Debit Cards

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). …

Consumers generally prefer PIN-based debit to signature debit, and are less frequently subjected by banks and merchants to fees for PIN-debit usage, according to a recent survey. At the same time, the number of banks offering rewards incentives to consumers for PIN-debit usage, already a small minority, is declining, says …

The huge theft of card data at processor CardSystems Solutions Inc., revealed last week by MasterCard International, has prompted litigation and drawn the attention of most of the state attorneys general, but at least one network-security expert cautions that more such incidents are likely. Indeed, he says, little is likely …

The introduction in Canada of a bank-sponsored commercial payment service allowing consumers to buy goods from e-commerce merchants with their PIN debit cards is sparking widespread interest among retailers, according to Moneris Solutions Corp., the first processor to handle transactions for Interac Online. Moneris has been processing Interac Online payments …

A pair of companies specializing in stored-value products for the underbanked population are reaching beyond prepaid cards to extend credit and savings options to their cardholders. Next Estate Communications Inc., which launched its Green Dot Financial Network to support check-cashing and prepaid cards, already offers its cardholders a program to …

Star Systems Inc. will begin processing bill payments through its electronic check-conversion service, Star Chek Direct, by the end of the year, according to officials at the network. In the bill-payment scenario, consumers will be able to pay billers in certain low-risk industry categories, such as insurance and utilities, by …

Eyeing what it sees as a huge opportunity in processing bill payments, U.K.-based Retail Decisions PLC's U.S. processing unit this month will begin offering the fastest-growing form of electronic check now available: accounts-receivable conversion, or ARC. Retail Decisions USA Inc., which has built its business providing a card-based risk-management and …

Efunds Corp. signaled its intention to move aggressively into the burgeoning market for prepaid products today with an announcement that it is buying WildCard Systems Inc., a Sunrise, Fla.-based processor, for $228.8 million in cash. The deal, which is expected to close early next month, will add prepaid debit to …

CheckFree Corp. will begin piloting PIN-based debit transactions in its extensive walk-in bill-payment network before the end of the year. The Atlanta-based processor is also investigating the possibility of adding a PIN-less debit feature to its online and telephone-based bill-payment network for so-called biller-direct transactions, though it has no definite …

Addressing a longstanding complaint of independent sales organizations and other nonbank acquirers, MasterCard International has published its operating rules for what the card company calls member service providers. MasterCard says the 291-page document, entitled “Member Service Provider Rules Manual,” is now available free, and has posted a PDF for download. …