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A Michigan convenience-store chain believes its new Debitman card program will lower its card-acceptance costs while simultaneously boosting customer loyalty by taking some of the sting out of rising gasoline prices. Debitman Card Inc. announced this week that Muskegon-based Wesco Inc., which operates 51 stores in the state, would join …
Read More »Eyeing Gift-Card Popularity, the OCC Issues Disclosure Rules
Responding to the rapid build-up in popularity of gift cards, a federal banking regulator has issued guidelines telling banks what information they should disclose?and how they should disclose it?to both the buyers and ultimate users of the prepaid plastic. The new rules, which bear on matters such as expiration dates, …
Read More »Discover’s Embrace of ViVOtech Hints at Bigger Contactless Plans
Discover Network's recent certification of ViVOtech card readers indicates Discover is moving ahead with a contactless card program, but the No. 4 general-purpose card network is staying mum about the details. Discover says it has certified several readers from Santa Clara, Calif.-based ViVOtech Inc., a specialist in contactless payment hardware, …
Read More »SVPCO Gains More Critical Mass As PNC Joins Image-Exchange System
All-electronic check image exchange got a boost this week with the addition of another large regional bank-holding company, Pittsburgh-based The PNC Financial Services Group, to SVPCO-Electronic Clearing Services' image-exchange network. Meanwhile, SVPCO reported today that it processed 3 million average daily items in July, up 17% from June's average. The …
Read More »Monthly IRDs Surpass 100 Million, But Electronic Settlement Gains Share
New consolidated industry data show the number of substitute checks, or image replacement documents (IRDs), flowing through image-exchange networks surpassed 100 million for the first time in June, but the share of paper relative to all image-exchange volume is declining. According to the Electronic Check Clearing House Organization (ECCHO), the …
Read More »Prepaid Card Roundup: New Virgin Mobile Card, U. S. Bank Hits Milestone
Wireless provider Virgin Mobile USA LLC on Monday introduced a reloadable prepaid card that will allow its 4 million mostly young subscribers to pay for goods and services at stores and on the Web, pay bills, and send cash to one another. The card, a Visa-branded product Virgin calls the …
Read More »Instant Issuance Builds Momentum, Looks to RFID, Prepaid, Credit
The business of putting debit cards in bank customers' hands on the spot, at the moment they open an account, is growing rapidly and may soon include prepaid cards and credit cards, according to a supplier of software that controls the process. Dynamic Card Solutions, Englewood, Colo., says it now …
Read More »Swapped PIN-Pad Fraud Pops up in Ottawa, Netting $2 Million
Ottawa police are close to bringing charges against a retail clerk who police say has helped a local criminal ring siphon an estimated $2 million (Canadian) over the past three months from hundreds of bank accounts by using rigged point-of-sale terminals to steal debit card account numbers and PINs, according …
Read More »Debitman’s HSBC Deal Could Help It Corral More Merchant Issuers
There are no specific issuing agreements yet, but private-label credit card issuing giant HSBC Retail Services has teamed up with Debitman Card Inc. in a deal that could result in HSBC retailer clients offering PIN-debit cards to their customers usable on Debitman's network. If the arrangement pans out, it would …
Read More »A Boom Is Building in FSA Debit Cards, But Challenges Remain
Because of the efficiency, savings, and convenience they bring to a system traditionally choked with paper, debit cards linked to flexible-spending accounts (FSAs) are turning into a hot growth market in electronic payments. Issuers will put 6 million of the cards in circulation in 2006, up 50% over last year …
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