NetSpend, the prepaid card unit of processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), is facing a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit filed Thursday over allegations the company deceptively marketed reloadable debit cards. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleges NetSpend promised “immediate access” to …
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MCX, Softcard, And the Conundrum of Consortia
Following the audacious gatecrashing of the incumbent-payments party, MCX should have been king of the world. Instead, what occurred was an extended period of retrenchment. We have recently witnessed the likely demise of yet another attempt at cracking the mobile-payments nut. For many, the implosion of Merchant Customer Exchange LLC’s …
Read More »MCX, Softcard, And the Conundrum of Consortia
The idea of the payments consortium has a checkered history. Nick Holland explains why. We have recently witnessed the likely demise of yet another attempt at cracking the mobile-payments nut. For many, the implosion of Merchant Customer Exchange LLC’s CurrentC wallet venture was no great surprise. To be sure, MCX …
Read More »MCX, Softcard, And the Conundrum of Consortia
The idea of the payments consortium has a checkered history. Nick Holland explains why. We have recently witnessed the likely demise of yet another attempt at cracking the mobile-payments nut. For many, the implosion of Merchant Customer Exchange LLC’s CurrentC wallet venture was no great surprise. To be sure, MCX …
Read More »Blackhawk Network Shells out $120 Million for GiftCards.com And OmniCard
Prepaid card services provider Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc. has acquired GiftCards.com LLC and OmniCard LLC for $120 million, the prepaid specialists announced Wednesday. GiftCards.com specializes in selling digital and physical prepaid cards through its Web site. OmniCard sells customized prepaid incentive and rewards cards to businesses. Both entities had been …
Read More »Federal Court Orders Defendants in Newtek Case To Pay $1.7 Million Fine to FTC
Already found liable for its role in a telemarketing scheme that defrauded consumers, Universal Processing Services of Wisconsin LLC, doing business as Newtek Merchant Solutions, now will have to pay its share of a $1.7 million fine, a U.S. District Court judge ruled last week. The Federal Trade Commission in …
Read More »ISO That Allegedly Processed $26 Million in Unauthorized Charges Settles With the FTC
By Jim Daly A California independent sales organization called CardFlex Inc. and its two principals have settled federal charges that they allegedly processed more than $26 million in unauthorized charges for a company known as I Works. CardFlex strongly denied the FTC's charges and said it settled in order to …
Read More »With Its Softcard Deal, Google Cements Carrier Support And Turns up Heat on Apple Pay
When Google Inc. launched its Google Wallet mobile-payments service nearly four years ago, it quickly ran into a formidable obstacle: three major mobile carriers, including two of the nation’s largest, wouldn’t let Google Wallet work on their phones. Now Google has finally found a solution, and it’s one that could …
Read More »With a Wary Eye on Apple Pay, Google Reported to Be in Talks to Buy Softcard
Major tech and payments companies are reportedly showing an interest in acquiring Softcard, the troubled mobile-payments joint venture owned by three of the nation’s biggest mobile operators. Google Inc. is in “exclusive” talks with the company and has offered at least $50 million for it, The Wall Street Journal reported …
Read More »Hard Times at Softcard: Mobile-Payments Venture Lays Off 60 Employees
Softcard, the mobile-payments venture of Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA, has laid of 60 employees in a restructuring, according to media reports. The layoffs raise questions about the future of Softcard, formerly known as Isis, which has had trouble gaining consumer and merchant acceptance for its near-field communication-based …
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