All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Instant card issuance an instant hit
Instant issuance of payment cards is a relatively new concept but one that is growing in popularity with banks as they seek to reduce production and distribution costs Ask any bank card issuer and they will say that the relationship between itself and the customer only becomes tangible when the customer receives his or her card and begins using it
Heading for the exit
As Chinas economy begins to slow, Western banks which took equity stakes in leading Chinese banks are looking to bolster their own capital bases by offloading their shares
Time to think outside the box
As consumer usage of prepaid cards grows, solution providers need to think about expanding their proposition offerings, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research Prepaid cards are not just for teenagers and the unbanked, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy and Research that urges prepaid issuers to start thinking far more broadly.
Credit contagion spreads to Canada
It was only a matter of time before credit losses spread across the USCanada border, and a new report from business advisory firm Deloitte is highlighting that the pace of the downturn is taking many issuers by surprise The credit quality contagion has spread from the United States into Canada, as a new study paints an increasingly grim portrait of that nations card market.
Barclaycard takes re-pricing gamble
UK credit card issuers have come under fire in recent weeks for not reducing interest rates on their offerings in line with the lowering of the official Bank of England base rate, which as of February 2009 stood at 1 percent With most UK credit cards having APRs typically between 15.9 percent and 18 percent, consumer rights groups are asking just why credit card issuers are not budging, particularly at a time when economic pressures are set to get even worse during the course of 2009 Now Barclaycard, with nearly 12 million customers in the UK as of August 2008, is bucking the trend by announcing that it is freezing the prices for all its existing UK personal customers for at least the next four months, and it will also reduce purchase interest rates for at least three million customers by between 2.5 percent and 5 percent
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Region Round-up
Australia-based prepaid card provider OnCard has reported a 13.4 percent increase in half-year profits… Network International, a Middle East card payment solutions provider, has formed a joint venture with Bahrain Electronic Network for Financial Transactions… Mexicos fifth-largest bank, Banco Banorte, stated that its fourth-quarter 2008 net profit fell to MXP1.27 billion ($0.08 billion)…
Finland plays its cards right
Despite having one of the smallest populations in the eurozone, Finland is miles ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to card awareness and usage levels, and technological innovation is also making an impact
GBC looks to Eastern Europe for growth
GBC, part of the European processing giant SIA-SSB, is intent on making a big mark within the domestic Hungarian market and beyond by expanding its range of services to cover the whole card payment value chain Victoria Conroy spoke with Fabrizio Canedoli, CEO of GBC, to find out more.The wave of consolidation that has swept over the European processing market over the past few years has been underpinned by one core driver: creating economies of scale by consolidating payment volumes Small domestic European processors have been eagerly snatched up by the likes of TSYS, First Data and other US-headquartered giants who are looking to expand their presence in the increasingly important SEPA-defined European market
Payment innovation – who needs it?
Payment industry players point to the need to innovate to attract and retain customers and to fight the war on cash Although some propositions such as mobile, prepaid and contactless are gaining traction, it appears that the tipping point towards critical mass is still far away
Challenging times call for new strategies
As credit card spending drops and with issuers facing record credit losses, traditional customer acquisition channels such as direct mail are drying up, with volumes falling rapidly