News

June, 2010

• 10 June

  Google’s Android Closes in on the iPhone in Mobile Banking

  The Apple iPhone, long a staple among consumers who pay bills and transfer funds via mobile devices, is now being challenged for mobile-banking leadership by a surging Android operating system, according to new research. Handsets that use Google Inc.’s open-source Android OS now account for 12% of the smart-phone market, …
• 9 June

  Small Institutions to Durbin Amendment: Thanks But No Thanks

  “Thanks, but no thanks,” was the message on Wednesday from representatives of small financial institutions who made it clear they oppose a Senate amendment that would empower the Federal Reserve to regulate debit card interchange. The chief executives of two credit union trade groups and of a small-bank association voiced …
• 9 June

  Seeking ‘Stickiness,’ MasterCard Rolls out Online Bill Pay for Prepaid

  MasterCard Inc. this week rolled out a service that lets users of MasterCard-branded prepaid cards pay bills at the card issuer’s Web site or by phone. Aimed squarely at the underbanked population, the service relies on the MasterCard RPPS network for links to biller accounting systems and Aliaswire Inc., a …
• 8 June

  The Durbin Amendment Ignites a Lobbying Frenzy on Capitol Hill

  Credit-union representatives descended on Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby Congress against proposed debit card interchange regulations in the Senate version of the sweeping financial-reform bill. On Wednesday, two frequent political enemies—banks and credit unions—will declare that they’ve stopped fighting each other so they can fight the so-called Durbin Amendment together. …
• 7 June

  A $300 Million iPay Deal Is a ‘Strong Fit’ for Processor Jack Henry

  Acquisitive financial-institution processor Jack Henry & Associates Inc. on Monday said it has completed its $300 million buyout of iPay Technologies, a low-profile but fast-growing electronic bill-payment processor that will add substantial mass to Jack Henry’s already sizable bill-pay business. Monett, Mo.-based Jack Henry provides bill-pay services to 1,050 of …
• 4 June

  Study Quantifies the Heavy Damage of Card Data Breaches

  Everyone knows data breaches are expensive and affect a lot of people, but just how much is startling. In a new analysis, Javelin Strategy & Research estimates credit and debit card issuers spent $252.7 million in 2009 replacing more than 70 million cards compromised by data breaches. Analyst Robert Vamosi …
• 3 June

  More Petitions Let C-Stores Ratchet up the Heat on Interchange

  Presenting yet another wave of petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of customers, the convenience-store industry turned up the heat on Congress Thursday to enact curbs on debit card interchange. The 1.68 million signed petitions, collected by Speedway SuperAmerica LLC and unveiled by the c-store chain and NACS, an industry …
• 3 June

  Bullish on the iPad, Square Says It Will Be a POS Game Changer

  With application developers rushing to bring apps to market for Apple Inc.’s immensely popular iPad tablet computer, payment service provider Square Inc. is predicting the iPad will become a game changer in wireless payments, and says that it will aggressively pursue developing iPad applications that enrich the transaction experience. The …
• 2 June

  Potential Effects of Durbin Amendment Roil the Debit Card Industry

  With the political debate about proposed federal regulation of debit card interchange and card-acceptance terms raging on, analyses of the so-called Durbin Amendment’s effects are emerging. Two new ones suggest consumers would see little or no benefit, if benefit were defined as lower retail prices because of merchants’ reduced card-acceptance …
• 2 June

  New Developer Deals Could Spur Mobile Growth for PayPal

  Having seen a significant uplift in mobile-payments volume so far this year, PayPal Inc. along with developer partners have in the past few days unveiled new products and services that could accelerate the processor's growth in this nascent market. PayPal said it is providing payment processing for new mobile-storefront software …