Visa Inc. on Monday became the latest payments network to offer the U.S. debit industry a solution for the problem of how to route EMV debit transactions in compliance with federal law. The proposal comes after debit networks on Thursday spurned a solution that MasterCard Inc. floated two weeks …

Already a major player in the prepaid card industry, U.S. Bancorp on Tuesday announced plans to bolster that part of its payment card business by acquiring FSV Payment Services, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based prepaid card program manager and processor. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank issues prepaid cards for more than 4 million account …

Quick—which of these five common financial products was the only one to grow last year: credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, checking accounts, or personal savings accounts? If you answered “prepaid cards,” give yourself a gold star. New research from Javelin Strategy & Research says fewer consumers in 2011 reported …

Among five major financial products, only prepaid cards grew in consumer ownership last year, according to new findings from Javelin Strategy & Research. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Javelin assessed prepaid cards’ current market position and prospects through a random online survey last October of 3,210 U.S. adults, and compared many of the …

Federal regulators on Tuesday issued their final rule for preventing terrorists, drug dealers, and other criminals from using prepaid cards for money laundering. The new rule from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) subjects merchants and other non-bank entities that sell or manage prepaid cards to some …

Taking a cue from bank card merchant acquirers, bank processor Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) and NACHA on Monday announced the formation of the Terminated Originator Database, a new service to help banks identify businesses that other banks have cut off from originating automated clearing house transactions because of …

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. …

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 …

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 …

Discover Financial Services this week unveiled a teen-oriented prepaid card called Current by Discover. Current is the latest entrant in a niche that includes the Visa Buxx and Allow MasterCard, prepaid cards that may have garnered more headlines than users. But Discover says its new card has straightforward pricing and …