Issuing/Originating

So-called bust-out fraud is an old credit card crime that's not going away, and currently it's responsible for about $800 million annually in largely unreported fraud losses. That sober estimate came this week during a presentation on worldwide transaction-system fraud given by John Schettino, MasterCard vice president for security and …

MasterCard International plans by the end of the year to have in place a program to certify instant card issuance activity in the United States. The bank card company is testing an instant-issuance certification plan in Brazil now, and is concerned enough about perceived risk in instant issuance that it …

In the wake of its groundbreaking announcement last week that it had signed up MBNA Corp. as the first U.S. bank issuer on its network, American Express Co. yesterday said the MBNA deal is non-exclusive and that it is actively pursuing such arrangements with “plans to form additional partnerships” in …

An ambitious multi-application smart card pilot launched late last year in Barrie, Ontario, is ready to move to its next phase, which will involve signing up 40 more merchant locations in February. Toronto-based Scotiabank, the issuer of the cards, will not release how many it has issued so far, though …

The highest delinquency rate ever seen on credit cards did little to dampen transactions on the cards during the critical holiday season. The American Bankers Association reports today that late payments on credit cards reached a record 4.09% of all accounts in the third quarter of 2003, up from 4.04% …

Visa may be offering its debit card issuers a little leeway with regard to its controversial service settlement fee by allowing them to switch their card portfolios to American Express or Discover without incurring any penalties. But some industry observers don't think the offer will make any practical difference to …

MasterCard announced today its test of contactless chip cards in Orlando, Fla., was encouraging enough for the card company to roll it out to all members as a feature on MasterCard credit, debit, and stored-value cards. The company expects the expansion to begin next summer with the addition of new …

Payment executives shouldn't read too much into the legal interpretation of a recent policy decision by Visa to exempt its members that switch their debit card portfolios to American Express or Discover–but not MasterCard–from paying exit penalties. In a letter to members, Paul Allen, Visa executive vice president and general …

Duane Reade Inc., a chain of 241 drugstores in New York City, will on Monday become the fourth and so far the largest issuer of the Debitman card, a non-bank, national electronic payment system started last year by a group of payments veterans with roots in the retailing business. Duane …

Shrugging off what it called a “challenging” year that included a $2 billion legal settlement with retailers, Visa USA reported this morning strong gains in transaction volume on its credit and debit card business for the third quarter. Total volume grew almost 13% to $285.8 billion, leading president and chief …