In a sign of how the problem of identity fraud is spawning new businesses, a La Jolla, Calif.-based startup announced on Tuesday a free service allowing consumers to determine which pieces of junk mail they want to stop receiving. Once consumers use ProQuo Inc.'s Web site to indicate their preferences?which …
Read More »With a Grip on Costs, TSYS Continues Its Post-BofA Recovery
Bolstered by cost controls and its growing international business, payment processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) on Monday reported profits rose nearly 27% on a revenue increase of not quite 4%. TSYS also said operating margins are up more than 3 percentage points this year to 25.6%. Columbus, Ga.-based TSYS …
Read More »Eye on Earnings: Google Checkout Adds More Merchants
Google Inc. gave a progress report about its Google Checkout payment services launched in mid-2006 and processors and banks heavily involved in the payments business reported third-quarter earnings last week. ? Search-engine leader Google's Google Checkout online payment service added PetSmart, Drugstore.com, Shoebuy.com, and the NHL Store as merchants in …
Read More »Third Time Could Be a Charm for BB&T in Mobile Banking
BB&T Corp. this week introduced a new mobile-banking service in which the Southeastern regional bank leaves little to chance. The bank will offer consumers three user interfaces for two-way interaction with BB&T through their cell phones or other mobile devices. And, in contrast to most banks' tech announcements, BB&T is …
Read More »Banks Begin to Use SVPCO to Handle Check Images for Client Banks
Some of the big banks that connect to the SVPCO Image Payments Network are starting to use the system to send and clear items electronically for other banks they serve in a move that could increase volume on the image-exchange network and allow member financial institutions to earn more fee …
Read More »PayPal’s Strategy Bears Fruit As off-eBay Ratio Steadily Rises
PayPal Inc.'s efforts to lessen its dependence on transaction traffic supplied by the online auctions run by parent eBay Inc. are paying off. Some 44% of the $12.2 billion the San Jose, Calif.-based e-commerce processor handled in the third quarter came from off-eBay merchants, according to statistics filed by eBay …
Read More »MasterCard Opens a PCI Schoolhouse Featuring ‘Tailor-Made’ Sessions
No. 2 payment network MasterCard Worldwide this week unveiled a global education effort about the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI. The campaign, which includes free Web-based seminars and live training, comes at a time when restive merchants and others are challenging the card networks about data security, with …
Read More »With Verizon on Board, the Two Biggest Carriers Will Preload Firethorn
Mobile-banking and payments application developer Firethorn Holdings LLC scored a coup this week when Verizon Wireless, the nation's No. 2 mobile-phone carrier, announced it had picked Firethorn as a strategic partner for mobile banking and would preload Firethorn's system onto newly issued phones. The agreement means the nation's two largest …
Read More »Startup Certifies Diebold As First ATM Maker for Prepaid Card System
Better ATM Services Inc. today took another step toward realizing its goal of turning ATMs into machines that can dispense something other than cash. The Mesa, Ariz.-based startup certified machines made by Diebold Inc. as capable of dispensing its prepaid cards, which Better ATM Services is testing at five restaurants …
Read More »Report: Debit Card Outlook Bright, But Banks Failing on Activation
Debit cards remain the fastest-growing payment devices and they seem likely to endure a possible economic slowdown better than credit cards, according to a new report from TowerGroup Inc. Nevertheless, financial institutions have a propensity to pump out many more debit cards than consumers want. According to the report, “Crediting …
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