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« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »

March 31, 2006

Paying Uncle Sam With Plastic

Tags » Card Issuers, Card Payments

Ron Lieber and Jessica Mintz report for the Wall St. Journal's Saturday edition about paying convenience fees to pay your taxes and why they're not always a rip-off - but only if your card issuer is offering bonuses for tax payments.

NACHA's Payments 2006

Tags » ACH, NACHA

PAYMENTS 2006, NACHA's annual conference on electronic payments, will be held this year in San Diego, California from May 7-10 at the San Diego Convention Center.

NACHA's Payments 2006

As a Payments News reader, you can attend this year's conference at the Member's registration price, $200 less than Non-Member registration. To get your discount, register as a member, select Other as your ACH Council affiliation and key in "Payments News subscriber".

What It Pays To Be A U.S. Bank Chief

Tags » Banking Industry

Reuters reports on what a number of US bank CEO's made in terms of compensation last year.

Australia: Parliament Committee To Review RBA Reforms

Tags » Financial Regulators, Interchange Fees

The Weekend Australian reports on plans by the standing committee on economics, finance and public administration of the Australian parliament to review reforms made by the Reserve Bank of Australia to the country's payments system - including changes to card interchange fees.   » Continue Reading

Improving Financial Privacy Notices for Consumers

Tags » Financial Regulators, Privacy

Federal regulators have announced the release of Evolution of a Prototype Financial Privacy Notice, a report by Kleimann Communication Group summarizing consumer research commissioned by the regulators as part of their ongoing efforts to develop improved financial privacy notices.   » Continue Reading

National City Launches Points-Based Rewards Program

Tags » Banking Industry, Card Reward Programs

National City has announced a new points-based rewards program that "rewards consumer and small business customers with points for everyday transactions, like making purchases with debit and credit cards, paying bills online, writing checks – even improving a home or small business through purchases with a home equity or small business line of credit access card."   » Continue Reading

Several Banks Eliminating Some Visa Debit Card Benefits

Tags » Bank of America, Debit Cards, Visa, Wells Fargo

David Lazarus reports for the San Francisco Chronicle on the elimination of some benefits previously included on Visa debit cards. The banks he mentions planning to eliminate some of the existing debit card benefits include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Wachovia.   » Continue Reading

Visa Canada Chips Away At Fraud

Tags » Canada, Card Fraud, Card Technology, Visa

Bruce Erskine reports for the Halifax, Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald on Visa's migration to smart cards in Canada.   » Continue Reading

Update On Debit Card Fraud Investigations

Tags » Card Fraud, Debit Cards, Law Enforcement

Robert Lemos reports for SecurityFocus.com on the Secret Service's Operation Rolling Stone that has recently made seven additional arrests related to the earlier debit card fraud incidents.

Headline News - Friday, March 31, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 30, 2006

NACHA Launches New Web Site: ElectronicPayments.org

Tags » ACH, NACHA

NACHA has announced a new web site - www.electronicpayments.org - designed to be a resource for NACHA members to use to educate and inform consumers about Direct Deposit, Direct Payment and Check Conversion - ACH applications that NACHA says "provide safe and secure consumer payments, improve business and financial institution process and profitability, and strengthen our nation's payment system."

OCC Counsel Julie Williams Speaks Out On Consumer Disclosures

Tags » Financial Regulators

OCC Chief Counsel Julie Williams has spoken out in a speech delivered today to the 2006 Banking Institute (PDF) on her views regarding the current state of financial industry consumer disclosures.   » Continue Reading

TransUnion and ID Analytics Announce Partnership

Tags » Identity Management, Identity Theft, TransUnion

TransUnion has announced it will be integrating the ID Analytics ID Score into its Fraud and Identity Management Services.   » Continue Reading

Obopay Announces U.S. Mobile Payment Service

Tags » Mobile Payments, Obopay

Click here for Glenbrook's analysis:
"Obopay Mobile Payments - A First Look"
containing more analysis and details on Obopay.

Palo Alto-based Obopay this morning is announcing what it calls the "first complete mobile payment service ever offered in the United States" saying that it will be "a milestone in a transformation in financial services that will make the mobile phone the central device consumers use to make purchases and share money."   » Continue Reading

Debit Cards Rewards Programs

Tags » Card Reward Programs, Debit Cards, Mercator Advisory Group

Mercator Advisory Group has announced a new report examining the debit card reward programs titled "Setting Goals For Debit Reward Programs: Balancing Revenue Goals and Brand Loyalty".   » Continue Reading

Taiwan's Increasingly Dangerous Credit Card Problem

Tags » Consumer Debt, Credit Cards

Lara Wozniak writes for FinanceAsia.com about a significant increase in charge off rates on credit cards issued in Taiwan.   » Continue Reading

Gaming Credit Cards Could Offer Virtual Rewards

Tags » Card Reward Programs, Credit Cards

Jeremy Reimer writes for ArsTechnica about the kinds of rewards credit cards that online gamers want to use - where the rewards associated with the cards extend into the virtual worlds of their favorite online games such as World of Warcraft and Second Life.

Some Landlords, Renters Look At Paying Rent With Credit, Debit Cards

Tags » Card Payments

The Winston-Salem Journal carries an AP story about card acceptance is rapidly increasing among landlords who are enabling their renters to pay monthly rent via credit and debit cards.   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Thursday, March 30, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 29, 2006

Wal-Mart Offers FDIC Changes To Bank Application

Tags » Banking Industry

Kristin Roberts reports for Reuters that Wal-Mart has offered to modify its pending application with the FDIC for a limited purpose bank.

Citibank Direct - A First Hand Report

Tags » Citi Cards, Citibank e-Savings, Online Banking

Earlier today, Citibank launched Citibank Direct, a new high yield savings account product.

One of our partners just opened the new Citibank e-savings account -- an interesting and rather positive experience. Read on for details.   » Continue Reading

Gift Cards Very Popular

Tags » Gift Cards

Stored Value Systems has announced the results of a national web survey of adults conducted at the end of February revealed that eight in 10 said they would rather receive a gift card to their favorite retailer than any other kind of gift.   » Continue Reading

I4 Commerce Secures $27.4 Million in Venture Funding

Tags » Bill Me Later

I4 Commerce, the company offering the Bill Me Later payment service, has announced it has secured $27.4 million in venture funding led by Kingdon Capital Management and including previous major investors, Crosspoint Venture Partners, Azure Capital Partners and GRP Partners.   » Continue Reading

Citibank Launches Citibank Direct High Yield Savings Accounts

Tags » Citi Cards, Citibank e-Savings, ING Direct, Online Banking

Clint Riley reports for the Wall St. Journal on Citibank's launch of a new high yield savings account program competitive with similar accounts offered by ING Direct, HSBC, and Emigrant Savings. Citi's approach, however, also requires consumers to maintain a Citibank checking account. The new e-Savings account is offered on a new website at direct.citibank.com.   » Continue Reading

Interview: John Stuart, MasterCard Sponsorships

Tags » MasterCard

The Gulf Marketing Review interviews John Stuart, MasterCard's senior vice president for global sponsorships.   » Continue Reading

Saving On Credit Card Debt - Pay More Frequently

Tags » Consumer Debt

CardRatings.com is urging consumers burdened with high levels of credit card debt to consider using a technique often suggested with mortgages - make payments twice as often and you'll significantly affect the total amount of interest you pay for a given amount of debt.   » Continue Reading

NACHA's First Authentication Conference - June 6-7

Tags » Authentication, ECommerce Payments, NACHA, Online Banking

NACHA has announced Authentication Mandate: Compliance Issues & Revenue Opportunities for Online Banking, a conference focusing on the business opportunities resulting from financial institutions' online authentication capabilities and the recent Federal regulatory guidance on authentication in Internet banking.   » Continue Reading

Westpac Dual Card Offer: Amex, MasterCard Share Account

Tags » American Express, Card Issuers, Card Reward Programs, Credit Cards, MasterCard

Matthew Charles reports for Australia's Herald Sun on the new Altitude Platinum rewards card program launched by Westpac that actually issues each consumer two cards - a co-branded American Express card and a Westpac MasterCard.   » Continue Reading

The Topology Of Interbank Network Flows

Tags » Financial Regulators

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has published a staff paper titled “The Topology of Interbank Payment Flows,” (PDF) by Kimmo Soramäki, Morten L. Bech, Jeffrey Arnold, Robert J. Glass, and Walter E. Beyeler.   » Continue Reading

A Look At Neteller

Tags » Neteller, Online Gambling

Michael Jivkov writes for the UK's Independent about yesterday's financial results reported by Neteller and asks the question "is there no end in sight to the company's growth?"   » Continue Reading

Credit Card Delinquencies Decline In Fourth Quarter

Tags » Consumer Debt, Credit Cards

Andrea Coombes reports for MarketWatch on the ABA's report yesterday that the percentage of credit-card accounts that were 30 days or more delinquent fell to 4.27% in the fourth quarter, from 4.74% in the third quarter and down from a record high of 4.81% in the second quarter of 2005.   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 28, 2006

Australian Retailers Cry Poor Over Plan To Reduce Interchange Fee

Tags » Interchange Fees

Bridie Smith reports for The Age from Melbourne on plans by retailers to stop providing cash back on retail EFTPOS transactions if the Reserve Bank of Australia cuts the interchange fees paid TO retailers. The EFTPOS system in Australia has a "reverse interchange" scheme similar to that used with ATM networks - where the card issuing bank pays the retailer for serving their card customer.

Visa Latin America Reports 50% Growth In Debit, Prepaid Sales Volume

Tags » Visa

Visa International, Latin American and Caribbean Region (LAC) has announced a 50 percent increase in purchases made with debit and prepaid cards at the point-of-sale (POS) for the 12 months ending December 2005.   » Continue Reading

Online Banking Report Studies Prosper.com Person-to-Person Lending

Tags » Online Banking, p2p - Person to Person Lending, Prosper

In a comprehensive report that, in our opinion, is a "must read" for senior bankers interested in important emerging competitive trends, the latest issue of the Online Banking Report examines in detail the person-to-person lending business being pursued by Prosper.com and Zopa.   » Continue Reading

Returning First Data CEO Duques Made $16.4 Million In 2005

Tags » First Data Corp.

Bradley Keoun reports for Bloomberg News on First Data CEO Ric Duques' compensation for 2005 reported as $16.4 million in a proxy statement filed with the SEC yesterday by FDC.   » Continue Reading

Biometrics: Payments At Your Fingertips

Tags » Biometrics, Pay By Touch

Alex Halperin writes for Business Week about using biometrics for payments and San Francisco-based Pay By Touch who now reports having enrolled 2 million people in its fingerprint biometric payment system.   » Continue Reading

NTT DoCoMo, LAWSON Alliance For Mobile Wallet Phones

Tags » Mobile Payments, NTT DoCoMo

NTT DoCoMo and LAWSON, Inc. have announced a business alliance that will result in customers using DoCoMo's Osaifu-Keitai phones with wallet functions for a variety of mobile services at LAWSON convenience stores in Japan.   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 27, 2006

P2P Lender Zopa Raises $15 Million In Funding For California Launch

Tags » p2p - Person to Person Lending, Zopa

Zopa has announced a $15 million Series B funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners and including existing investors Benchmark Capital and Wellington Partners. The additional funding will support Zopa's intended California launch.   » Continue Reading

The Future Of Credit Cards?

Tags » Credit Cards

Phillip Torrone of Make Magazine writes about what he'd like to see in the next generation of credit cards where "credit card companies and game makers will reward their customers who spend money in the real world using private label "rewards" credit cards." According to Torrone, they will use "gifts of virtual currency such as Blizzard's World of Warcraft gold and Second Life's Linden dollars."

Big Japanese Retailer Backs NTT DoCoOo's Phone Payments

Tags » Mobile Payments, NTT DoCoMo

Martyn Williams reports for InfoWorld that Aeon Co., one of Japan's biggest retail groups, is "throwing its weight behind NTT DoCoMo's plans to enable touch-and-go credit card payments through cell phone handsets."   » Continue Reading

Americans Living On The Edge

Tags » Bankruptcy, Consumer Debt

Almost one-half of all U.S. adults (45%) say their household does not have enough money in liquid savings to cover at least three months of living expenses, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell's lawyers.com.   » Continue Reading

The Politics Of Data Security

Tags » Data Security

Declan McCullagh of CNET News.com interviews Ed Mierzwinski, the consumer program director for the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups (U.S. PIRG), about a new data security breach bill that is moving its way through Congress and would pre-empt various state laws on the subject including California's SB1386 consumer notification provisions.

Visa's Contactless Card Efforts

Tags » Contactless Payments, Mobile Payments, Visa

Larry Greenemeier reports for Information Week on Visa's contactless card efforts including the potential that contactless technology could be used to better secure cards.   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Monday, March 27, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 26, 2006

PayPal in the Air! - A Look At PayPal Mobile

Tags » Mobile Payments, PayPal, PayPal Mobile

It's Springtime and there's PayPal in the Air! PayPal Mobile that is.

Last week, the world learned a bit more about PayPal's next steps in mobile payments and mobile commerce. This weekend, we've taken a deeper look at PayPal's move into mobile payments. We invite you to add your own comments as well - either by choosing to comment on the post directly or by simply sending us an email with your thoughts and telling us it's OK to share (to send us an email, just click on the Feedback link at the bottom of any page).

  » Continue Reading

Annals of Retail Banking: Coffee, Tea or Mortgage?

Tags » Banking Industry, Card Reward Programs

Business Week this week takes a look at two subjects critically important to retail banking these days - rewards and the analytics that look at customer behavior to figure out how best to target products (and rewards) to consumers to maximize their uptake and minimize any potential that they'll churn out the door to a competitor.   » Continue Reading

Voice of the Customer: Payments News Survey Says!

Tags » Glenbrook

Here are some highlights from the recent Payments News Reader Survey.   » Continue Reading

Dangers of Debit

Tags » Debit Cards

Binyamin Appelbaum reports for the Charlotte Observer on the important difference and associated implications between debit cards and credit cards when it comes to so-called zero liability policies: "When someone steals a credit card, they are spending the bank's money. When someone steals a debit card, they are spending your money."   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Sunday, March 26, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 25, 2006

ANZ Everyday Visa Debit

Tags » Debit Cards, Visa

ANZ Everyday DebitThe Sydney Morning Herald reports on ANZ's launch of the ANZ Everyday Visa Debit card, the first debit card issued by any of the big four banks in Australia.

Interestingly, ANZ is charging A$6 per month for the new debit card. Click here to see ANZ's web page on the card.

Credit Card Interest Rates - Fixed Vs. Variable

Tags » Card Issuers

In an article titled 'The Credit-Card Catapault", Wall St. Journal writer Jane Kim reports on credit card issuers shifting larger portions of their portfolios from fixed to variable interest rates.

American Express 2005 Annual Report And 10-K

Tags » American Express

American Express has published its 2005 Annual Report (PDF) and its 10-K for 2005 (PDF). In his letter to shareholders in the Annual Report, Chairman and CEO Ken Chenault addressed the perception that the market for cards in the US is fully mature.   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Saturday, March 25, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 24, 2006

Payment Card Chargebacks: It Pays To Put Up A Fight!

Tags » ECommerce Payments, Merchants

To better understand how eCommerce merchants are responding to the chargeback challenge, Glenbrook recently undertook a comprehensive study of its eCommerce clients to determine the true cost of payment card chargebacks.   » Continue Reading

More About NACHA's "Credit Push" Initiative

Tags » ATM, ECommerce Payments, NACHA, Online Banking

As a follow-up to last week's NACHA announcement, Glenbrook's Carol Coye Benson spoke with Samantha Carrier, NACHA's project manager on the ACH "Credit Push" initiative.   » Continue Reading

Convenience Fees Slow Use Of Credit Cards For Tax Payments

Tags » Card Payments

American taxpayers are still hesitant to embrace the option to pay their taxes with credit cards, according to a study of 1,001 American adults conducted by global market research firm Ipsos Insight.   » Continue Reading

MasterCard Discloses PrivaSys Litigation Re: PayPass In Revised S-1

Tags » Contactless Payments, MasterCard

One of the new items in MasterCard's updated S-1 Registration Statement filed yesterday with the SEC is a new disclosure (on page 94 of the new filing) of litigation underway between MasterCard and PrivaSys, Inc. involving alleged misappropriation of PrivaSys trade secrets by MasterCard and related issues involving MasterCard's PayPass product. MasterCard has countersued and filed additional counterclaims. Hosie McArthur LLP (representing PrivaSys) has a brief description of the litigation on their web site.

Mexican Banks Cut Card Interchange Fees by $200 Million

Tags » Interchange Fees

Bloomberg reports on cuts in bank card interchange fees recently agreed by Mexican banks, bowing to pressure from the central bank.   » Continue Reading

Headline News - Friday, March 24, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

March 23, 2006

MasterCard Announces Spring Debit Promotion

Tags » Debit Cards, MasterCard

MasterCard has announced its spring debit promotion entitled the "MasterCard Monthly Bonus Sweepstakes" "Targeting women, this promotion offers MasterCard debit cardholders in the U.S. the chance to win a $1,000 monthly bonus over the course of 10 years."   » Continue Reading

MasterCard Files Amended S-1 With SEC

Tags » MasterCard

MasterCard has updated its S-1 Registration Statement with the SEC. Today's filing is the third amendment to the initial filing made last September. Earlier, MasterCard had indicated that it expected its initial public offering to be completed in the second quarter of 2006.

EUFISERV Takes Next Step Towards The Single Euro Payment Area

Tags » ATM, SEPA

EUFISERV has announced that its board of directors has taken decisions necessary for the EUFISERV ATM card scheme to become compliant with the SEPA Cards Framework (SCF). This will allow the scheme to continue to be a part of the European payment system landscape after the launch of SEPA in 2008.   » Continue Reading

HSBC Enhances North American Payments, Cash Management Services

Tags » Commercial Payments, HSBC, Money Transfer

HSBC's Global Transaction Banking Services has announced it will provide clients a centralized-secure payment service across Canada, the United States and Mexico. The payment service is geared toward clients that need to make payments to trading partners within North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries.   » Continue Reading

Entrust Sues Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union Over Patent

Tags » Authentication, Patents

Entrust has announced filing a patent infringement lawsuit against Palo Alto-based Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union related to an authentication solution for the credit union is using with its customers which Entrust considers an infringement on its grid authentication patent.   » Continue Reading

Critics Call House Bill A Step In Erosion Of Consumer Laws

Tags » Data Security, Identity Theft, Privacy

Edward Epstein reports for the San Francisco Chronicle on legislation pending in the House that would mandate certain uniform national standards for consumer notifications in the event of breaches of personal financial data, thereby pre-empting various state laws that are in effect dealing with notification requirements.   » Continue Reading

Debit Card Theft Investigators Eye Software Flaw

Tags » Data Security, Merchants, Point of Sale (POS)

Bob Sulllivan reports for MSNBC.com that "U.S. retailers are being warned that software they use at checkout counters may store too much customer information — including customer debit card PIN numbers that are supposed to be immediately erased or encrypted."

Headline News - Thursday, March 23, 2006

Tags » Payments News - Headline News

  • Info Touch announces new bill payment program
  • Charlotte Observer: Car-rental shift calls for caution Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.

  • March 22, 2006

    ING Direct Eyes US Growth, New Products

    Tags » Banking Industry, Checking Accounts

    Nicolas Parasie writes for the Dow Jones Newswires about plans by ING Direct to expand its presence in the US market and potentially offer "e-orange", a checking account without paper checks.

    PayPal Mobile Soft Launch, Includes New Text To Buy Feature

    Tags » Mobile Payments, PayPal, PayPal Mobile

    Click here for the article "PayPal in the Air" containing more analysis and details on PayPal Mobile.

    Guy Brighton has posted an item to the blog PSFK.com reporting that PayPal has soft launched a new PayPal Mobile offering. MobileTracker.com has more about PayPal Mobile including activation instructions. PayPal has posted a new user agreement/policy for mobile payments.   » Continue Reading

    JP Morgan Chase's Jamie Dimon - The Contender

    Tags » Banking Industry, Chase Card Services

    In a cover story in the latest issue, Fortune senior writer Shawn Tully looks behind the scenes at JP Morgan Chase's new CEO, Jamie Dimon.   » Continue Reading

    Peppercoin Demonstrates Contactless Transit Payments

    Tags » Contactless Payments, Peppercoin, Transit Payments

    Peppercoin has announced the demonstration of a prototype of a first-of-its-kind contactless mass transit fare collection system that enables consumers to use their existing credit or debit card as their transit pass for the first time.   » Continue Reading

    Regulators Seek Input On Accuracy of Consumer Credit Reports

    Tags » Credit Bureaus, Credit Scores, Financial Regulators

    The federal financial institution regulatory agencies and the Federal Trade Commission have jointly issued for comment an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on section 312 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act).   » Continue Reading

    First Data, Retail Decisions To Offer Card-Not-Present Fraud Solutions

    Tags » ECommerce Payments, First Data Corp., Retail Decisions

    First Data Corp. has announced an affiliation with Retail Decisions to provide an enhanced fraud detection solution for First Data's global online merchants.   » Continue Reading

    American Express, Sovereign Bank To Issue Business Cards

    Tags » American Express, Commercial Cards

    OPEN from American Express and Sovereign Bank have announced that Sovereign will offer American Express Business Cards to its small business customers throughout the Northeast. The agreement calls for the companies to jointly market small business charge and credit cards that carry the Sovereign Bank and American Express brands.   » Continue Reading

    Bank of America, China Construction Bank Link ATM Networks

    Tags » ATM, Bank of America, China

    Beginning April 1, 2006, Bank of America customers traveling to China will have free access when using debit or ATM cards to withdraw cash from more than 11,000 foreign-enabled China Construction Bank ATMs. CCB's "Happy Investor" cardholders will enjoy the same benefit when using one of nearly 17,000 Bank of America ATMs in the United States.   » Continue Reading

    A Peek Inside The ATM Industry

    Tags » ATM, Debit Cards, Prepaid Cards and Stored Value Cards

    Tracy Kitten writes for ATMmarketplace.com about last weeks annual Palm Desert National Bank partner conference and some of the initiatives - like prepaid debit - that the bank is pursuing.   » Continue Reading

    Issuers Have Wide Variance In International Credit Card Fees

    Tags » Card Issuers, Credit Cards

    IndexCreditCards.com has announced the results of recent research into the extra fees cardholders can expect to pay major US credit card issuers when using their cards overseas.   » Continue Reading

    A Peek Inside Sears' Credit Card Unit

    Tags » Card Issuers, Merchants

    Susan Chandler reports for the Chicago Tribune on what happened at Sears back in 2002 when CEO Alan Lacy walked in and fired Sears Credit head Kevin Keleghan. At the time, Sears Credit contributed about 10 percent of Sears' revenue but provided the majority of its operating profit. "Sears was really a finance company with a retail empire attached."

    Headline News - Wednesday, March 22, 2006

    Tags » Payments News - Headline News

    Note: Throughout the day, as Payments News happens, this post is updated.