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Capping months of planning, bank-holding company Synovus Financial Corp. confirmed Thursday afternoon that it would spin off its entire 80.8% interest in payment card processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) to its shareholders. In doing so, Synovus brings up what is likely to be the rear of an extremely active …
Read More »Phishing Takes a Break As Attacks, Hosting Sites Slip in July
The crime of phishing entered midsummer doldrums, offering some relief to financial institutions, merchants, and other organizations engaged in e-commerce, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The number of unique e-mail attacks dropped 17%, to 23,917, in July, while the population of sites launching attacks dipped …
Read More »With a Grip on Costs, TSYS Continues Its Post-BofA Recovery
Bolstered by cost controls and its growing international business, payment processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) on Monday reported profits rose nearly 27% on a revenue increase of not quite 4%. TSYS also said operating margins are up more than 3 percentage points this year to 25.6%. Columbus, Ga.-based TSYS …
Read More »Eye on Earnings: Google Checkout Adds More Merchants
Google Inc. gave a progress report about its Google Checkout payment services launched in mid-2006 and processors and banks heavily involved in the payments business reported third-quarter earnings last week. ? Search-engine leader Google's Google Checkout online payment service added PetSmart, Drugstore.com, Shoebuy.com, and the NHL Store as merchants in …
Read More »Banks Begin to Use SVPCO to Handle Check Images for Client Banks
Some of the big banks that connect to the SVPCO Image Payments Network are starting to use the system to send and clear items electronically for other banks they serve in a move that could increase volume on the image-exchange network and allow member financial institutions to earn more fee …
Read More »PayPal’s Strategy Bears Fruit As off-eBay Ratio Steadily Rises
PayPal Inc.'s efforts to lessen its dependence on transaction traffic supplied by the online auctions run by parent eBay Inc. are paying off. Some 44% of the $12.2 billion the San Jose, Calif.-based e-commerce processor handled in the third quarter came from off-eBay merchants, according to statistics filed by eBay …
Read More »MasterCard Opens a PCI Schoolhouse Featuring ‘Tailor-Made’ Sessions
No. 2 payment network MasterCard Worldwide this week unveiled a global education effort about the Payment Card Industry data-security standard, or PCI. The campaign, which includes free Web-based seminars and live training, comes at a time when restive merchants and others are challenging the card networks about data security, with …
Read More »Startup Certifies Diebold As First ATM Maker for Prepaid Card System
Better ATM Services Inc. today took another step toward realizing its goal of turning ATMs into machines that can dispense something other than cash. The Mesa, Ariz.-based startup certified machines made by Diebold Inc. as capable of dispensing its prepaid cards, which Better ATM Services is testing at five restaurants …
Read More »Report: Debit Card Outlook Bright, But Banks Failing on Activation
Debit cards remain the fastest-growing payment devices and they seem likely to endure a possible economic slowdown better than credit cards, according to a new report from TowerGroup Inc. Nevertheless, financial institutions have a propensity to pump out many more debit cards than consumers want. According to the report, “Crediting …
Read More »Startup TrialPay Lets Online Merchants Make Sales out of No Sales
A Silicon Valley startup that allows online buyers to receive products free if they buy something from other vendors has signed up 1,400 merchants and expects to have 10,000 on its roster within a year. “We enable multimerchant commerce,” says Alex Rampell, founder and chief executive of TrialPay Inc., which …
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