel to more than 4,000 locations. For more information, please visit www.JiWire.com or call (415) 877-4711.

PORT CHESTER, NY, Aug. 4, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ — GiveBack Foundation (www.giveback.org) saw its mission #x2013; helping people give more to the causes important to them- fulfilled to a T in their recent campaign. During GiveBack.orgs 100 Days of Giving, members donated to 754 charities, representing the gamut of philanthropy, from neighborhood nonprofits to big global relief efforts, summer camps for special needs children, veterans organizations, pet rescues, environmental action groups, medical research, memorial funds, houses of worship and more. Over $330,000 was donated by its members in 100 days.

We saw the money go far and wide, says GiveBack CEO Stephen Paletta. Whatever a person chooses to support is what GiveBack.org helps them do. Paletta, winner of Oprahs Big Give reality show about charitable giving, started GiveBack.org as a way to celebrate everyday philanthropy – average Americans making small donations to make a difference, and to help them give even more.

The campaign, sponsored in part by Visa, awarded almost $500,000 to people to give to charity. It featured two major prizes. Chris McCoy of Glendale, Arizona, won $50,000, and Giving Circle Fund, a Chinatown New York nonprofit organization, received $10,000 as the contests charity category winner. Both McCoy and Giving Circle Fund amassed points by signing up members to GiveBack.org. More than 43,000 people joined during the campaign.

McCoy will divide the $50,000 among various causes. He learned of the contest in its final week and used social media communities to sprint into the lead. While it appeared he had ended the hopes of his chief contender who had networked from the outset in order to acquire a service dog for her autistic son and others, McCoy pledged to make his competitors wish come true with a donation to 4 Paws for Ability. Funds are also destined for Doctors Without Borders and Free the Children. For more details, visit: https://www.giveback.org/pages/news/news.aspx?newsid=22.

Giving Circle Fund will implement the only free afterschool program in Chinatowns Public School 2, in September. For more details, visit https://www.giveback.org/pages/news/news.aspx?newsid=14 or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBAp4zGAjaoNR=1.

GiveBack.org helps people increase their giving through cash back rewards from online shopping. During the campaign, more than 4300 shopping transactions occurred, generating thousands of dollars for future giving to charity. The site sets up a foundation account online for each member in which to earn as well as save money. GiveBack has also launched a workplace-giving program, called GiveBack@Work, and in September GiveBack.org will begin hosting fundraising campaigns for its members to raise additional funds for their causes.

About GiveBack:

GiveBack (www.giveback.org) was launched by the Give Back Foundation of Port Chester, New York, in November 2010. GiveBack.org helps average Americans increase their giving by establishing an individual foundation account online for each member in which to earn, accumulate and donate money.

-Logo: Send2PressNewswire.com/image/11-0804-giveback_72dpi.jpg

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press(R), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE GiveBack Foundation

TASMANIAS green bag hero Ben Kearney has embarked on a new fight to protect consumers and small businesses.

Mr Kearney, who led the push for environmentally friendly green bags at shops around the state, is now taking on the consortium that owns EFTPOS after it announced a new fee for all of its shopping transactions.

Mr Kearney, who is national policy manager of the Australian Newsagents Federation, said the fee would make it more difficult for newsagencies to compete against big retailers.

We are very concerned it is inevitable the banks will pass on the fee and it is coming at the worst possible time, he said.

Mr Kearney said newsagents would be among the hardest hit because most of their customer transactions were done by EFTPOS.

The federation, which represents about 3800 agencies, is waiting to see what the banks do before seeking a meeting with Small Business Minister Nick Sherry.

Newsagents operate on such tight margins it will be hard for them to pass on the fee, Mr Kearney said.

EPAL, the consortium that owns EFTPOS, is planning to introduce a revised fee structure in October to raise funds for a much-needed upgrade.

At the moment, the cardholders bank covers the cost of each EFTPOS transaction, but the restructure would see this cost passed on to the retailers bank instead.

Under the new model, the merchants bank will incur a 5c cent fee for every EFTPOS transaction over $15. Transactions under $15 will be free.

The major banks have until next month to inform EPAL whether they will opt into the new interchange fee system, and also whether they plan to pass the new charge on to the merchant who in turn could charge customers.

EPAL argues the move is necessary to raise capital to make EFTPOS more competitive against VISA and Mastercard debit cards.

Mr Kearney said the ANF was also concerned EPAL shareholders Coles and Woolworths would not be affected by the new fee arrangement as they could choose to stay on the existing scheme.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said banks should absorb the new fees, adding that retailers should not be forced to pass on the costs to consumers in a tough market.

EPAL chief executive Bruce Mansfield said the fee swap was necessary to bring about investment in the system.

It is important that EFTPOS remains a competitive domestic payment scheme so we need to invest in it to make it safer and to improve the technology to meet the consumer demands of wanting to pay their bills on their mobiles, over the phone etcetera, Mr Mansfield said.

IT users security know-how is out of date, and poses a risk to their personal data and to their employers.

Furthermore, myths surrounding how malware spreads is leaving organisations vulnerable to hacking and cyber crime, according to international research.

According to G Datas 2011 security survey, 53 per cent of UK computer users believe that most malware spreads via email, whereas in practice, links on websites are now more a common source of malware than infected attachments.

Almost half of UK respondents also thought that peer to peer and torrent sites were the most risky, and one in three believed that pornographic website were the most likely to lead to infections.

Globally, more than nine out of ten of those surveyed believed that they would notice a malware infection on their PCs, but, according to G Data, most malware now has no visible effect.

Malware writers prefer to keep their software hidden from view, to maximise the chances of stealing sensitive data from online banking or shopping transactions, or from emails.

Cyber criminals design, sell and make use of malware that enables them to take control of PCs’ computing powers in such a way that users do not notice the infection, said Eddy Willems, G Datas security evangelist.

The reports authors also pointed out that, whilst consumers and business IT users are wary of malware spread by email, they are far less cautious when it comes to their use of social networking sites. A third of respondents trust links on social networking sites, and one in five click on links regardless of whether they know, or trust, the source.

And, despite the growing threat level online, 50 per cent of consumers rely on free anti-virus software alone, and do not use other protective measures such as firewalls. And 11 per cent of users install no security software at all, G Data found.

G Data surveyed 16,000 internet users between February and March 2011, across 11 countries including Germany, France, the UK and the United States.

In the UK, internet service provider Virgin Media recently had to write to customers with infected PCs after the Serious Organised Crime Agency spotted a spate of SpyEye infections.

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