All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Breaking down the barriers
Cross-border business models have come into their own this year, with strong performances in emerging markets helping to offset some dreadful results in the US. Standard Chartered and UniCredit, who avoided the trouble in the US, shared some of the secrets of their cards-issuing strategies with William Cain.
Debit gains ground in the US
A recent study from global payment processor First Data shows that debit card payments continue to rise in popularity in the US, with cardholders making more use of both PIN and signature transactions as opposed to just one method.
Region round-up
Bank of East Asia has linked with China UnionPay (CUP)… Australias ANZ banking group has appointed heads for its Indian and Taiwan operations… Brazilian banks are in the middle of mass EMV card roll-out.
A Single Swipe for loyalty schemes
As the credit crunch in the US has driven consumer spending down, retailers are looking towards innovative schemes to get customers back into their stores. With the more precise consumer data that can now be captured, retailers are targeting their regular customers with bespoke incentives that are based on information such as their personal shopping habits and preferences.
Visa, MasterCard post payment volume jumps
Visa Inc has posted its first quarterly results as a public company, with net income rising to $314 million compared to $246 million in the year-ago period, and operating revenue rising to $1.45 billion from $1.19 billion.
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More UK consumers switch to debit
The UK cards industry has been a market of change, innovation and uncertainty in 2007. Debit use is on the up, credit card use is falling while a host of niche products, including prepaid, commercial cards and contactless, have started to show their potential.
First Data card scheme fraud link-up?
Processing giant First Data is looking to link up with card schemes MasterCard, Visa and American Express to strengthen the payments industrys crackdown on fraud.First Data fraud director Jackie Barwell said the industry needed to take a leaf out of the fraudsters book and collaborate more effectively to develop better systems to beat fraudulent activity.
Spain’s Sabadell launches reloadable prepaid cards
Banco Sabadell has launched what it says is the first reloadable prepaid card programme to be created by a Spanish bank. Barcelona-based Sabadell is targeting the programme at any Spanish retailer which wants to offer reloadable prepaid cards or non-reloadable gift cards to its customers.
Cards landscape is redrawn
A tumultuous month has seen a wave of rushed banking mergers and acquisitions across the world, with consequences for the cards businesses of several leading players. The ramifications will also spread much wider to the card networks and processors, as Charles Davis reports.
Region Round-up
State Bank of India has posted 40 percent growth in net profit… Global payment processor TSYS has signed a multi-year agreement with Sony Finance… Danish merchants are now able to accept the Chinese payment card China UnionPay… Russias ZAO Citibank is partnering with Russias leading retail networks… Scotiabank has launched the ScotiaHockey Visa card for Canadian hockey fans… Chinas banking regulator says that Chinese banks average bad loan ratio was reduced to 5.49 percent by the end of September while the total assets of the countrys banking industry expanded to CNY59.3 trillion ($8.5 trillion) Commercial banks had a total of CNY1.27 trillion of non-performing loans as of 30 September, down CNY3 billion from the beginning of the year, said the China Banking Regulatory Commission.