Prepaid Cards

The Federal Trade Commission has started a preliminary inquiry into whether Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and large debit card issuers are blocking merchants from routing transactions over PIN-debit networks, the Bloomberg Law news service reported, citing anonymous sources. FTC investigators reportedly have contacted merchants and their trade groups, Bloomberg Law said. Spokespersons for …

Thanks to an influx of technological advancements, individuals now have more choices than ever to save and manage their money. But ensuring that financial tools are best serving consumers takes cooperation among regulators, policymakers, and the private sector. Recently, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Jelena McWilliams said the agency will …

Prepaid-program manager Green Dot Corp. will launch a marketing campaign with talk-show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres. DeGeneres’s celebrity will be used to promote Green Dot Bank, Steve Streit, Green Dot founder and chief executive, said during a conference call with analysts Thursday. DeGeneres is host of the popular TV …

Walmart Inc. and Green Dot Corp. reported Tuesday they have extended the prepaid program manager’s agreement with the giant retailer for another seven years, assuring that Green Dot will continue to serve as the issuing bank and manager for the Walmart MoneyCard program. Walmart says the new contract begins Jan. …

Mastercard Inc. switched 20% more transactions on its worldwide network in the third quarter than it did a year earlier as purchase volumes remained strong and new growth markets generated more payments. “Growth was broad-based,” Mastercard president and chief executive Ajay Banga said Tuesday morning during the company’s third-quarter earnings …

The holidays are approaching, and with that annual shopping frenzy comes a yearly boost in gift card sales. As it turns out, though, most gift cards are likely to be plastic or paper rather than digital, according to consumer and small-business research released Thursday. While preference for digital cards is growing, …

Mercator Advisory Group released its “Prepaid Cards: Continued Growth” report.Payment security technology developer Sequent Software Inc. named Richard Nassar vice president of product management. Nassar is a former Visa Inc. executive.Travel card provider UATP named David Jimenez chief commercial officer. Jimenez’s career includes stints at Chase Paymentech, Ingenico, and CenPOS.Point-of-sale finance provider Afterpay Touch Group said …

More details emerged Tuesday about Samsung Pay Cash, the virtual prepaid card Samsung Electronics America Inc. first announced late last week as the latest feature for its mobile wallet.  Global Payments Inc., the big Atlanta-based processor that recently acquired Total System Services Inc. (TSYS), said Monday it has now integrated …

The Federal Reserve, which is taking industry comments on its upcoming FedNow real-time payments network until Nov. 7, said common questions so far involve pricing and the scope of the service. The first question can’t be answered yet, and the second touches on services that will be designed by financial institutions building on top …

A survey by processor Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) found that 54 countries now have active real-time payment programs, up from 40 in 2018 and nearly four times as many as 2014.Cross River Bank, which specializes in services for technology companies, has applied to link to The Clearing House Payments Co.’s Real Time …