Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
This article begins a six-part series by industry analyst Steve Mott that examines the growing economic tensions and structural conflicts that are drawing the acquiring side of the card processing business into a sustained battle with card issuers. Five Digital Transactions News installments assess the divergent impacts of this conflict …
Read More »POP’s Still on a Roll a Year After BOC’s Debut
Some observers speculated that the point-of-purchase, or POP, electronic-check code would go “pop” after the supposedly more merchant- and consumer-friendly back-office conversion (BOC) code debuted in March 2007, but the latest automated clearing house volume numbers show otherwise. POP posted 115.3 million transactions in the first quarter, up 48.7% from …
Read More »Electronic Bill Pay Gains At Paper’s Expense, But Growth Is Slowing
The share of bills consumers pay the old-fashioned way via the regular mail continues to decline, according to the U.S. Postal Service's most recent annual study about what goes through the mails. But despite the gains of electronic bill payments, the availability of free bill-pay service at most banks may …
Read More »Viewpointe Adds to Momentum Behind Web Links for Image Exchange
Seeking to solve what the electronic-payments business calls the “last-mile” problem in image exchange, Viewpointe Archive Services LLC on Tuesday launched technology that allows small banks to link via the Internet to its Pointe2Pointe image-exchange network. In this way, banks can rely on existing Internet connections to use the network, …
Read More »Remotely Created Checks Linked to Image Exchange Stoke Fraud Fears
Regulators seeking to rein in so-called remotely created checks aren't going far enough to contain the risk these payment devices pose?particularly when they are processed electronically, says one payments expert. “I think they should ban them,” says George F. Thomas, chief executive at Radix Consulting, Oakdale, N.Y., and a former …
Read More »How Far Will BofA And Wells Go with Their New ACH Platform?
While the recently unveiled joint venture between Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo Co. to create a common platform to process automated clearing house transactions isn't scheduled to become operational until 2010, the venture's very announcement by two of the biggest financial institutions in the country has sparked industry …
Read More »Once Languishing, POP Now Gets a Warm Welcome from Merchants
A payment method that lets merchants convert checks at the cash register into electronic transactions shows signs of picking up momentum across a spectrum of retailers. It's quite a turnaround for the point-of-purchase electronic-check application (POP), which relies on the automated clearing house network for settlement. Only a few years …
Read More »Pariter Will Focus Its Efforts on BofA And Wells, CEO Says
Pariter Solutions LLC, the new company formed by Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. to process automated clearing house transactions for the two banks, has no current plans to add other financial institutions as clients, the new venture's chief executive tells Digital Transactions News. “Our first goal, …
Read More »NACHA’s New Boss Has Card, Merchant Acquiring Background
Janet O. Estep, who will succeed Elliott C. McEntee at the end of the year as president and chief executive of NACHA, will be the first person to head the Herndon, Va.-based payments organization who has a background in cards and merchant acquiring. Estep, whose appointment was announced on Tuesday, …
Read More »Coming Soon to Cardtronics Vcom Kiosks: Imaged Deposits
Non-bank ATM network operator Cardtronics Inc. has been trying to pump up transaction volume on its advanced-function Vcom machines ever since it bought them last July from 7-Eleven Inc. as part of the 5,500-machine ATM fleet the convenience-store giant unloaded for $137.3 million. Next week, part of that strategy takes …
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