All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
SBI Sumishin targets cards growth
SBI Sumishin, a Japanese internet bank owned by Sumitomo Mitsui and SBI Holdings, is looking to leverage its 750,000 customer accounts and expand its cards business. The bank has launched its first card product: a private-label, closed-loop membership card programme with retail group CP Cosmetics The product will be available to the cosmetic retailers estimated 100,000 customers and marks its entry into the highly competitive co-branded cards market currently dominated by Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos, the card issuing arm of MUFG, Japans largest bank.
Walmart eyes Mexican open-loop market
Walmart de Mexico is entering Mexicos credit card market with a general-purpose card, looking to tap in to rapidly increasing demand
Region round-up: Asia-Pacific
Thailands Kasikornbank has teamed up with Visa in Thailand to release a mobile phone based one-time password that allows customers to authenticate transactions when they use their Visa card for purchases over the internet.
Transport for London buys Oyster brand for £1m
Transport for London (TfL) has bought the rights to the Oyster card brand for £1m ($1.5m) from TranSys, a consortium whose contract to run the service expires in August. TfL was scheduled to pay back this debt to TranSys over a period of 17 years; however, in August 2008, TfL gave notice it was terminating the contract.
Region Round-up: Lat Am
Redecard, Brazils second-largest card payment processor, has appointed Marcelo Kopel as its new chief financial officer.
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A cut above the competition
Bank UralSibs social disbursement initiative in Russia and Disneys debit loyalty programme each received two finalist positions in this years CI awards There was hot competition across all 10 categories this year, particularly in the cards processor and credit cards categories, as Will Cain reports.
Region round-up: North America
In his annual letter to shareholders, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon reflects on a turbulent 2009 after a terrible year for their credit card business. He added stricter regulation through the Credit Card Reform Act would reduce profit by $500-750m in 2010.
Visa caps debit interchange at 20bps
Following MasterCards agreement to cap its interchange fees at 20 basis points, Visa Europe has followed suit European competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia has welcomed commitments by Visa Europe to “significantly cut” its multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) for debit card payments.
On the up but challenges remain
In March 2010, at the first VRL regional prepaid conference in Dubai, delegates were left in no doubt that despite the difficult economic circumstances of the past year, scope for prepaid growth in the Middle Eastern region is one of the biggest in the industry Dubai was the setting for the first VRL regional prepaid conference, Prepaid Summit: Middle East 2010
Woolworths ups ante in Australia
Australian supermarket chain Woolworths has made the controversial move of banning the in-store credit option on debit payments, calling the high interchange fees an unnecessary layer of cost