News

June, 2005

• 20 June

  PayPal Launches New E-Commerce Service, Holds Tongue on Google Plans

  In a move that furthers its strategy to expand payment processing beyond auction activity, PayPal Inc. is rolling out a new transaction tool designed to allow small and medium-size Web-based merchants to accept all forms of payment entirely through PayPal, apparently eliminating the need for gateways or other third-party processors. …
• 17 June

  Moneris Looks to Big Growth with Internet Debit Payments

  The introduction in Canada of a bank-sponsored commercial payment service allowing consumers to buy goods from e-commerce merchants with their PIN debit cards is sparking widespread interest among retailers, according to Moneris Solutions Corp., the first processor to handle transactions for Interac Online. Moneris has been processing Interac Online payments …
• 17 June

  New Merchant Coalition to Focus on Education About Interchange Costs

  The first order of business for the new Washington, D.C.-based merchant group formed earlier this year to lobby for regulation of card-interchange rates is to inform consumers and their representatives about the costs they incur because of interchange, says Mallory Duncan, chairman of the Merchants Payments Coalition. “Consumers don't appreciate …
• 16 June

  Prepaid Card Issuers Seek an ‘Edge’ by Linking to Banking Products

  A pair of companies specializing in stored-value products for the underbanked population are reaching beyond prepaid cards to extend credit and savings options to their cardholders. Next Estate Communications Inc., which launched its Green Dot Financial Network to support check-cashing and prepaid cards, already offers its cardholders a program to …
• 15 June

  Star Plans to Extend Check Conversion to Bill Payments Later in ’05

  Star Systems Inc. will begin processing bill payments through its electronic check-conversion service, Star Chek Direct, by the end of the year, according to officials at the network. In the bill-payment scenario, consumers will be able to pay billers in certain low-risk industry categories, such as insurance and utilities, by …
• 14 June

  Visa Enables Merchant Campaigns Customized to Single Cardholders

  Visa U.S.A. today announced that starting in October it will begin tracking cardholder transaction data at the full 16-digit account number level, allowing issuers and merchants for the first time to target unique promotions and other marketing campaigns at individuals. “Now we can enable [marketing to] a cardholder of one,” …
• 13 June

  Seeking Portfolio Expansion, I.C.E. Signs First ISO in New Program

  International Card Establishment Inc., which began offering card-processing services a few weeks ago, has signed the first independent sales organization in its ISO program. Midland, Texas-based Foresite Merchant Solutions, formed recently, is I.C.E.'s first ISO client, the company says. Foresite is signing 200 merchant accounts per month, a rate it …
• 10 June

  Eyeing a Big Opportunity, ReD Expands into Bill Payment with ARC

  Eyeing what it sees as a huge opportunity in processing bill payments, U.K.-based Retail Decisions PLC's U.S. processing unit this month will begin offering the fastest-growing form of electronic check now available: accounts-receivable conversion, or ARC. Retail Decisions USA Inc., which has built its business providing a card-based risk-management and …
• 10 June

  Members Reject NACHA’s Return-Fee Proposal, But NACHA Still Backs Idea

  A proposal to impose an estimated $17 per-transaction fee on banks that enter automated clearing house transactions on behalf of payees for items returned as unauthorized has been rejected by the membership of NACHA, the Herndon, Va.-based rules-setting body for the ACH. According to a notice NACHA sent to its …
• 9 June

  Efunds Moves into Stored-Value Processing with WildCard Acquisition

  Efunds Corp. signaled its intention to move aggressively into the burgeoning market for prepaid products today with an announcement that it is buying WildCard Systems Inc., a Sunrise, Fla.-based processor, for $228.8 million in cash. The deal, which is expected to close early next month, will add prepaid debit to …