In a new twist on stored-value plastic, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is issuing Visa-branded debit cards to low-income recipients of tax refunds. Working with Volunteer Income Tax Assistance offices in 16 cities, Chase expects the cards to help recipients who qualify for refunds under the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) …

Heartland Payment Systems Inc., a publicly held acquiring processor based in Princeton, N.J., announced today it has acquired Debitek, a provider of closed-loop stored-value systems based in Chattanooga, Tenn., from terminal maker Ingenico Corp. Terms of the transaction, which was structured as a stock purchase, were not disclosed. The deal …

Writeoffs stemming from transactions on prepaid cards, which had been swelling at online merchant ShopNBC, have eased considerably in the past few months, the retailer reports. Bad debt attributable to the plastic accounted for 3% of total writeoffs for 2005 at ShopNBC, which sells jewelry and electronic gear online at …

With banks issuing or planning to issue more and more prepaid debit cards to handle remittances overseas, more banks are expected to enter the market, putting pressure on the established money-transfer businesses like Western Union Holdings Inc., a new research report concludes. According to the report, entitled “Money Transfer Cards …

Any signature-based debit card product that banks in the Pulse electronic funds transfer network may issue with Discover Financial Services Inc. will most likely offer interchange income equal to what they earn on Visa and MasterCard signature debit, the top executive at Pulse says. “Any [signature-debit] fees will have to …

Peppercoin Inc. today unveiled the third version of its processing system for small-value and micropayments transactions and announced a processing deal with First Data Merchant Services, which is expected to offer Peppercoin's gateway to its base of 3.5 million merchants. Peppercoin 3.0, which adds subscription and prepaid payment capability to …

Discover Financial Service's Inc.'s proposed acquisition of the Pulse EFT network, announced yesterday (Digital Transactions News, Nov. 15), hands the Riverwoods, Ill.-based card company instant credibility in the business of PIN debit, but it also may propel Discover's efforts to break into the high-growth signature-debit card arena. Discover, apparently encouraged …

First Data Corp. officals vowed today they expect to fight hard to add to the debit business of Concord EFS Inc., the debit processor First Data is buying for $6.9 billion. In a meeting with securities analysts to present 2003 full-year and fourth-quarter results, First Data chairman and chief executive …

With gift cards accounting for more than $17 billion in retail sales, or about 8% of merchants' total take, during the recent holiday shopping spree, according to the National Retail Federation, the plastic has become a star in the electronic transaction firmament. But while gift cards are stealing the headlines, …

Debit cards were hot in 2003, and research released this week shows just how hot. A study conducted by Boston-based Dove Consulting says the number of consumers using debit cards tied to personal identification numbers to make purchases in stores rose in 2003 to 57%, up from 48% in a …