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United Bank Card Inc., a big independent sales organization that touched off the so-called free-terminal trend seven years ago, has begun offering merchants full-blown point-of-sale business-management hardware and software at no charge. It is also offering its outside sales representatives a $300 commission per terminal sold. Many merchant-acquiring industry observers …
Read More »Data Breaches Stabilize in 2010, But There’s an Asterisk
At first glance, a review of the data-breach scene in 2010 shows signs of improvement, or at least stabilization, according to figures from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC). Although the total number of reported breaches increased to 662 from 498 in 2009, the number of records known to have …
Read More »Sharp Comments Flow into Fed in Wake of Interchange Proposals
The comments are flowing in to the Federal Reserve Board in the wake of the board’s controversial proposals to set a 12-cent cap on debit card interchange, ban exclusive network agreements on debit cards, and give merchants more freedom to direct the routing of debit transactions. To a large degree, …
Read More »Consumers Open Wallets, Hike Spending 5.5% in Run-up to Christmas
Consumers brought holiday cheer back to merchants and payment processors in the run-up to Christmas this year, spending 5.5% more during the period than they did last year and giving signs that they are opening wallets and purses again after a long recession and rocky recovery. Especially noteworthy were sharp …
Read More »The Scope of Debit Regulation Could Range Far Afield, Report Shows
Payments-industry executives and media reports have devoted most of their attention to the big debit card interchange cuts and network-routing aspects of the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed debit regulations that roiled the industry last week. But, given the Fed’s long list of requests for comment, the regulations in final form …
Read More »Treasury Department Likely To Be in Driver’s Seat on Prepaid Card Program
The final rule from the U.S. Treasury Department mandating electronic payment of Social Security and other benefits, which was announced on Tuesday, is likely to greatly expand a federal prepaid card program that has already racked up impressive results. It could also lead Treasury to look for more features and …
Read More »While Slipping, Credit Cards Will Remain Most-Used Online Payment
Credit cards will continue to dominate online payments for at least the next five years, but they will lose share to debit cards, alternative payments, and prepaid and gift cards, according to new projections from Javelin Strategy & Research. Javelin predicts in its “2010 Online Retail Payments Update and Forecast” …
Read More »U.S. Treasury Issues Final Rule on Electronic Benefits Payments
In a move that could bring millions of new users to a popular prepaid card program, the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday issued a final rule mandating that Social Security and other government benefits be paid to beneficiaries electronically. Under the new rule, beneficiaries will receive direct deposits …
Read More »Durbin-Inspired Survey Gives a Rare Look into Debit Cards
No matter how you feel about the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed 7-to-12-cent cap on debit card interchange and plans for breaking up exclusive debit-network affiliations, the regulatory process has produced some previously unavailable measurements of the booming debit industry. Ahead of writing the proposed rules that it unveiled last week, …
Read More »Takeover Buzz Subsides As Ingenico Rejects a $1.9 Billion Bid
It’s all over but the shouting, at least for now. France’s Ingenico S.A., which sells point-of-sale terminals in North America and elsewhere around the world, on Sunday rejected a suitor that had offered $1.9 billion for the company. Bloomberg had reported on Friday that the suitor was Danaher Corp., Washington, …
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