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Reflecting a recent trend in card-based payments, signature-debit card dollar volume on MasterCard International's U.S. network grew at double-digit rates in the first nine months of the year, far outstripping growth in credit card transactions. MasterCard reported today that its signature, or offline, debit cards in the U.S. accounted for …
Read More »Chase Brings Contactless Payments to the Northeast Corridor
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is extending its rollout of contactless payment technology to the populous northeast corridor of the country. Its Chase Bank U.S.A. N.A. said today it will begin sending new cards equipped with chips and tiny radio transmitters to some 2.9 million cardholders this week. In addition, about …
Read More »Volume Grows for AmEx, As Does Dependence on Acquiring
U.S. transaction volume for American Express Co. grew nearly 19% in the third quarter, to $89 billion, over the year-ago period, the New York-based travel-and-entertainment company reported. Its U.S. card base increased 10%, to 42 million, of which 31.9 million are so-called basic cards. The U.S. accounts for nearly three-quarters …
Read More »Survey: Popularity Propels Gift Cards into Consumer Mainstream
Some 59% of adults, or an estimated 131 million people?either bought or received a gift card over the year from August 2004 to August 2005, a study released today reveals. In part, this has meant that the electronic stored value cards are gaining popularity as gifts for a more diverse …
Read More »Study: Signature Debit Fraud Runs 15 Times Higher Than on PIN Debit
Financial institutions lost an estimated $546 million to debit card fraud in 2004, with fraud rates running much higher on signature-based cards than on cards secured with PINs, according to study released this week. Banks lost $345 million in fraud committed on ATMs, while fraud on signature-debit cards cost them …
Read More »Metris Will Issue Credit Cards on Discover’s Network by Year’s End
Metris Cos. Inc. announced today it will begin issuing cards on Discover Financial Services LLC.'s acceptance network by the end of the year. Metris, the nation's 11th-largest issuer of bank cards, said it will issue a new credit card under the Discover banner through its Direct Merchants Credit Card Bank …
Read More »HSBC Joins the Ranks of Issuers of Contactless Debit Cards
HSBC Bank USA N.A. has become the third U.S. bank to add contactless payment technology to its debit cards. The bank said today it has begun issuing MasterCard-branded debit cards equipped with MasterCard's PayPass system, and plans to issue 1 million of the cards by the end of the year. …
Read More »ORC Plans Pilot of Merchant Database to Intercept Chargebacks
Online Resource Corp. next month will begin a pilot of an online merchant database it hopes will allow issuers to resolve consumer questions regarding card payments, stopping them from becoming expensive retrieval requests and chargebacks. The new service will be tried out with an unnamed top-five debit card issuer, the …
Read More »Some Experts Question Gartner’s $2.75 Billion Debit Fraud Estimate
A major research firm's estimate this week that fraud losses on debit cards in the U.S. hit an estimated $2.75 billion for the 12 months ending in May might have struck a nerve, especially in the absence of hard data on the problem, but it also has experts raising questions …
Read More »AmEx: So Far So Good with MBNA, Though It’s Still Early in BofA Deal
American Express Co. has so far seen no change in its relationship with MBNA Corp., which last year began issuing cards on AmEx's network in the U.S. but is now in the process of being acquired by Bank of America Corp. in a $35 billion deal that was announced late …
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