All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Debit card scheme competition in SEPA
Malte Krueger offers an insight into the various pressures that are combining to put downward pressure on interchange in Europe, and what it means for debit card scheme competition as SEPA fundamentally changes market conditions.
MasterCard defies slowdown
MasterCard has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2007. Defying the current slowdown in consumer spending, the company reported a net income of $304 million for the fourth quarter of 2007, or $2.26 per share on a diluted basis, which included a post-tax gain of $185 million.
SMFG to be Japan’s biggest credit card issuer
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) has outlined plans to become Japans biggest credit card issuer by establishing a new holding company for its four card and consumer finance subsidiaries and merging three of them, making SMFG one of largest players in the countrys consumer credit sector. SMFG said it will merge OMC Card, Central Finance and Quoq in April 2009. SMFG currently holds around 33 percent of OMC Card, 23 percent of Central Finance and 31 percent of Quoq. Sumitomo Mitsui Card, part of the SMFG group, will also be placed under the same holding company and eventually share the same systems and processing operations, but will retain its own brand. The newly merged company and Sumitomo Mitsui Card will have an annual credit card transaction volume of 9.5 trillion ($91 billion), surpassing the 9.1 trillion for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which includes Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos and Jaccs. SMFG plans to hold 66 percent of Sumitomo Mitsui Card and between 40 and 50 percent of the newly merged company. SMFG, Japans third-largest bank, has made determined efforts to increase its market share of Japans consumer finance industry, even as the sector bears the brunt of recently introduced legislation that has lowered caps on interest rates, causing other consumer finance players to exit the sector.
Cards continue to bite into cash in US
A recent study from the US Federal Reserve shows that all forms of electronic payments are continuing on an upward trajectory, with debit card payments outstripping credit card payments and now being the most frequently used payment type.
MasterCard and Europay integrate operations in France
MasterCard and Europay have had an alliance stretching back over 30 years, and now the two card networks are focusing their efforts on the French market. Europay International was formed in 1992 with the merger of Eurocard International and Eurocheque International and in 2002 it became part of MasterCard International.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Tailoring products for retention
Credit card issuers are rolling out an increasing array of customisable card offerings in an effort to recruit and retain customers, signalling a growing trend of offering users interactive and personal choices to make their cards top of wallet.
Issuers need to work on relationships
US credit card issuers are working tirelessly on improving customer service, but still trail significantly behind not only major retailers, but other financial services product providers, according to a recent report.
Egg incurs customer wrath
At the end of January, UK card issuer Egg wrote to more than 161,000 customers to inform them that their credit cards were being withdrawn. Is this a knock-on effect of the credit crunch or is Egg simply looking to offload high-risk customers?
Region Round-up
Global payment processor First Data has teamed up with German bank WestLB to launch a new business aimed at providing card acceptance services for retailers across Europe…
Cross-selling commercial cards
The volume and value of commercial card payments is increasing year after year. In this article, Frank Martien examines the potential for commercial card organisations to cross-sell card offerings to the consumer segment, as well as to existing commercial cardholders.