Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals

February, 2012

• 3 February

  As Payments Boom for Facebook, Competition Could Cut into Revenues

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• 2 February

  MasterCard Sees Durbin Gains But Draws the Line at Credit Card Interchange Cuts

  MasterCard Inc. posted strong debit card growth in 2011’s fourth quarter, and the No. 2 card network’s top executive told analysts on Thursday that MasterCard is picking up some new business because of the Durbin Amendment. At the same time, however, MasterCard president and chief executive Ajay Banga said the …
• 1 February

  Research Identifies an E-Commerce Premium, But How Long Will It Last?

  A longstanding truism in the acquiring business is that smaller merchants tend to generate more profit than their larger counterparts. But now research has emerged to show that smaller online merchants are even more profitable for acquirers and processors than brick-and-mortar stores of the same size. In fact, across all …
• 1 February

  Durbin Produces Contracts for First Data’s Star, But Results Are Months Away

    Leading payment processor First Data Corp. reported on Wednesday that its merchant-acquiring operations are enjoying a temporary profit lift and its Star electronic funds transfer network has won more than 20 new contracts from financial institutions as a result of the Durbin Amendment. But whether those new contracts actually …

January, 2012

• 31 January

  To Sign Merchants Nationwide, Square Heads to Campus To Recruit a Sales Force

    n San Francisco-based Square posted a notice for a “Square U Representative” position last month on its Web site and has put out reminders about it this month through Twitter as well as a feature story about it on its Facebook page. The job posting indicates the position is …
• 31 January

  MasterCard’s ‘Road Map,’ Including Merchant Incentives, Lifts Industry Hopes for EMV

  Ever since Visa Inc. released a major policy statement in August regarding chip cards in the United States, observers have waited for the other shoe to fall from competing card networks, especially Visa’s biggest rival, MasterCard Inc. That void began to fill in late on Monday with MasterCard’s release of …
• 30 January

  By Harnessing NYCE And a White-Label Strategy, FIS Seeks to Set Its Wallet Apart

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• 26 January

  Shazam Announces Network-Wide Availability of Mobile Acceptance Including PIN Debit

  The Shazam electronic funds transfer network on Wednesday announced it is making available across its network a mobile-payments service that lets stores, tradesmen, and other merchants accept PIN-debit transactions as well as credit and signature-debit payments. With the rollout, the service is available to nearly 1,500 member financial institutions and …
• 26 January

  How Banks’ PR Fiascoes Compromise Their Ability to Recoup Revenue Lost to Durbin

  The banks’ defeat on the Durbin Amendment—followed by their hamhanded efforts to recover lost revenue with explicit debit card fees—may have done more than tarnish their image with consumers. It may also have damaged their ability to deploy revenue-generating programs linked to debit cards, according to Beth Robertson, director of …
• 25 January

  Eye on Prepaid: NetSpend Nets 7-Eleven for Distribution; Green Dot Buys a Processor

  Prepaid card program manager NetSpend Holdings Inc. beefed up its retail distribution channels through a new agreement announced on Wednesday with leading convenience-store chain 7-Eleven Inc. The news came just a day after NetSpend rival Green Dot Corp. revealed that it bought assets from eCommLink Inc. that will advance its …