Losses to identity fraud will be hard to reduce unless banks and other financial-services providers begin working harder to recruit consumers to look after their own accounts, a noted researcher said on Wednesday. “The important change that needs to happen today is a much stronger partnership between the person who …
Read More »Could Free Scanners Unlock Small Businesses for Remote Capture?
With free card-swipe terminals having already captured the imagination of acquirers and merchants, the notion of free check scanners might not be far behind. Indeed, free equipment that reads magnetic-ink-character-recognition lines while capturing check images could be the key for banks to drive remote deposit capture adoption among small businesses, …
Read More »M-Commerce Spawns New Forms of Money Laundering, U.S. Warns
The rise of mobile phones in South Asia, Africa, and Latin America is bringing many benefits to lesser-developed countries, but the simultaneous rise of mobile banking is creating new opportunities for money laundering, according to a report released Friday by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and …
Read More »Cardtronics Looks for 2008 Payoff from Former 7-Eleven Vcom Fleet
Bolstered by the acquisition of convenience-store giant 7-Eleven Inc.'s sizable ATM business, leading non-bank ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter financials that show an improvement in most operating measures. Company executives insist their efforts to improve the performance of 7-Eleven's high-function Vcom kiosks as well as other …
Read More »Visa Filing Confirms Heavy Investment in Merchant And Issuer Incentives
Recent research by Aite Group LLC estimated the Visa and MasterCard bank card networks paid nearly $5 billion to merchants and card issuers between 2005 and 2007 to spur acceptance or issuance of their respective brands (Digital Transactions News, Feb. 20). Visa Inc.'s latest registration statement, filed Monday in advance …
Read More »Smart Card Marketing, HomeATM Enable PIN Debit Online, at Stores
In a move that could further the penetration of Internet-based PIN debit, a San Antonio-based processor of prepaid card transactions has adopted a device that will allow users of its electronic-wallet service to load their accounts online with credit cards and PIN debit cards. Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc., which …
Read More »Euronet Far from Certain It Will Renew Its Pursuit of MoneyGram
Although the door is still open for Euronet Worldwide Inc. to renew its bid for rival remittance processor MoneyGram International Inc., Euronet's chief executive says it's by no means certain his company will press ahead, despite a determined effort it made to acquire the larger processor just two months ago. …
Read More »An Acquiring Paradox: Discounts Are Squeezed, But Spreads Are up
Counter-intuitive though it may be, independent sales organizations and merchant acquirers in general are seeing their spreads increase while simultaneously facing margin compression. The reason, according to a new report from Aite Group LLC assessing trends in the acquiring industry: acquirers are generating new revenues from their merchants outside of …
Read More »Visa Looks for a Record IPO in Defiance of Wall Street Headwinds
Facing financial markets that have been roiled by troubled subprime mortgages and a weakening economy, Visa Inc. on Monday said it is seeking to raise $15 billion to $17 billion in its upcoming initial public offering of common stock?an amount that even on the low end would be a record …
Read More »Beleaguered Pay By Touch Looks To Sell Itself in Two Auctions
With potential buyers so far proving to be no more than tire kickers, bankrupt biometrics payment company Solidus Networks Inc., which does business as Pay By Touch, is looking to sell itself in separate auctions of what it calls its core and non-core assets. The core assets center on Pay …
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