Blackhawk Network, the supermarket-based prepaid card specialist firmly rooted in gift cards, announced on Monday its first major foray into general-purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards. The move puts Blackhawk into direct competition with powerhouses Green Dot Corp. and NetSpend Inc., but that’s okay, according to chief marketing officer Teri Llach. …

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 …

With the political debate about proposed federal regulation of debit card interchange and card-acceptance terms raging on, analyses of the so-called Durbin Amendment’s effects are emerging. Two new ones suggest consumers would see little or no benefit, if benefit were defined as lower retail prices because of merchants’ reduced card-acceptance …

Online PINless debit transactions could get a boost if a package of four new mobile-payments services from Obopay Inc. proves to be a hit. Dubbed Mobile Money for Banks, Obopay’s new white-label service has another interesting twist besides PINless debit in that it will enable consumers to accept payment cards. …

The continuing boom in general-purpose prepaid cards will lift all providers' boats, but some industry players will see revenues grow faster than others, according to new report from Aite Group LLC. The Boston-based research firm estimates that the total revenue pie of the so-called network-branded prepaid card industry will grow …

The concept of the reloadable general-purpose prepaid card is a familiar one to those who work in the prepaid card industry, but it hasn't caught on with the general public, according to findings from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. A Mercator survey of 1,012 adults last May and June found that …

Credit card charge volumes have fallen this year and debit card volumes, while still in positive territory, are running far below the growth rates they enjoyed before the recession hit. But prepaid cards remain the one bright spot, according to a new market analysis from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. Maynard, …

Just three weeks after its parent company struck a novel deal with PayPal Inc., The Star Network pushed the boundaries of PIN-debit a bit further by unveiling a prepaid card reload service for ATMs and point-of-sale locations. Star, a unit of Atlanta-based processor First Data Corp., claims its load and …

A company founded by the man behind Capital One Financial Corp.'s decoupled debit program is introducing what it terms a “next-generation debit rewards” system that allows banks to provide cost-free rewards to cardholders. Under the system developed by Atlanta-based Cardlytics, merchants fund rewards that will be offered to banks' online-banking …

Contrary to some perceptions, there is no wall separating the customer bases of banks and check-cashing stores. Many consumers patronize both financial entities. And, according to a new report from Aite Group LLC, banks could win more business from consumers who heavily patronize check-cashing stores by adding walk-in bill-payment services …