News

May, 2009

• 26 May

  How Walk-in Bill Pay, Prepaid Cards Could Win over Check Cashers

  Contrary to some perceptions, there is no wall separating the customer bases of banks and check-cashing stores. Many consumers patronize both financial entities. And, according to a new report from Aite Group LLC, banks could win more business from consumers who heavily patronize check-cashing stores by adding walk-in bill-payment services …
• 26 May

  UpClick Touts Free Processing In Return for Cross-Sell Offers

  The battle to win over online merchants with low transaction fees intensified on Tuesday with the introduction by a Montreal-based startup of a payment platform that offers free processing for orders up to $40. UpClick, which started operations about 18 months ago, has more than a dozen software publishers using …
• 21 May

  Instant Issuance Comes to Stickers, Fobs, And NFC Phones

  In anticipation of rising demand for contactless form factors other than credit and debit cards, Dynamic Card Solutions LLC this week introduced a product that allows bank branches to personalize key fobs, contactless stickers, and NFC-equipped cell phones on the spot. The product, called Perso-to-Go, complements an existing system the …
• 21 May

  Eye on Mobile Payments: Intuit, Bango Launch Card Services

  Intuit Inc. on Thursday entered the race to sign up plumbers, carpet cleaners, delivery people, and other small on-the-go merchants for card acceptance. The Mountain View, Calif.-based vendor of the popular QuickBooks accounting program rolled out a product, called GoPayment, that works on mobile phones but doesn't require other hardware, …
• 20 May

  An Expert Casts Doubt on Stickers for Mobile Payments at the POS

  With near-field communication (NFC) technology seemingly on hold in North America, mobile-payments backers are turning to radio-frequency identification tags with adhesive backing that can be affixed to phones (Digital Transactions News, Oct. 15, 2008). These so-called stickers, offered by First Data Corp., Oberthur Technologies, and other companies, are widely seen …
• 20 May

  Congress Will Study Interchange And Eyes Rules for Gift Cards

  The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping credit card reform bill that leaves out retailer-backed regulation of interchange. The bill, which the Senate sent to the House Tuesday, includes a Congressional interchange study and could open the door to controls on gift cards. The House earlier …
• 18 May

  NRF Exec: Non-Credit Card Discounts Have a ’50-50′ Chance

  The U.S. Senate didn't pass a credit card reform bill last week as many expected, but senators are expected to take up the issue again Tuesday. The question for the merchant-acquiring industry is whether the final bill, which is concerned with regulating credit card issuers' most controversial practices, also would …
• 18 May

  A Startup Aims to Bring Teens & Tweens into E-Commerce

  A new payment system called BillMyParents debuted Monday that aims to tap an estimated $40 billion in potential online spending by teens and preteens, or “tweens.” But BillMyParents' success depends not just on technology, but also on the receptiveness of parents to receive e-mails or text messages from their progeny …
• 14 May

  Passions Are Far from Cooling in Debate over Card Interchange

  Wal-Mart Stores Inc. paid discount fees totaling more than $1 billion to take credit and debit cards in the 12 months ended Jan. 31. Acceptance costs now exceed health-care premiums at The Home Depot Inc. And TJX Cos. Inc. finds sagging apparel prices make it difficult to recoup acceptance costs …
• 14 May

  The Senate Mulls Easing Discounts for Non-Credit Card Payments

  Payment card acceptance costs have been swept into the furious Congressional debate about credit card interest rates, fees, and terms. Late Thursday afternoon, a proposal was pending in the U.S. Senate that would give merchants greater leeway to offer customers discounts if they use cash, checks, or debit cards versus …