NEW YORK, March 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Newtek Business Services Corp., (NASDAQ: NEWT) (www.thesba.com) The Small Business Authority^®, with a portfolio of over 100,000 business accounts, announced today the findings of its SB Authority Market Sentiment Survey, a monthly window into the concerns of independent business owners. Based on a poll of over 990 respondents, the key finding from the February survey is 71% of business owners were not aware that by October of 2015, Visa and MasterCard will hold the merchant responsible for credit card fraud if they do not have a Europay, MasterCard and Visa ("EMV") compliant terminal. Additionally, 81% of business owners have not yet upgraded their POS or terminal to be EMV ready and to accept Apple Pay.

The full February 2015 results showed the following:

Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and CEO of The Small Business Authority^® commented, "With approximately 6 months to go, it is still apparent that business owners still do not have a full understanding of the importance and issues surrounding the EMV strategy to accept chip card processing. In October of 2015, the risk associated with these payments will shift to the merchant and it is extremely important for individuals taking credit card payments to be aware of EMV, a global standard for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card. We believe our data is skewed with a slight negative bias, however as we go through our own database of customers, they are slowly moving over to EMV compliant merchant accepting platforms."

About Newtek Business Services Corp.

Newtek Business Services Corp., The Small Business Authority^®, is an internally managed business development Company that provides a wide range of business services and financial products under the Newtek^® brand to the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to over 100,000 business accounts across all 50 States to help them grow their sales, control their expenses and reduce their risk.

Newtek's products and services include: Business Lending, Electronic Payment Processing,  Managed Technology Solutions (Cloud Computing), eCommerce, Accounts Receivable Financing ,The Secure Gateway, The Newtek Advantage^™, Insurance Services, Web Services, Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval, and Payroll.

The Small Business Authority^® is a registered trade mark of Newtek Business Services Corp., and neither are a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this press release including statements regarding Newtek's beliefs, expectations, intentions or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements." All forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, intensified competition, operating problems and their impact on revenues and profit margins, anticipated future business strategies and financial performance, anticipated future number of customers, business prospects, legislative developments and similar matters. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other conditions, which could cause Newtek's actual results to differ from management's current expectations, are contained in Newtek's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available through http://www.sec.gov.

Contact: Simrita Singh
Telephone: (212) 356-9566 / ssingh@thesba.com
Investor Relations
Contact: Jayne Cavuoto
Telephone: (212) 273-8179 / jcavuoto@thesba.com

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SOURCE Newtek Business Services Corp.