Just three weeks after its parent company struck a novel deal with PayPal Inc., The Star Network pushed the boundaries of PIN-debit a bit further by unveiling a prepaid card reload service for ATMs and point-of-sale locations. Star, a unit of Atlanta-based processor First Data Corp., claims its load and …
Read More »Let 1,000 Flowers Bloom: Inside’s Strategy for NFC Workarounds
Impatience in the electronic-payments business with the snarled progress of near-field communication for mobile payments is prompting a number of technology providers to develop products that can facilitate transactions without relying on full-fledged NFC. Now Inside Contactless, a major supplier of chips for contactless cards, has entered this arena with …
Read More »Analysts: Processors Must Seek Growth in Non-Credit Card Markets
With credit card growth sputtering, an expanding debit card market will help lift transaction processors' volumes for the foreseeable future, according to new research from Goldman Sachs & Co. The investment bank also predicts processors will find robust growth markets in nascent channels like mobile payments and established debit-related markets …
Read More »Ingenico Pitches a PDA for Computing And Card Acceptance
While a raft of players over the past several months have introduced software that equips smart phones to accept cards, Ingenico has introduced a wireless point-of-sale device that combines in one unit the ability to take card payments, print receipts, and act as a personal digital assistant (PDA). The French …
Read More »Visa Readies a Canadian Debit Debut As Volumes Show Signs of Life
The first Visa-branded debit cards in Canada will be out in 2010's first quarter, Visa Inc. chairman and chief executive Joseph W. Saunders reported late Tuesday. Saunders, reviewing Visa's financial report for fiscal 2009's fourth quarter, also told analysts that signs of recovery from recession are starting to appear in …
Read More »Card Problems Cost U.S. Issuers Hundreds of Millions Overseas
U.S. payment card issuers missed out on nearly $4 billion in charge volume in 2008, including $78.7 million in interchange, because of problems cardholders had with their cards while traveling abroad, according to a new report by Aite Group LLC. The default response when travelers have a card problem is …
Read More »MasterCard Targets Small And Mid-Size Businesses for Utility Payments
Utility companies looking to convert from paper-based billing to electronic payments are continuing to become payment card acceptors, according to the MasterCard Inc. executive who oversees the network's programs for that merchant sector. “We're very pleased with the movement towards card acceptance across utilities of all sizes,” Steve Carnevale, vice …
Read More »PayPal Steams Ahead, While Recession Takes a Toll on Bill Me Later
A sour economy isn't hobbling PayPal Inc.'s online-payments steamroller, but the downturn and the seemingly fragile recovery are creating some challenges for Bill Me Later, the online credit processor PayPal parent eBay Inc. bought a year ago and this week integrated with PayPal. Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl around the …
Read More »Modern Bank Robbers Could Shutter As Many As 10 Financial Institutions
Losses caused by massive fraud could bring down as many as 10 financial institutions within the next three years, predict analysts at Treasury Strategies Inc., a Chicago-based consultancy specializing in financial services. Since bank failures are usually caused by economic downturns or mismanagement, the prediction comes as a startling reminder …
Read More »An Inside Look at the Secret Service’s Battle to Hobble the Hackers
The August indictments of three individuals allegedly responsible for the theft of 130 million credit and debit card numbers in the Heartland Payment Systems Inc. data breach made headlines across the world. Yet little attention is paid to the laborious investigative work needed to track down the criminals behind these …
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