All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
UnionPay strengthens presence in Russia
Russian bank Gazprombank will launch Chinese credit-card organisation UnionPays card payment service at its ATMs and merchants by the end of the year.Under the new agreement Gazprombanks card terminals will facilitate the use of UnionPay cardholders.
Nokia and UBI take advantage of NPCI’s switching fee cuts
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has reduced its proposed switching fee for mobile money transfers from 25 paise to 10 paise in a bid to encourage the use of m-payments.There is currently no switching fee for transactions conducted through the Inter Bank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS), however, a fee is to be implemented at the start of the new financial year.
Is more choice always a good thing?
Issuers have been able to offer card customisation services to their customers for quite some time. With the growth in online banking and developments in instant issuance technology, it would seem like an easy way to engage. But, asks Jane Cooper, is it really wise to offer people too much choice?
Google to test NFC m-payments
Google plans to team up with e-payments technology provider VeriFone to begin testing m-payments using near-field communication (NFC) technology in retail locations around the US.Bloomberg cites three people familiar with the project as the source for the announcement and reports that Googles NFC testing is due to commence within the next four months.
Visa announces 2010 LAC results
Visas payments volume grew by 23.2% across the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region last year reaching $270bn, according to the networks 2010 year-end results.The results for the quarter ending 31 December 2010 show Visas payments volume in the region grew by 26.7% to $82bn. The network processed 916m transactions an increase of 226m when compared to the same period last year.
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US consumers eye credit cards in 2011
Young consumers in the US are said to be showing more interest in credit cards as the economy gradually starts to pick up, according to a study by the Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG).One-fifth of younger consumers (under 25) say they plan to obtain a new credit card this year, compared to 11% of all those surveyed. Dr Patricia Sahm, managing director at ACG notes that as new regulations have put a stop to the marketing of credit cards to college students, they are now less likely to own more than one credit card making them a particularly responsive segment.
Apple shuns NFC for iPhone
The future of contactless m-payments looks shaky once again as tech giant Apple confirms it will not include near-field communication (NFC) chips in its iPhone 5 due for release this year.Sources at several UK mobile operators were told by Apple that it would not be including the NFC technology in the latest version of the iPhone be that the iPhone 4GS or the iPhone 5, according to UK newspaper The Independent.
UK e-commerce rises during festive season
November became the new December last year as online retailers encouraged Christmas shoppers in the UK to part with their money earlier than usual, according to the latest figures from the Payments Council.A comparison of the last decade shows the evolution of UK consumers spending behaviour during the run-up to the festive season. At the beginning of the century, Novembers spending was nearly 2.5% smaller than that of Decembers but by the middle of the decade, the difference in spending between the two months had shrunk to 0.01%. Over the last two years November spending has exceeded December by 2.27%.
Square criticised by rival for security flaws
Payment systems vendor VeriFones CEO has blasted its start-up rival Square for overlooking a serious security flaw that places consumers in dire risk.Douglas G Bergeron claims that during an investigation into the security of Squares card readers, VeriFone found that a reasonably skilled programmer can write an application in less than an hour that can skim a consumers financial and personal information off their cards using Squares POS equipment.
Missing a trick
Group coupon schemes and other companies offering customer loyalty services are stealing a march on acquiring banks and ISOs. Charles Davis argues that merchant acquirers are in an excellent position to help retailers attract new customers, and should capitalising on the opportunities.Online couponing companies, merchant-funded rewards programs, and other mobile-phone-based marketing programmes are introducing new ways for retailers to engage customers. And merchant acquirers, and in particular banks with both card issuing and merchant-acquiring operations, are well-positioned to seize the possibilities they present.