All articles by Verdict Staff

US fuel retailers take on the networks

With energy and fuel praices rising globally, several fuel retailers in the US are experimenting with new ways of pulling in motorists, one of which is the establishment of their own payments network. Charles Davis reports how consumer behaviour at the pumps is being changed in dramatic ways. A growing number of US petrol retailers are teaming with an alternative payments company to build their own private payment systems, in a shot across the bow of the card associations.

Region Round-up

China UnionPay teams up with Sino Payments,Visa goes commercial with NFC m-payments, VerifySmart signs deal with Prime Interactive, Credit card terminal software for smartphones delivered by Mint Wireless, VietUnion to initiate Payoo e-wallet trial, New Zealand card spending on the rise, Mashreq Bank and China UnionPay team up in UAE…

Short-term pain for long-term gain

The pain in the US card market could get worse before it gets better as unemployment reaches record highs, leading to a much greater chance of defaults further down the line. But payment players have responded swiftly, and there are signs that things may not be as bad as first thought. CI reports.

Moving forward in merchant acquiring

RBS WorldPay is one of the best-known names in merchant acquiring and payment processing, although recently it has become famous (or infamous) for a high-profile security breach that made headlines around the world. Despite this, Ron Kalifa, managing director, is confident the company will retain its leading position in the payment space.

On the march towards a cashless future?

Representatives from Citibank, Visa Europe, Edgar Dunn & Co and The UK Cards Association joined CI and other industry experts for an in-depth discussion on the outlook for cards and payments over the next few years. Despite current economic difficulties, there is plenty to be positive about.

Amex profits dip, costs are cut

American Express (Amex) has posted a set of mixed results for the first quarter of 2009, and while credit-related losses and charge-offs continue to rise, there are some positives for payment players who view the payment network and issuer as a bellwether for the US economy Total revenues dropped 18 percent to $5.9 billion in the first quarter from $7.2 billion in the year-ago period, and Amexs net income plunged by 56 percent to $437 million Amex significantly increased its level of loan loss provisions, in line with actions taken by other US issuers (see Short-term pain for long-term gain), with consolidated provisions reaching $1.8 billion from $1.2 billion in the year-ago period, reflecting increased charge-offs and past-due loans

CUP and Global Payments go global

Chinese bank card network China UnionPay (CUP) and US payment processor and merchant acquirer Global Payments have signed a global cooperation agreement in a landmark deal that will significantly increase the acceptance of CUP cards worldwide.

Obama pushes for card reform

A populist atmosphere of pushing consumer rights to the forefront of the US economic agenda has led to a raft of measures, both political and legislative, being put into place in recent weeks, aimed at putting a stop to unfair card billing and fee practices.

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EMV: the story so far

After spending millions in cash and man hours on EMV migration, and with millions of cards already in circulation and hundreds of countries in transition to EMV globally, are payment players any better off? And has it fulfilled its main objective of cutting down on fraud? John Hill and Victoria Conroy report.