All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Leap guarantees fee freeze
Payments processor Leap Payments has said it intends to offer all business clients a lifetime rate lock, guaranteeing that the processing fees charged by Leap Payments will never increase.
Citigroup and Discover delinquency rates drop
Late payments on credit cards issued by Citibank and payment cards on the Discover network hit their lowest points since 2008 and 2006 respectively during April 2011. According to news agency Associated Press, the credit card division of Citigroup said the number of payment late by 35 days or more fell from 4.21% of balances in March 2011 to 3.87% in April 2011.
ViVOtech renews Hypercom offer
NFC software and systems company ViVOtech believes the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is justified in its block on the VeriFoneHypercom merger as it makes a second play for the US assets of Hypercom.The DOJ has recently filed a civil antitrust lawsuit intended to block the acquisition of e-payments solutions provider Hypercom by rival VeriFone worth $485m.
MBNA launches Amex contactless in the UK
Credit card lender MBNA has announced it will shortly begin issuing the UKs first American-Express (Amex) branded contactless credit cards.Through the deal, MBNA, a subsidiary of Bank of America (BofA), will become the worlds first issuer of EMV-enabled contactless credit cards for three of the major payment schemes.
DOJ blocks VeriFone acquisition of Hypercom
The Department of Justice (DOJ) in the US has filed a civil antitrust lawsuit intended to block the acquisition of e-payments solutions provider Hypercom by rival VeriFone worth $485m. It is claimed the proposed deal would substantially lessen competition in the sale of POS terminals in the US, resulting in higher process and reduced innovation, quality, product variety and service.
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Leveraging trust in FIs to drive m-payments adoption
Consumers are looking for the trust of a financial brand and familiarity of a mobile brand if they are to adopt m-payments, according to a study by market research agency GfK NOP.The study shows 48% of consumers surveyed indicated their preference and trust lies within the financial brand category, with high-street banks coming out top. It is claimed consumers feel they can be relied upon to safely process payments and manage personal finances, and that they view m-payments as a natural next step in their banks service offerings.
Visa announces digital wallet plans
Industry insiders question merchant enthusiasm for Visa Incs plans to launch a cross-channel digital wallet in the US and Canada during the autumn months of 2011. The wallet will store Visa and non-Visa payments accounts, support near-field communication (NFC) payments through Visas payWave application and it is also claimed it will deliver a range of transaction services such as e-commerce, m-commerce, micropayments, social networks and P2P payments in a bid to accommodate multiple commerce scenarios.
Google casts doubt on NFC m-payments
Google casts a long shadow over the future of m-payments using near-field communication (NFC) technology as its developers effectively write off card emulation as the way forward. During the Google IO developers conference held in California, Googles Jeff Hamilton and Nick Pelly, engineers working on the Android NFC stack, explained why there is no application programme interface (API) support for card emulation on Googles Gingerbread mobile handset.
The MSC squeeze
The needs of merchants are becoming increasingly complex and acquirers face a dilemma in choosing whether to raise their merchant service charges as the competitive nature of the industry is pushing prices down. This squeeze makes the pricing of MSCs a delicate balancing act for acquirers, writes Jane Cooper
Cards & Payments Awards 2011 – Finalists announced
The shortlist for this years Cards & Payments Awards have been revealed.Marks & Spencer, Lycamoney and Facebook are among the companies vying for this years honours.