All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Citi’s prepaid ambitions for Middle East
But Steve Donovan, Citis head of global transaction services for the Middle East and Pakistan, is now setting his sights on growing the companys corporate prepaid business in the region through programme management As one of the few big bank issuers of prepaid cards globally, Citi has made its name as a pioneer of prepaid in emerging markets, offering both consumer and corporate prepaid solutions to individuals and business entities across several diverse markets.
Coming to the mass market?
With issuers such as Barclays and RBS putting their financial clout behind the technology and major retailers installing readers throughout their networks, many believe the time for contactless has arrived, as John Hill reports. Barclaycard has long been at the forefront of contactless in the UK, being the first major issuer to put out a consumer contactless card with the OnePulse card, launched in September 2007
Upping the Tempo on debit
Lauded as one of the biggest innovations in the payment industry a few years ago, decoupled debit cards have yet to gain the traction that was predicted Now, US alternative payment network Tempo is taking a different approach by positioning them as affinity products, as Charles Davis reports. Is the end of decoupled debit near
Signs of recovery for credit issuers
After two years of painful credit losses, the latest set of financial results from the largest issuers in the US suggest that conditions may be improving But many are waiting with baited breath to see how recent card reforms may impact industry profitability next year, as Charles Davis reports. Third-quarter results from major US issuers and card associations demonstrate just how slowly credit conditions are improving, but in some cases demonstrate the resiliency of the worlds largest cards market.
China crisis for credit cards?
The meteoric growth of credit cards in China has not come without teething problems. With China cited as one of the most promising credit card markets in the world, banks have rushed to sign up new cardholders by offering an ever-increasing array of products But in their haste, some banks have neglected to make sure that their customer service functions were up to speed, and on top of that, a lack of formalised credit card approval procedures and credit bureau infrastructure has led to a rapid rise in overdue credit card debt. Complaints about credit cards rose in the third quarter of 2009 to become the largest source of complaints about banking services, according to the Shanghai branch of the China Banking Regulatory Commission
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New ideas from an ancient source
As a country that has been in a state of war for around half of the last 40 years, Lebanon has not been seen as the safest bet by many financial institutions. Maher Mezher, head of marketing for First National Bank, spoke to John Hill about how and why this view is rapidly changing and how FNB is innovating.
Canadian lawmakers plan card card code of conduct
As Visa and MasterCard prepare to fully enter the C$168 billion ($162 billion) Canadian debit card market, lawmakers and politicians are frantically scrambling to set out the parameters within which the payment networks can operate, wary of the threat that they pose to Canadas national debit scheme Interac.Jim Flaherty, the countrys finance minister, is leading efforts to introduce a voluntary code of conduct covering the debit card market, following the introduction of a credit card code of conduct on 30 September, requiring credit card issuers to provide a summary box on credit card contracts and mandate a minimum 21-day grace period among other measures.The debit code of conduct, which is expected to be introduced in a matter of weeks, will also act as a sop to merchant and consumer groups, which have argued for such a code to be in place to limit the threat of the new contenders to Interac
Interchange war heats up
The US merchant community is ratcheting up the pressure on the payment networks over the contentious issue of interchange, with campaigns aimed at the public and intensive lobbying of lawmakers If the war over interchange rates in the United States ratchets much higher, the damage done politically might prove more problematic in the long term than the regulations, should they materialise
Fuel for thought
As the recession continues unabated in some areas in Europe, companies continue to look for ways to reduce costs With travel and transport becoming increasingly large expenses as the cost of fuel rises, the fuel and fleet card market is booming
Chasing after the small business market
With small businesses bearing the brunt of slowing spending and rising costs, Chase Card Services has launched a range of business charge cards Charles Davis reports on how Chase is hoping that the new cards will tap into small business owners desire to keep a tight grip on cash flow In a bold move in the teeth of a recessionary economy, Chase Card Services has launched a suite of four different business card products aimed squarely at smaller firms.