All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Brazil’s cards climate attracts foreigners
Brazils economic strength, demographic profile, technology use and improving payments infrastructure form a solid foundation for cards industry growth Foreign entrants may not yet be competing for cards issuance with Brazils big banks, but there is much to attract them.
Region round-up
Card spending in New Zealand has risen for the second straight month… Global Payments Asia-Pacific, a joint venture between HSBC and Global Payments… Latin American ATMs are moving from being cost-saving substitutes for branch tellers… Visa Europe has launched a green credit card… Three new banks in Iraq have joined a project to provide ATM services and credit cards…
Discover reaches settlement with Visa and MasterCard
The protracted litigation battle between Discover Financial Services and Visa and MasterCard, which has been running since 2004, is over following a $2.75 billion settlement agreed between the three card schemes. The long-running anti-trust lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial on 14 October, but Visa and MasterCard have opted to bring to a close any further legal battles in much the same way they did with American Express in late 2007.
The future of plastic payment
As mobile and contactless technologies begin to take a stronger foothold in the marketplace, Truong Mellor spoke with several industry figures about the opportunities as well as the challenges in this space, and asks whether there is anything that can be done to accelerate adoption.To coincide with the announcement of an increased investment in the development of contactless technology, Barclaycard CEO Antony Jenkins recently spoke of the limits that plastic cards place on the contactless chip.
Australian reforms – success or failure?
Australias payment card market may not be the largest or most profitable in the world, but it is certainly one of the most notorious in terms of industry regulation and intervention, particularly in the area of interchange.
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Visa and MasterCard braced for bad times to continue
The latest quarterly results from Visa Inc and MasterCard indicate that, although payment volumes are continuing to grow, the rate of growth is slowing markedly in tandem with the slowing of the US and other market economies, as consumers pull back on spending due to a myriad of inflationary pressures. Visa Incs results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended 30 June 2008 show its net loss was $356 million, compared to $1.66 billion in the year-ago period, while net income amounted to $448 million, compared to $196 million a year earlier.
Raiffeisen’s eastward expansion
Robert Wright, a board member for retail banking at Raiffeisen International, speaks to CI about the prospects for payment card growth in the emerging Central and Eastern European markets, where opportunities appear bountiful Robert Wright has over 20 years of international retail banking experience and has worked in the UK for HSBC, Bank of Scotland and Abbey National where he was banking director
News Digest
INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTSSharia-compliant moves from Lloyds TSBUK bank Lloyds TSB has introduced what it claims is the first account to be offered by a mainstream Western bank that allows money to be moved internationally on behalf of individual and business clients in keeping with Islamic Sharia law.
News Digest
In a move calculated to enhance the attractiveness of electronic payments, the US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) has announced significant changes to its fee schedules for services provided to depository institutions. Hardest hit are paper cheque deposits which, from 2 January 2008, face a fee increase of about 12 percent. Contrasting with this punitive increase, fees for the FRBs electronic payment services will be reduced by 8 percent.
News digest
MOBILE BANKINGCredit unions put their trust in MetavanteBanking and payments technology vendor Metavante has further strengthened its position in the US credit union market with its appointment by Corporate Network eCom, (eCom) as its exclusive supplier of mobile banking and payments solutions.