All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Visa and MasterCard update acquirer fees
The US may be in recession and merchants suffering the brunt of the downturn, but that has not stopped Visa and MasterCard from implementing new merchant acquirer fees and raising the hackles of merchant lobby groups
Uneasy truce shattered as EC levels anti-trust charge against Visa Europe
Visa Europe could have been forgiven for hoping for a positive outcome in its tussle with the European Commission (EC) over multilateral interchange fees (MIFs) in Europe, after an uneasy truce was reached between the EC and MasterCard over the same issue.
The need for better customer knowledge
Challenging times for credit issuers require new thinking in the area of collections and recovery. CI spoke withDaniel Melo and Janice Horan of global credit scoring and analytics specialist FICO about how changing usageof credit cards is driving a re-evaluation on the part of issuers when it comes to minimising defaults
Could PCI make way for EMV in the US?
In the wake of the recent high-profile security breaches at payment processors Heartland Payment Systems and RBS WorldPay, the issue of whether the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) are stringent enough is becoming so contentious that it has now reached the upper echelons of US politics.
Contactless gets sticky
Although momentum is building behind theuptake of contactless mobile payments usingnear-field-communication (NFC) technology,one stumbling block is that NFC-enabledphones are yet to become widespread. Untilthey do, payment players have been scratchingtheir heads as to how to get consumersfamiliar with the concept of the tap and gotransaction.
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Fidelity buys Metavante to create ‘future proof’ mega-processor
The hunt for economies of scale in the processing sector is taking on a new air of urgency as acquisition targets especially in the rapidly consolidating Europe region are snapped up by industry players eager to shore up their competitive positions.
Region Round-up
Combined bank and transit card considered in Queensland, Citi and Visa in m-payments trial, ASB to offer Visa debit card customisation, 84 million credit cards issued in China in 2008, Singapore Airlines and ICICI Bank launch platinum credit card, POS terminals rolled out in Sri Lanka, Taiwans credit card APR reduced to 12.5%, Swiss m-payments working group formed….
A reversal of fortunes for Russia?
Despite its size and population, Russia has been reticent when it comes to card payments, with card numbers and volumes far away from reaching critical mass. But payment players in the country are optimistic about future prospects, despite the countrys recent economic upheaval. Victoria Conroy reports.
Direct debit ruling could affect cards
As the argument continues over the validity of interchange fees, a blow has been struck by the European Central Bank as it rules banks in the European Union will have to abandon direct debit interchange fees by 2012
Belgacom stakes out mobile market
Largely state-owned Belgian communications provider Belgacom has taken a 40 percent stake in mobile payments specialist Tunz as it gains ground in the lucrative micro-payments arena. Tunz, which recently acquired a European e-money licence, has been brought in to help the former state telecom monopoly expand into the market for mobile micro-payments, allowing customers to make a large range of purchases from their mobile phone. Tunz will provide the new joint venture, called Ping Ping, with a unique open payment platform offering a range of mobile payment solutions and applications, such as contactless near-field-communication (NFC) payments, national and international person-to-person payments, internet payments, mobile ticketing and almost paperless bank transfer forms.