Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
A new survey indicates sharply higher popularity for gift cards. According to the survey, an estimated 97 million Americans, or 45% of the adult population, bought a gift card in the last 12 months, twice the number who bought one in 2002. The 2003 survey, which was conducted in August …
November, 2003
-
17 November
Visa’s Penalty Concession May Be Less Than Meets the Eye
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 …
-
14 November
Duane Reade Gives Debitman a Tonic As the Card’s Latest Issuer
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 …
-
14 November
No Clear Reading on Visa’s Penalty Policy Toward MasterCard
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 …
-
12 November
Passengers Increasingly Head for Ticketing Machines
The extent to which air travelers are adopting electronic ticketing kiosks has been demonstrated in dramatic fashion by some numbers recently released by Northwest Airlines Inc., which was the first major airline to deploy the technology. Some two-thirds of the Minneapolis-based carrier's passengers used the kiosks in October, up from …
-
12 November
Merger of Clearing Houses Creates Powerhouse ACH
Two of the nation's largest regional automated clearing houses will now be part of the same company with the merger of parent payments clearing houses based in New York and Chicago. The Clearing House in New York (formerly the New York Clearing House) and the Chicago Clearing House Association announced …
-
11 November
Micropayments Could Hit 10% of All POS Transactions
Transactions amounting to $10 or less could potentially amount to at least 10% of all point-of-sale payment transactions processed annually in North America, a bonanza of transaction volume that goes a long way toward explaining why giant card companies and small startup processors alike are chasing the so-called micropayments market. …
-
10 November
A Fingerprint Check System Rolls Out with BI-LO
BioPay LLC has reached agreement with BI-LO, a major supermarket chain concentrated in the Southeast, to make its biometrics-based paycheck authentication service available in 176 of the chain's 300 stores. The system is expected to be operating by Thanksgiving at stores in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. When …
-
7 November
Payment Veterans Set Their Sights on Training ISO Agents
A new organization focused on training for merchant-level salespeople now has its Web site live and is looking toward its first seminar in Dallas Nov. 15, which it expects will draw 100 to 150 attendees. The Mountain Home, Ark.-based Institute for Payment Professionals, formed this fall by industry veterans Paul …
-
6 November
Visa Posts Strong Third-Quarter Volume Gains
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 …