All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Government usage spurs prepaid market
Prepaid usage is continuing to grow strongly in the US, with both open- and closed-loop programmes seeing rises in loading volumes But are growth rates living up to the expectations of the prepaid industry And is open-loop growth still being held back by merchant resistance
The painful Citi saga rumbles on
Citi’s bail-out by the US government and federal entities has only fuelled speculation that the banking behemoth could be broken up and sold off. As a new wave of consolidation sweeps over the US banking industry, what will this mean for the worlds largest card issuer?
Nigeria steps into the spotlight
Nigeria, Africa’s third-largest economy, is showing phenomenal growth rates for all forms of electronic payment, including cards There are major challenges to overcome if issuers and card schemes wish to spur growth and drive down usage of cash, but efforts are gathering momentum.
PayLife braces for SEPA challenge
Peter Neubauer, CEO of PayLife Bank, theAustrian domestic processor, is to end its relationshipwith First Data in 2010 after signingnew issuing and acquiring deals.
US retailers get helping hand from Coinstar
US coin-counting kiosk operator Coinstar ispromoting its prepaid card distribution services to US retailers by offering a turnkeypackage including staff training, merchandisingand POS systems integration. Its message is that retailers can use prepaid to improveprofits in a difficult economic climate.
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Canadian firms targeting the youth market
Two Canadian reloadable prepaid MasterCard issuers are developing cards to tap the youth market. In October 2008, Calgary-based PlasticNow will launch a card displaying celebrity images which will be available at gas stations and convenience stores.
SEPA faces uphill struggle
As the SEPA implementation process begins to take shape, the World Payments Report 2008 has identified potential challenges and urged all the players involved to adopt a common approach. Although credit transfers are already taking place, ambiguity still surrounds plans for direct debits and card payments.
BNP Paribas cards seeks global scale
Gilbert Arira, BNP Paribas head of cards and electronic banking, has outlined a fourpoint plan designed to unlock the underexploitedpotential of its cards business.
Debit drives new loyalty thinking
Issuers have long grappled with how to use loyalty programmes to boost debit usage The points-for-spending model is now slowly giving way to programmes that deepen the relationship between issuer and customer and which subtly influence cardholder behaviour.
All change in US, UK
A year after it began, the turmoil in the financialmarkets shows no sign of abating and ithas now claimed some of the best-known globalbanking names, who have been left withno option but to merge with larger rivals inorder to ensure survival.