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My Payment Network Inc., a Corte Madera, Calif.-based startup specializing in invoice-based electronic-payment processing for schools and small businesses, says its SchoolPay product could reach between 3,500 and 4,000 schools in the coming year, up from more than 50 at the end of the 2005-06 academic year. At the same …
Read More »PNC Joins Small But Growing Bank Trend Toward Free ATM Usage
Pittsburgh-based PNC Bank said today it will reimburse its customers for ATM fees they incur when they use other banks' ATMs anywhere in the world. The program, which begins Sept. 1, means the bank's 2 million retail-banking customers will receive rebates for ATM surcharges as well as the so-called foreign …
Read More »Discover Scores U.S. JCB Transactions in Latest Deal to Open Network
In the latest of a series of moves to open its network to outside card issuers and transaction processors, Discover Financial Services LLC on Wednesday said Discover Network will begin processing transactions for JCB International Credit Card Co. Ltd. some time next year. In 2008, Discover cardholders will be able …
Read More »PayPal Exec Says eBay Ban Against Google Checkout Is ‘Overplayed’
When online auction giant eBay Inc. barred Google Checkout from its marketplace, the move led to widespread industry speculation that eBay, which owns rival online payment processor PayPal, was discriminating against the weeks-old Google Inc. payment product. But a PayPal executive tells Digital Transactions News eBay's action had nothing to …
Read More »Barnes & Noble Signing Helps Drive PayPal’s Off-eBay Push
Pursuing a 2-year-old push to sell acceptance to online merchants, PayPal Inc. reached a milestone in that effort with this week's high-profile signing of bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Web site. The nation's largest bookstore chain's e-commerce operation should help the San Jose, Calif.-based online transaction processor further reduce its …
Read More »Discover’s Embrace of ViVOtech Hints at Bigger Contactless Plans
Discover Network's recent certification of ViVOtech card readers indicates Discover is moving ahead with a contactless card program, but the No. 4 general-purpose card network is staying mum about the details. Discover says it has certified several readers from Santa Clara, Calif.-based ViVOtech Inc., a specialist in contactless payment hardware, …
Read More »Real Tones Dominate Ring Tone Sales, While Ringback Tone Sales Rise
Some 24.6 million U.S. consumers bought a ring tone in the second quarter of 2006, and they showed a clear preference for so-called real tones, or master tones, over polyphonic and mono ring tones, according to research released today. Ring tones for mobile phones, which are snippets of popular songs, …
Read More »Shut out of New Markets, PIN Debit Faces Big Growth Challenges
While PIN debit transactions at the point of sale are growing at a torrid pace, the payment application faces major hurdles when it comes to future growth, according to a research report released this week. PIN debit has registered annual growth rates between 35% and 38% since 2003, outpacing the …
Read More »Adding Princeton eCom Boosts Expedited Payment Plans at ORC
Relying in part on its recently completed acquisition of Princeton eCom Corp., Online Resources Corp., Chantilly, Va., plans to roll out a real-time expedited payments service for its banking-client base by the first quarter of next year, Matthew P. Lawlor, chief executive of the company, tells Digital Transactions News. The …
Read More »First Data Takes Over Banco Popular’s Mainland Merchant File
First Data Corp. announced Tuesday that it would process the merchant portfolio affiliated with Puerto Rico-based banking company Popular Inc.'s Banco Popular North America unit. The portfolio provides card-processing services for an undisclosed number of BPNA's 50,000 small-business customers in the United States. Banco Popular had outsourced the file to …
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