Driven by growth in government programs, corporate payroll cards, and health care, the network-branded prepaid card sector can expect its U.S. load volume to nearly quadruple from an estimated $120.2 billion last year to more than $440 billion in 2017, according to research commissioned by MasterCard Inc. The study, by …
Read More »Pending Legislation Would Extend CARD Act Deadline for Prepaid
Issuers of prepaid and gift cards could get an extension of the Aug. 22 deadline for complying with new rules from the Federal Reserve under legislation pending in the U.S. Senate. The so-called ECO-Gift Card bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dan Maffei, D-NY, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on …
Read More »Issuers Not Likely to See Much Gain from Durbin’s Concessions
While a compromise hammered out on Monday moderates some of the impact of the so-called Durbin Amendment, at least one payments expert has no doubt who emerges as the winners of this latest parliamentary maneuvering: merchants. Indeed, despite some concessions, banks are still likely to see considerable erosion of the …
Read More »Behind Wal-Mart’s Stake in Its Prepaid Card Partner, Green Dot
Utter the name “Wal-Mart” and heads turn in the payments industry. That happened yet again with the revelation this week that Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer that tried and failed to get into the banking business, had taken an equity interest in Green Dot Corp., a major player …
Read More »Weak Recovery Puts a Damper on Consumer Spending Growth
Consumer spending growth began to slow in April and May after a rebound during the first quarter, with general merchandise stores posting their lowest year-over-year dollar-volume growth, according to at least one major processor. Low-end consumers pulled back from spending, squeezed by an uneven economic recovery and high unemployment. However, …
Read More »Seeking ‘Stickiness,’ MasterCard Rolls out Online Bill Pay for Prepaid
MasterCard Inc. this week rolled out a service that lets users of MasterCard-branded prepaid cards pay bills at the card issuer’s Web site or by phone. Aimed squarely at the underbanked population, the service relies on the MasterCard RPPS network for links to biller accounting systems and Aliaswire Inc., a …
Read More »After a Dip in ’09, Prepaid Card Usage Is Back on the Rise, Expert Says
Consumer usage of prepaid and gift cards declined last year, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. Javelin estimates that the percentage of U.S. adults who had used a prepaid or gift card in the preceding 12 months fell from 66% in 2008 to 61% in 2009. …
Read More »San Diego Nears End of Conversion to Contactless Monthly Transit Cards
A year-long conversion of the old fare-collection systems used by monthly-ticket customers of multiple transit agencies in San Diego County, Calif., to a unified system based on contactless cards is nearing completion, a local official tells Digital Transactions News. The new system, from San Diego-based Cubic Transportation Systems Inc., will …
Read More »Fed Surprises Prepaid Industry with a Tight Deadline for Compliance
Meeting the Aug. 22 deadline for complying with new rules for prepaid and gift cards released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve will be a logistical nightmare for card companies and retailers that have to replace hundreds of millions of cards before the 2010 holiday shopping season, according to a …
Read More »On the Rise, Friendly Fraud Is Getting Online Merchants’ Attention
More online shoppers are repudiating transactions even after they've received their merchandise, much to the chagrin of online merchants, which are focusing on the problem as they seldom have in the past. That's according to Robert W. Botelle, executive vice president for merchant services and chief customer officer at Litle …
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