News

September, 2009

• 10 September

  PCI Report Poses a Quandary: Where Did 1 Million Merchants Go?

  The biggest merchants are moving toward 100% compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI, but compliance among small card acceptors remains much lower, according to second-quarter statistics from Visa Inc. None of that is a surprise given PCI compliance trends in recent years. But just how far …
• 9 September

  Wells Brings Remittances to the Internet for ‘Tech-Savvy’ Users

  The money-transfer business just got a bit more competitive. Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday said it has added an online feature to its ExpressSend service, enabling customers to send money to seven countries from their computer keyboards at any time. “It's in response to our customers' wants,” Steve Clark, …
• 9 September

  Zenius Hopes to Break NFC Logjam By Focusing on Non-Bank Players

  While a number of technology companies have recently introduced products allowing mobile merchants to accept card payments on their handsets, a startup is demonstrating the first application that would let merchants take contactless payments on a wide variety of mobile phones. Indeed, Zenius Solutions Inc. hopes its software, called ZeniusMobilePOS, …
• 8 September

  Success of Check 21 Sends Substitute Checks in Free Fall, Data Show

  As the fifth anniversary of the Check 21 law draws near, the volume of paper substitute checks created by the law is in a free fall, recent data show. That, experts say, indicates the law has successfully paved the way for fully electronic clearing of check images. The number of …
• 3 September

  With 1.4 Million Employees, Wal-Mart Puts Payroll Cards on the Map

  In yet another move that could shake up the financial world and boost electronic payroll cards, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is eliminating paper checks for employees. Under the new payroll program, employees who don't have direct deposit will be issued a MasterCard-branded payroll card through the First Data Money Network Payroll …
• 3 September

  With Pulse Deal, Interac Expands Its Cross-Border Utility

  Canada's Interac Association PIN-debit network this week announced a deal with the Houston-based Pulse network that will let holders of Pulse, Discover, and Diners Club cards withdraw cash at Canadian ATMs. More such deals with other networks are likely as Interac seeks to let foreigners use their cards while visiting …
• 2 September

  Cynergy Is an Example of Economic Stresses on ISOs, Experts Say

  Tuesday's news that Cynergy Data was filing for bankruptcy and planning to sell its assets serves as perhaps an extreme example of the fierce toll the recession is taking on independent sales organizations, observers say. Indeed, some say the ravages of reduced payment volumes, failed merchants, and squeezed margins could …
• 2 September

  Debt, Accounting Issues, Recession Led Cynergy Data to Bankruptcy

  With $83 million in debt added since 2007, accounting errors, and finally the recession, the big independent sales organization Cynergy Data LLC concluded late this summer that it needed bankruptcy-court protection, according to an emerging picture of the company as it seeks to sell its assets to a private-equity firm. …
• 1 September

  Citing Debt Load, Cynergy Data Declares Bankruptcy And Seeks Sale

  Citing the weak economy and “an unsustainable debt load,” the big independent sales organization Cynergy Data filed for Chapter 11 protection Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The Long Island City, N.Y.-based processor also said it planned to sell its assets to The ComVest Group, a private-equity firm with …

August, 2009

• 31 August

  Visa Follows MasterCard in Prepaying Its ‘Wal-Mart’ Obligations

  As an attorney for the merchant plaintiffs predicted earlier this summer, Visa Inc. disclosed Monday that it plans to prepay the remaining $800 million of its settlement obligations with merchants under the so-called Wal-Mart debit card class action for a discounted $682 million. If the plan gets court approval, the …