News

September, 2003

• 24 September

  First Data Sets Vote on Concord Acquisition

  First Data Corp. has announced that a shareholder vote on its proposed merger with Concord EFS Inc. will take place Oct. 28 in Englewood, Colo., where the giant transaction-processing company is based. First Data announced its proposed all-stock acquisition of Concord EFS, a major electronic-funds-transfer processor and operator of the …
• 22 September

  New Regional ISO Group

  A new regional association for independent sales organizations will be unveiled later this month. Following on the heels of similar groups serving ISOs in the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest regions, the new group will be called the Western United States Acquiring Association and will cover U.S. territory west of Colorado. …
• 22 September

  Investor Interest Boosting Industry Valuations

  One of the electronic transactions industry’s most active buyers of independent sales organizations and other transaction-services firms says the steady flow of transaction revenue these businesses generate is attracting increasing interest from pension funds and private-equity players, thus driving up valuations. TransFirst, a Dallas-based processor that has grown from 2.5 …
• 22 September

  Vital’s New Market Push

  Transaction processor Vital, a joint venture owned by Visa USA and TSYS, is pushing on multiple fronts into new markets. The Tempe, Ariz.-based company is gearing up to grab a chunk of the market for PIN-based debit, in part by demonstrating to merchants how the money they now save on …
• 22 September

  How the Wal-Mart Settlement Could Pay for PIN Pads

  This spring’s settlement between the bank-owned card associations and retailers led by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been widely interpreted as a blow to the fortunes of so-called PIN-based debit, or debit card transactions effected by a consumer’s personal identification number rather than his signature. That’s because the settlement terms required …