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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 …
Read More »Canadian Payments Association Plans New Online Payments Rules
The Canadian Payments Association is planning to implement a new rule for clearing Internet transactions involving the electronic debiting of consumer accounts. The association hopes to finalize the rule in December, which if approved would take effect early next year, according to Roger Dowdall, vice president of communication and education …
Read More »1-800 Contacts Signs on to Accept Benny Debit Card
Evolution Benefits Inc. and 1-800 Contacts Inc. have reached an agreement under which the retailer of replacement contact lenses will accept Evolution Benefits' Benny debit card. The card, cobranded with MasterCard and Visa, will tap flexible-spending and health-reimbursement accounts set up by corporate employees, which the employees have funded with …
Read More »Gift Cards Take a Bigger Bite from Cash, Paper
The popularity of gift cards continues to grow, with some 64% of U.S. adults, or a projected 139 million people, now buying or receiving the products annually, up from 59% last year and just 36% three years ago. That's according to the latest annual survey on gift card usage from …
Read More »Metavante Buys the Software Company Behind SVPCo.’s Network
Metavante Corp. continues to pursue an aggressive acquisition strategy in electronic payments with it announcement today that it agreed to buy VECTORsgi, a software company in Addison, Texas, that sells check-imaging software. The acquisition, valued at $100 million in cash plus another $35 million to be paid if certain targets …
Read More »Can a Veteran of ATM Networking Succeed in Health Care Processing?
A veteran ATM network executive thinks he can succeed at building a national health-care transaction-processing system, though similar efforts have a dismal record of failure. The executive, Joseph E. Wolfson, founder of the Metroteller electronic funds transfer network, expects the HealthTransaction Network to begin processing transactions from health-care insurance companies …
Read More »The Sub-$2 Market Keeps Growing?at the POS As Well As Online
The number of Americans ages 12 and up who bought sub-$2 digital content online in the past year has ballooned to more than 14 million, up from 4 million a year ago, according to a survey released today. “The data suggest that the online micropayments market has grown significantly in …
Read More »PINless Debit Could Crimp the ACH’s Style on the Internet
Although Internet transactions have become a highly popular form of payment on the automated clearing house network, the emergence of direct debit online may stunt the growth of Web ACH transactions, an executive with a major Internet payment processor said today. Internet payments, which the National Automated Clearing House Association …
Read More »Canada’s First Debit Fraud Estimate Pegs Losses at $44 Million
Debit card fraud in Canada last year amounted to $44 million ($34 million U.S.), which criminals drained from some 27,000 accounts, according to data recently compiled by Interac, the national electronic funds transfer network. The study represents the first attempt in Canada to measure fraud losses sustained by holders of …
Read More »BofA Hands FDC a Major Win, But Leaves Some Key Points Vague
First Data Corp.'s letter of intent with Bank of America Corp., which includes processing services from FDC for BofA ATMs as well as for debit card transactions secured by personal identification numbers, amounts to a big win for the Denver-based processor after a string of stinging losses, observers say. “Obviously, …
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