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The fallout from the largest data-security breach yet in the electronic payments business continues, with rival processors looking to pick up new merchants now that both Visa U.S.A. and American Express Co. have said they are terminating CardSystems Solutions Inc. as a processor on their networks. CardSystems' list of clients …
Read More »Visa Terminates CardSystems, Move Could Kill Processor
In a move that apparently took troubled processor CardSystems Solutions Inc. by surprise and is likely to cripple the company, Visa U.S.A. has terminated CardSystems as a processor and agent on its network, effective Oct. 31. In a statement issued yesterday, Visa says it is taking the action because the …
Read More »Small Fry, Such as Credit Unions, Now Increasingly Hijacked by Phishers
Smaller financial institutions, including credit unions, are increasingly coming under attack by phishing fraudsters, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The report says the number of brands “hijacked” by fraudsters jumped to 107 in May, up from 79 in April and 64 in January. The group, …
Read More »Iron Triangle’s Wimsett Succeeds Higgins at Retriever
Retriever Payment Systems Inc., a Houston-based independent sales organization, announced today its longtime president and chief executive, William H. Higgins, is stepping down and will be replaced by Thomas A. Wimsett, chief executive of Iron Triangle Payment Systems. Iron Triangle, Louisville, Ky., acquired Retriever earlier this year. Higgins will remain …
Read More »MasterCard, Banks May Not Be off Hook in Latest Interchange Case
Though they are not named as defendants in the antitrust case filed today by Kroger Co. and six other retail chains against Visa International and Visa U.S.A., MasterCard International and individual member banks of both bank card networks could find themselves named in separate actions later, according to one of …
Read More »U.S. Wireless Subscribers Exceed Landline Hookups for the First Time
In a development with implications for mobile commerce in the U.S., the number of wireless subscribers has for the first time exceeded the number of landline connections in this country. According to a report compiled by the Federal Communications Commission, there were 181.1 mobile subscriptions in place on Dec. 31, …
Read More »Coghlan’s Olive Branch Not Likely to Bring Retailer-Friendly Change
Despite an apparent willingness by the new chief executive of Visa U.S.A. to meet with merchant representatives on such thorny issues as interchange pricing, some observers say the bank card association's basic position toward the retailer community is unlikely to change. John Philip Coghlan, who took over yesterday as president …
Read More »Former Schwab Exec Succeeds Long-Time Visa Chief Pascarella
Visa U.S.A. today named John Philip Coghlan, 54, as its new president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. The former Charles Schwab & Co. Inc. executive succeeds long-time Visa chief Carl F. Pascarella, who announced last summer his intention to step down by September (Digital Transactions News, July 16, 2004). …
Read More »How DataTreasury Could Become a Toll Collector in Check Imaging
Little noticed until now, a small, privately held technology company on Long Island this week scored a major victory in a patent-infringement case that is sending shock waves throughout the electronic payments business, observers say. One direct result, they say, could be sharply higher costs for banks and third-party processors …
Read More »Small Company Sues Big Banks, Wins Big in Check 21 Technology Cases
In a move that could have widespread implications for the fledgling business of check-image exchange, a small, privately held company holding patents on key elements of check imaging and processing filed patent-infringement suits today against four major banks. The federal suit, filed by Melville, N.Y.-based DataTreasury Corp. against Bank of …
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