All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
VRL to present prepaid research in Milan
Exclusive research on prepaid awareness and distribution channels is to be unveiled at VRLs annual Prepaid Summit Europe, to be held on 13-14 October 2010. VRL, the parent company of Cards International, has teamed up with MasterCard to investigate how banks and programme managers can help retailers to increase sales and penetration of prepaid cards The research will be presented on the morning of the 14 October by a senior MasterCard representative
Square’s portable POS ‘half-baked’
Despite some well-publicized glitches in product availability, the hottest entrant to the portable card reader market remains confident in its future and has assured its quickly-growing customer base that the delays are just bumps in the road.
Banamex ramps up cards business
Like other Mexican banks, Banamex had to batten down the hatches on its credit card operation during the 2008-2009 financial crisis
Comment: Payments industry looks to Africa
As the sound of the vuvuzelas fade into the background following the completion of South Africas World Cup party, the worlds eyes have turned to Africas rich economic potential. The continent was the only global region other than Asia-Pacific not to slip into recession during 2009, and its economies are starting to become safer and better regulated (see Nigeria country survey: Making headway in Nigeria).
BofA boosted as charge-offs dip
Results from the half-year reporting season suggest that credit losses peaked in the first quarter and will trend lower in the second half of 2010
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Comment: Barclaycard needs a running mate
Barclaycard registered an important victory in its quest to turn Britain contactless this month, signing up the Co-operative as the first supermarket in the country to install terminals. The plan is to trial the contactless near-field communication terminals (NFC) at The Co-ops pharmacy branches before rolling out the technology to the groups supermarket network in 2011
20m m-payments users ‘active’ in Japan
Japan and South Korea are often held up as exemplars of the potential the cards and payments industry can achieve with mobile and contactless payments worldwide Japan is one of the worlds only countries (aside from South Korea) where mobile contactless payments have made their way beyond the pilot stage.
Country Survey: Nigeria
Widespread financial reform has been at the forefront of the Nigerian financial sectors priorities recently after the government took over nine failing banks The Nigerian banking sector was placed under immense pressure over the past 18 months, following a review by the countrys central bank which forced institutions to reclassify a large proportion of loans as non-performing.
Time to apply credit innovation to debit
Banks looking to generate profit from low-margin debit products are being encouraged to apply the same methods they use in their credit portfolios Research from processor First Data suggests this is the best way for banks to harness the ongoing switch from credit to debit. Banks are missing out on major opportunities to improve the profitability of their debit card programmes, according to a report from payment processors First Data.
Are we at the contactless tipping point?
Barclaycards agreement with Co-op Pharmacy, a division of The Co-ops supermarket estate in the UK, to offer contactless payment acceptance could pave the way for a boom in contactless payments