News

December, 2012

• 31 December

  Slate Tied to Dissident Shareholder Group Wins Seats on OTI Board

  A slate of eight director candidates supported by a dissident shareholder group won election on Sunday at a special meeting of shareholders held by On Track Innovations Ltd., a vendor of contactless-payment solutions. The election, which expands the company’s board to 11 directors, hands control over the 22-year-old Israeli company …
• 28 December

  The FDIC Urges Banks To Ride Herd on Their Mobile-Payments Partners

  Mobile payments are the all the rage in the banking, retailing, and software industries, but the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is cautioning banks to keep a short leash on their mobile-payments vendors. The FDIC also warned in a recent report that banks’ role in mobile payments could be reduced as …
• 27 December

  The Federal Trade Commission Confirms Its Probe of Debit Card Network Rules

  The Federal Trade Commission disclosed on Wednesday that it is investigating whether payment card network rules and practices violate the debit card transaction-routing provisions of the Durbin Amendment in 2010’s Dodd-Frank Act. It’s uncertain, however, whether the investigation goes beyond what Visa Inc. said the FTC requested of it in …
• 20 December

  Discover Prowls for More Deals; CEO Blasts Visa’s “Hijack-Transaction” Tactics

  In the wake of its path-breaking partnership with PayPal Inc., Discover Financial Services is ready to do more deals with other companies that will add transaction volume or build its acceptance footprint, chief executive David Nelms indicated on Thursday. Nelms also told stock analysts that growth in the Discover-owned Pulse …
• 19 December

  Co-Op Boosts Debit Usage Among Infrequent Users with a Charitable, Not Personal, Appeal

  While some big banks pull back on debit card promotion, smaller institutions are finding ways to boost usage among customers who have cards but seldom use them. And some are finding out that, perhaps because of the time of the year, charitable appeals may work better than personal rewards. Co-Op …
• 19 December

  As EMV-Debit-Durbin Problem Festers, a Solution May Be on Its Way

  A knotty problem involving the EMV chip card standard, debit card transaction routing, and the Durbin Amendment may take a crucial step toward resolution next month when the country’s two largest card networks are expected to indicate whether they will support a potential solution proposed by a debit-network group, according …
• 19 December

  With VeriFone Trimming Its Sail, Acquiring Industry Debates Micro-Merchant Profitability

  Leading U.S.-based point-of-sale terminal maker VeriFone Systems Inc.’s retreat from its role as merchant acquirer for its Sail mobile-payments platform for micro-merchants last week after only seven months is triggering intense debate among independent sales organizations and payments-industry veterans. The crux of the debate concerns whether processing for tiny merchants …
• 18 December

  The Latest Numbers Herald Checks’ Electronic Future

    New data from the automated clearing house network show that ACH debit transactions for online bill payments grew 9% in the third quarter while paper checks converted into ACH transactions after being mailed to lockboxes decreased by 8%. The story behind the interrelated numbers boils down to the years-long …
• 14 December

  VeriFone To Exit Acquiring for Mobile Merchants; Will Revert to Tech-Supplier Role

  Seven months after VeriFone Systems Inc. launched Sail, its mobile-payments platform for micro-merchants, the San Jose-based point-of-sale terminal maker and payments software provider is stepping back from its role as an acquirer for Sail merchants and will instead revert to its traditional role of solutions provider. The announcement from chief …
• 13 December

  Appeals Court Tells Settlement Challengers To Wait Until Agreement Gets Final Approval

  A federal appellate court has turned down a retailer appeal to review part of the controversial settlement in a massive credit card interchange case, clearing the way for the trial court to move toward final approval. Meanwhile, the Herculean task of notifying millions of merchants about the settlement is getting …