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Retail ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. says it has been preparing for the possible loss of its biggest merchant, convenience-store giant 7-Eleven Inc., for three years and will stick to its established growth plan to fill the impending hole now that that possibility has become a reality. Houston-based Cardtronics has …
Read More »U.S. EMV Conversion Boosts First Data’s Acquiring and Issuing Segments
By Jim Daly First Data Corp. on Wednesday reported modest second-quarter growth in its merchant-acquiring and issuer-processing segments thanks in part to the U.S. conversion to EMV chip card payments and reduced expense growth. In all, First Data reported a net loss of $26 million, a 24% improvement from the …
Read More »Judge Grants Restraining Order to Backpage.Com in Credit Card Dispute With Sheriff
A federal judge on Friday granted a temporary restraining order in favor of online classified-advertising portal Backpage.com, which challenged Cook County, Ill., Sheriff Thomas Dart after Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. granted Dart’s request to ban card payments on Backpage because the site allegedly facilitates the sex trade. A spokesperson …
Read More »Backpage.com Sues Cook County Sheriff in Payment Card Acceptance Dispute
The owner of online classified-advertising portal Backpage.com is suing the sheriff of Cook County, Ill., in federal court for pressuring payment card networks to ban card purchases in Backpage’s adult section. The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Backpage.Com LLC in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleges Sheriff Thomas J. Dart engaged …
Read More »In the Face of Increasing Regulation, the ETA Boosts Its Washington Presence
The Electronic Transactions Association, the national merchant-acquiring trade group, is ramping up its presence on Capitol Hill to stem the increasing regulation of the payments industry. The Washington, D.C.-based ETA recently spawned the creation of so-called payments caucuses in both the Senate and House of Representatives, chief executive Jason Oxman …
Read More »Chastened ISO Execs Caution Colleagues on How To Avoid Regulators’ Ire
Two independent sales organization executives who ran afoul of government regulators cautioned their industry colleagues Thursday on how to stay out of trouble. The warnings came during a session at the MidWest Acquirers Association (MWAA) annual conference in Chicago titled “You, Me and the FTC: Personal Stories From Being in …
Read More »EMV and Updated PCI Rules Present Opportunities for ISOs ‘To Gain or Lose Business’
With the impending EMV chip card liability shift on Oct. 1 and the recent establishment of the newest version of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI), independent sales organizations are at a critical juncture, according to a veteran industry executive. “This is an opportunity for ISOs to gain or …
Read More »Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Ease Marijuana Businesses’ Access to Banking Services
A bill introduced Thursday with bipartisan backing in the U.S. Senate would prevent federal regulators from cracking down on banks that provide financial services to legal marijuana businesses. The bill, similar to one pending in the House of Representatives, aims to rectify the lack of access many recreational and medicinal …
Read More »As the Spinoff Looms, Investors Eagerly Await Unlocked Value in the Post-eBay PayPal
By Jim Daly Next week’s planned split of PayPal from parent company eBay Inc. has payments investors anticipating that plenty of locked-up value and growth opportunities will be released for the online payments leader. PayPal began trading on a so-called “when-issued” basis Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the …
Read More »The CFPB Weighs in With Guidelines to Protect Consumers Using Faster Payments
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued nine guidelines summarizing its vision for faster payments as banks, payment processors, tech companies, and other government regulators continue work on proposals for improving U.S. payments. “Companies developing new financial technologies should be building systems from the outset with consumer protections …
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