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A slumping economy appears to have been what scuttled First Data Corp.’s deal to buy prepaid card program manager InComm Corp. The agreement, announced in April (Digital Transactions News, April 29), involved transaction-processing giant First Data acquiring Atlanta-based InComm for $980 million, with a further payout of $250 million over …
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Drop in Check Writing Cools off Once Red-Hot ACH E-Checks
With the exception of the new back-office conversion application, or BOC, growth rates for the automated clearing house's electronic-check codes for transactions originating with paper checks declined in the third quarter. Those numbers might indicate one-time or seasonal blips, especially with the weakening economy, but they could also show that …
Read More »‘Interesting Times’ Await ISOs As Congress Eyes Card Legislation
Merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations took a hit in Congress this year when a reporting provision passed, but other legal threats?along with possible opportunities?await next year. That's the word from payments executives and lawyers who stay abreast of Washington affairs and who spoke at an ISO conference Wednesday in …
Read More »Online PIN Debit Pilot Could Lead to Commercial Service by Mid ’09
The Accel/Exchange electronic funds transfer network said on Thursday it will launch a pilot in which it will switch PIN debit transactions originating at e-commerce stores. The pilot, which the Morris Plains, N.J.-based network will run with Acculynk Inc., a provider of PIN debit technology tailored for use online, will …
Read More »Contactless Payment Stickers Appear To Be Set for Prime Time
So-called stickers, or chip-and-antenna inlays that can be affixed to mobile phones or other tokens to turn them into contactless-payment devices, are showing signs of developing from a novelty to a commercial product. CPI Card Group, a card manufacturer in Littleton, Colo., expects to ship “several million” bank-card-branded payment stickers …
Read More »Better ATM: Amazon Gift Cards Now, Network-Branded Cards Later
A 3-year-old technology firm called Better ATM Services Inc. that configures ATMs to dispense prepaid cards is moving beyond its Phoenix-area proving grounds with local restaurants and into a test involving Amazon.com gift cards. If it works, distribution of network-branded prepaid cards could be next. During the upcoming holiday-season pilot …
Read More »Time Is Short, But Revolution Money Sticks to Million-Merchant Goal
Revolution Money Inc., the upstart that bills itself as merchants' low-cost alternative to the established card brands, this week announced that Murphy Oil USA Inc. is now accepting its RevolutionCard. It's a notable win for Revolution Money as Murphy has nearly 1,000 gas stations in 20 states, most located in …
Read More »More Big Merchants Comply, But PCI Likely Still Foreign to Small Fry
New data from Visa Inc. show more of the largest merchants now meet the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI. But the level of validated PCI compliance among small merchants?the overwhelming majority of businesses that accept credit and debit cards?likely remains much lower. Visa's latest figures show 81% of …
Read More »Visa Could Score a Debit Win As Wachovia Jilts Citi for Wells
Just a week ago, it looked like MasterCard Inc. was about to win a battle in its ongoing debit card war with market leader Visa Inc. MasterCard stalwart Citigroup Inc. had struck a deal to buy, with help from the government, most of struggling Wachovia Corp.'s banking assets, including Wachovia's …
Read More »New Version of PCI Shows More Flexibility, While PABP Takes Hold
After a summer of discussion, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council on Wednesday officially released Version 1.2 of the PCI data-security standard, the sweeping set of rules for protecting Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB cards and transactions. Wednesday also is the first day for a Visa Inc. …
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