All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Region round-up: North America
Net credit card charge-offs by banks and other financial institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) fell by $2.6 billion in 2006 compared to 2005… Discover Card has become the exclusive and official credit card of the Arena Football League (AFL) and its member teams…
News Briefs
M-payments from Poste Italiane… Barclaycard thinks big… TJX settles with MasterCard…
News Digest
PREPAID CARDS PayPal beta tests virtual debit card The card is virtual, the security is very real this is the message PayPal is delivering in the run-up to the full-scale launch of its PayPal Virtual Debit Card (VDC), which is currently being beta tested by US customers Developed by Irish payments technology vendor Orbiscom, the new service will target customers reluctant to disclose account details online or those without cards, and will also provide access to merchants that do not accept PayPal payments PayPal VDC draws funds from a users PayPal account.The key security feature of the PayPal VDC is achieved by the generation of a new MasterCard number for every online purchase
News digest
CONTACTLESS PAYMENTSBART trial produces killer mobile appA multifaceted ground-breaking trial on the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) system using mobile phones equipped with contactless payments and over the air (OTA) transaction capabilities has been declared a resounding success.
Egg closed 20,000 accounts ‘wrongly’ in credit card fiasco
UK internet bank Egg withdrew the credit cards of customers with good credit scores because of a credit scoring bungle, two former employees of the business have claimed.Egg wrote to 161,000 of its credit card customers in February claiming they posed a higher than acceptable risk profile and informing them their accounts would be closed.
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Charge-offs to reach ‘historic highs’
Charge-off rates in the US are approaching their highest level in nearly three years, according to a new report from credit ratings agency Moody’s. As Charles Davis reports, previous highs came during two economic slowdowns in 1991 and 2001, and current metrics suggest charge-offs will increase over the year.
Delivering innovation in outsourcing
More banks will be outsourcing key business processes to keep costs down, driven by the impact of the credit crunch and a continued focus on improving efficiencies. As banks look to deliver more innovative services, innovation in outsourcing itself is also taking on greater importance.
Citi, StanChart get China green light
Citi and Standard Chartered have received the go-ahead from the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC), the countrys central bank, to issue retail debit cards in the country, following Bank of East Asia’s entry into the market earlier this year.
African Bank’s credit card push
African Bank, a specialist consumer finance player in South Africa, has taken an unusual step to boost its credit card issuance: by buying out a furniture retailer. CEO Leon Kirkinis told William Cain what the deal means for its rapidly growing credit card business.
Smaller issuers target affinity space
Affinity cards are more commonly associated with large issuers, but some smaller players are now targeting the space overlooked by the big banks.The affinity card market in the US is well served at the high end, with hundreds of cards for everything from university alums to religious sects.