Verifone Inc

Oracle, Verifone Unveil Electronic Transfer Products: The companies said the series of software products will let companies sell goods over the Internet and other public data networks. The software will be available in late summer. Oracle Corp. and Verifone Inc. said that by tackling the entire transaction process with coordinated software, they will be able to advance safe and easy online purchasing.

Gores Technology Group, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, agreed to buy VeriFone, a leading maker of credit card payment systems, from Hewlett-Packard Co. Terms were not disclosed. HP bought VeriFone four years ago for $1.15 billion. VeriFone's products are used to process payments made at gasoline pumps, financial institutions and other businesses. The sale will allow HP, which employs about 1,700 workers at VeriFone, to focus on selling computers and related services, the company said.

The next time you walk into a 7-Eleven to buy cigarettes or beer and you look underage, a clerk will probably ask to scan your driver's license. A small electronic device will allow clerks to quickly determine whether you're old enough to make the purchase. The scanner reads information coded onto a magnetic strip on the back of a driver's license or state-issued ID, which includes a person's name, birth date, address, height and weight. The device, developed by VeriFone Inc.

Hewlett-Packard Co. may unveil the divestiture of its VeriFone credit-card authorization business at a meeting today in New York, analysts and investors said. Hewlett-Packard said earlier this month that it might get rid of some of its businesses, but it declined to provide details. Analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford Bernstein & Co. said VeriFone, which Hewlett-Packard bought three years ago for $1.15 billion, is a likely candidate because it hasn't performed well.

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. has agreed to buy VeriFone Inc., a leader in technology for sending cash across the Internet, in a stock swap valued at $1.18 billion. VeriFone is best known as a maker of credit card-swiping devices used by department stores, gas stations and other retailers. But the Redwood City, Calif.-based company is also developing home payment systems and other technologies that could become platforms for cash transactions over the global computer network.

Gores Technology Group, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, agreed to buy VeriFone, a leading maker of credit card payment systems, from Hewlett-Packard Co. Terms were not disclosed. HP bought VeriFone four years ago for $1.15 billion. VeriFone's products are used to process payments made at gasoline pumps, financial institutions and other businesses. The sale will allow HP, which employs about 1,700 workers at VeriFone, to focus on selling computers and related services, the company said.

Hewlett-Packard Co. may unveil the divestiture of its VeriFone credit-card authorization business at a meeting today in New York, analysts and investors said. Hewlett-Packard said earlier this month that it might get rid of some of its businesses, but it declined to provide details. Analyst Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford Bernstein & Co. said VeriFone, which Hewlett-Packard bought three years ago for $1.15 billion, is a likely candidate because it hasn't performed well.

Citicorp, the nation's second-largest bank, plans to test a system that will turn its customers' living rooms into automated teller machines. The bank said it will test Redwood City-based VeriFone Inc.'s electronic "smart card" system in a pilot program in New York for customers to download money from their bank accounts onto cash cards at home or in the office. Citibank, owned by Citicorp, is looking for an area to test the system with enough interested customers and stores.

Three people were charged with insider trading related to Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 1997 acquisition of electronic-payment device maker VeriFone Inc., the Securities and Exchange Commission said. One of those charged was the ex-husband of former VeriFone marketing employee Amy Goodson. Goodson, who was not charged by the SEC, told her then-husband, Floyd Goodson, about the acquisition in a confidential conversation about job worries, the SEC said. Floyd Goodson, his father James, and John R.

It's no surprise that Hewlett-Packard Co. finished another year at or near the top of a bevy of key categories in The Times 100, including sales, profit and market value. The Palo Alto-based dean of high-tech companies has consistently turned in strong performances in a variety of product lines, including printers, calculators and personal computers. Last year HP laid the groundwork to boost its Internet-related business.

The next time you walk into a 7-Eleven to buy cigarettes or beer and you look underage, a clerk will probably ask to scan your driver's license. A small electronic device will allow clerks to quickly determine whether you're old enough to make the purchase. The scanner reads information coded onto a magnetic strip on the back of a driver's license or state-issued ID, which includes a person's name, birth date, address, height and weight. The device, developed by VeriFone Inc.

Computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. has agreed to buy VeriFone Inc., a leader in technology for sending cash across the Internet, in a stock swap valued at $1.18 billion. VeriFone is best known as a maker of credit card-swiping devices used by department stores, gas stations and other retailers. But the Redwood City, Calif.-based company is also developing home payment systems and other technologies that could become platforms for cash transactions over the global computer network.

Microsoft Seals Pact With VeriFone for Online Shopping: Microsoft Corp. announced an agreement with VeriFone Inc., the leading maker of automated transaction systems, to incorporate VeriFone software in its Internet commerce product. Microsoft also made the product, the Microsoft Merchant System, available to a test group of more than 175 merchants, Internet service providers and customer-support companies. The Redmond, Wash.

A coalition of 14 financial institutions, including MasterCard International and Bank of America, announced Wednesday that it will form a company to develop the first debit card for use nationwide to make purchases as small as a cup of coffee.