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Electronic funds transfer network Star Systems Inc., which last month announced a new product that makes use of its EFT network to verify and settle checks written at the point of sale in the same way Star processes debit cards, says it expects Star Chek Direct to begin processing transactions …
Read More »Why More Merchants Are Adopting PIN Debit
Debit cards linked to personal identification numbers are slowly but surely penetrating more and more merchant locations, and as a result PIN debit transactions will begin to overtake transactions on signature-based debit cards within five years, says an analyst at Speer & Associates Inc., Atlanta, who has studied the issue. …
Read More »First to Swap Images, Endpoint Exchange Reports Fast Growth
While the race is on to hammer together electronic networks to carry what is expected by many to be a huge volume of check images between banks, the only network that has gone live so far reports it is achieving fast growth. Endpoint Exchange, a network owned and operated by …
Read More »I4Commerce Broadens Its Merchant Network for Online Transactions
A transaction processor that targets high-volume online merchants is winning adherents among merchants and consumers alike for its product, which allows consumers to buy on credit without entering sensitive account data. I4Commerce Inc.'s “Bill Me Later” service, which became commercially available two years ago as an alternative to credit cards …
Read More »Viewpointe Beefs up Its Platform in Anticipation of Check 21
In anticipation of the swelling of check-image volume that Check 21 is expected to unleash, Viewpointe, a national image-exchange network and archive for electronic checks serving 10 banks, has engaged Accenture, a technology-services and consulting firm, to help prepare the company's platform to handle large image-exchange volumes. Viewpointe's archive stores …
Read More »Acquirers’ AmEx Fees Could Offset Losses to the T&E Giant
Bank card acquirers are increasingly tacking on fees to handle American Express Co. transactions at terminals they deploy for merchants, a tactic that may work in their favor as AmEx signs on more banks as issuers of the T&E company's products. That's among the major findings of the most recent …
Read More »InphoMatch Gets Set to Catch the Wireless Wave in Premium Content
The largest processor in the U.S. cross-carrier short-message service (SMS) market is getting set to enter the market for premium content services, also known as MMS (multimedia services), just as wireless carriers are beginning to introduce new billing capabilities to handle the high-margin product. Chantilly, Va.-based InphoMatch Inc. has formed …
Read More »TransFirst’s Fifth Third Deal Bulks up Its Processing Heft
TransFirst, a Dallas-based merchant processor, expects its acquisition of the third-party processing business of Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions to drive down its transaction costs and give it a sharper edge when it comes to pricing. The deal, announced yesterday and expected to close April 1, will add 90 million …
Read More »McDonald’s Expands Its Test of Self-Serve Kiosks
Having spread rapidly in the past year at airports, self-service transaction technology is starting to make inroads in the lodging and fast-food industries. McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., has tested kiosks at a handful of its corporate-owned stores in Raleigh, N.C., and in Denver, and within the past few weeks …
Read More »The Wal-Mart Case Hits MasterCard with a $763 Million Charge
MasterCard International took a $763.5 million charge against earnings in 2003 to account for its share of the settlement of the massive Wal-Mart class-action suit, documents filed yesterday reveal. As a result of the charge, the bank card association sustained a $385.8 million loss last year, compared to net income …
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