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Capping months of planning, bank-holding company Synovus Financial Corp. confirmed Thursday afternoon that it would spin off its entire 80.8% interest in payment card processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) to its shareholders. In doing so, Synovus brings up what is likely to be the rear of an extremely active …
Read More »By Arming Consumers, a Startup Hopes to Cut Down on ID Fraud
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 »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 »Discover Boosts Issuing Prospects Among Banks with TSYS Deal
In a move that could give it a big boost in signing up banks to issue cards on its network, Discover Financial Services Inc. on Tuesday announced a deal with TSYS Inc. under which TSYS clients will be able to issue Discover credit and prepaid cards and use TSYS for …
Read More »Eyeing the Point of Sale, Bill Me Later Readies Test for Core Service
Bill Me Later Inc. will work with two to three merchants starting next month to test an extension of its online, credit-based payments service to the physical point of sale. If the test yields good results, the Timonium, Md.-based processor will likely launch a commercial service by the middle of …
Read More »Retailers Challenge the Networks’ Card-Data Storage Requirements
A leading retailer trade group on Thursday called for the payment card networks to stop forcing merchants to store credit card numbers, in effect challenging banks and the networks to take more responsibility for preventing data thefts. In a letter to the PCI Security Standards Council, an organization the networks …
Read More »Key PCI Deadline Passes With Half of Big Merchants Compliant
The Sept. 30 deadline for large merchants to certify compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI, passed quietly over the weekend with an estimated half of so-called Level 1 merchants meeting the card industry's guidelines for protecting card data from fraudsters. And, according to experts contacted by …
Read More »Revolution Money Expects to Gain Traction Early with Merchants
The electronic payments venture formerly known as GratisCard Inc. added more muscle this week with a free person-to-person payments service, a credit card, new bank partners, and a new name to boot. Now called Revolution Money, the payments system founded by an investment firm created by America Online Inc. co-founder …
Read More »Discover Adds Chase Paymentech, Says More Acquirer Deals Coming
With its announcement on Thursday that it has added Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, the nation's largest merchant acquirer, to its stable of bank card acquirers offering acceptance to small and mid-sized merchants, Discover Financial Services LLC further reduces what was once a yawning gap between itself and the bank card …
Read More »First Data Cuts Data Centers As Its Road Show Starts
First Data Corp. is giving more glimpses of its previously announced plans to tighten up operations as top management and private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. struggle to meet a planned Sept. 30 closing date for KKR's $29 billion leveraged buyout of the No. 1 payments processor. In a …
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