News

October, 2003

• 28 October

  Another Micropayment System Gets Ready for Rollout

  The rising number of online content providers is provoking a steady stream of startups looking to facilitate payment of small fees for everything from ringtones to comics to newsletter items and songs. One of the latest is Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bitpass, which is in it the beta stage of attracting …
• 28 October

  More Star Defections to Interlink Coming, says TowerGroup

  Expect more big banks to follow Wells Fargo & Co. and Wachovia Corp. in switching their debit processing business from Concord EFS to Visa, according to an industry analyst. John Gould, director of consumer credit research for TowerGroup, a payments research company, says in the process of moving their debit-processing …
• 27 October

  Could Debit Start Trending Toward PINs?

  While First Data Corp. vows to contest action by the Department of Justice to stop its acquisition of Concord EFS, industry observers say the Denver-based processing giant may have good reason to fight for a stronger position in the market for debit transactions secured by personal identification numbers. The $7.3 …
• 23 October

  Shift to Electronics Surprises the Fed

  The movement from paper-based to electronic payment is happening even faster than the Federal Reserve expected, and as a result the central bank is cutting its estimate of check volume while raising its check-processing fees. Effective Jan. 2, the Fed's fees for check services will go up by a blended …
• 23 October

  U.S. Justice Department Blocks First Data-Concord Merger

  Arguing that the transaction would stifle competition in the market for transactions secured with personal identification numbers, the Department of Justice filed suit today to stop a proposed $7.3 billion acquisition of Concord EFS by First Data Corp. Officials of Justice's antitrust division argued that the merger would weaken competition …
• 22 October

  MasterCard Mulls the Results of Chip and M-Commerce Pilots

  MasterCard is evaluating the next step for its contactless payment program following the conclusion of its PayPass test using a chip-based card in Orlando and as it nears the conclusion of a test involving the use of cell phones as a payment device in Dallas. The card company is expected …
• 21 October

  Payment by Phone Bill Picks Up Momentum

  A payment service that allows Internet content and service providers to bill their customers via their phone bill has been gaining momentum. Although San Jose, Calif.-based PaymentOne, a billing service for 50 large Internet service companies, provides those companies with six different payment options, the PhoneBill choice is being used …
• 20 October

  A No-Card, No-Fob System Gets Set for Prime Time

  A company offering a biometric-based technology that allows consumers to pay at the point of sale without presenting a card, keyfob, token, or any other payment media has installed a new management team and is laying plans for a major expansion in 2004. San Francisco-based Pay By Touch is running …
• 16 October

  Nation’s First Shared Ticketing Machines Go Live

  McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, has installed and switched on the nation's first ticketing kiosks serving multiple airlines. The airport's initial installation, which cost it about $2 million in hardware and software, includes more than 30 self-service machines at the airport itself and another six hooked up at the Las …
• 16 October

  TCF Re-Ups with Visa

  After an acrimonious summer in which TCF Financial Corp. first complained about the costly Visa/MasterCard settlement in the Wal-Mart case, and then complained even more bitterly when Visa threatened to levy a penalty on TCF if it switched debit brands, the Minneapolis-based bank has come to terms with Visa and …