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Two rival online payment companies in Canada are making moves to expand the market for Web-based debit payments to the U.S. Toronto-based UseMyBank Services Inc. has linked with processors in both Europe and the U.S., while Othentik Technologies Inc., Montreal, has signed a deal to license its software to US …
Read More »Fed Study Says Electronic Payments Exceed Checks for the First Time
Electronic transactions in the U.S. now exceed check payments for the first time, while checks have gone from 57% of all non-cash payments to 45% in only three years, according to a Federal Reserve System report released today. There were 44.5 billion electronic payment transactions in the U.S. last year, …
Read More »Visa’s Web, QSR Volume Get a Big Boost from ‘Black Friday’ Activity
Merchant channels that are converting to electronic payments, such as fast food, or are heavily dependent on them, such as the Internet, continue to benefit from the impetus lent by the holiday shopping season. Visa USA's credit and debit card statistics for so-called Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, indicate …
Read More »Visa Report: Early Holiday Spending Drives Big Jumps in Transactions
With a month to go until Christmas, holiday spending by consumers is driving double-digit increases in electronic transactions, according to the latest report from Visa USA, which is tracking spending on its cards each week from early November until early January. Total spending on all Visa-branded cards hit $23.1 billion …
Read More »AmEx’s Big Lawsuit: A Power Play Through the Banks?
American Express Co. Inc.'s decision to include eight banks as defendants in the lawsuit it filed earlier this week against Visa USA Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. may be a power play to weaken the bank card networks by widening policy differences between the networks and their major members, some …
Read More »Discover Buys Pulse for $311 Million, Gains Major PIN Debit Position
In an announcement with far-reaching implications for the electronic payments business, Discover Financial Services Inc. announced today it is buying the Houston-based Pulse EFT Association for $311 million “and other strategic value.” The deal, which the parties say will close by mid January pending approval from regulators and Pulse members, …
Read More »Fraud Losses Have Climbed 37% for Online Merchants, Survey Says
Fraud losses will total $2.6 billion in 2004 for Internet merchants, 37% higher than last year, with smaller merchants suffering the worst fraud. That's according to the sixth annual survey of online fraud from CyberSource Corp., a Mountain View, Calif.-based transaction gateway for e-commerce sites. The survey, which gathered responses …
Read More »Visa Cuts Interchange for Utilities That Forgo Surcharges
Hoping to increase its penetration in consumer bill payments to gas, electricity, and other utility companies, Visa USA today rolled out incentives for utilities to accept its cards and to encourage more card transactions. The incentives include a lower credit and check card interchange fee on certain consumer card transactions …
Read More »MasterCard Reports 3Q U.S. Purchase Volume Growth of Almost 8%
Purchase volume on MasterCard International credit and signature-based debit cards in the U.S. grew almost 8% in the third quarter, to $132.9 billion, the bank card company reported today. MasterCard credit cards registered growth of 6.9%, to $109.7 billion, well below worldwide growth of 11.2%. On the signature debit side, …
Read More »TransFirst, First American Appoint New ISO And Sales Executives
TransFirst, a Dallas-based processor that has grown significantly through acquisition over the past two years, has appointed two new executives to run its divisions concerned with independent sales organizations, agents, and resellers. Ryan O'Connor, formerly with Nova Information Systems, a unit of U.S. Bank, has become president of TransFirst's ISA …
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