All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
First Data buyout is complete; changes made at the top
The $26 billion acquisition of global payment processor First Data by private equity giant KKR has been completed despite ongoing turmoil in the credit markets that threatened to hamper the deal KKRs banks reportedly sold $9.4 billion of loans to fund the buyout, the biggest offering of high-yield loans since the global credit crunch emerged in July, but at a discount of 3 to 4 percent It is believed that the remainder of the loans is being held by the banks underwriting them, among them Citibank and HSBC.As expected, First Data will now begin to make cost-cutting moves that will include consolidating data centres and shifting some operations to less-costly locations overseas
Region round-up
The new legislation requires foreign banks to establish bankcard data centres, which will be used to submit data to the PBOC, before they can issue cards independently, but most banks currently do not have a centre on the mainland. Chinas Shenzhen Ping An Bank has launched its first credit card, tapping into the sales network of its parent company, Ping An Insurance
Security and the dream credit card
Financial services consultancy Javelin Strategy & Research has outlined what it describes as the security features of a dream credit card a tall order indeed, and one that few US issuers are coming anywhere near approaching. Charles Davis reports.
STS sees positive future for contactless
Cameron Olsen of contactless payment specialist STS spoke to CI about the opportunities and challenges of bringing contactless to the UK market.Cameron Olsen is vice-president of business development at Smart Technology Solutions (STS), a UK-based provider of smart card technology and software to retailers and banks STS has been instrumental in the delivery of EMV and contactless payment infrastructure to the UK market, and Olsen recently spoke to CI about the prospects for EMV-based contactless payment in the UK and how STS is positioning itself to take advantage of market opportunities.He said: We position ourselves as being smart card experts
Global co-branding: keys to success
Jason McNutt, a consultant at First Annapolis Consulting, looks at how co-branding has evolved and how issuers can reap the benefits.Co-branding in the general-purpose credit card industry is not a new phenomenon
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Prepaid opportunities in Europe
Prepaid opportunities in EuropeAs the prepaid market in Europe grows and evolves, so too do the opportunities for the wide range of prepaid products now available in the marketplace Here, MasterCard Worldwide evaluates the market and its main growth areas.There is tremendous growth potential for prepaid as a category, driven by consumers growing preference for electronic payments, the availability of reload networks and the expansion of key verticals
Report says SEPA payments have not yet reached critical mass
The SEPA implementation scheme to unify the European payments sector is now well under way following the inception earlier this year of the ECs Payment Services Directive (PSD), which is intended to help establish a legal structure for the European payments market, and the publication of updated rulebooks relating to SEPA direct debits and credit transfers However, the 2007 World Payments Report, issued by global business consultancy Capgemini, the European Financial Management & Marketing Association and Netherlands bank ABN AMRO, suggests that several key issues remain problematic.Crucially, none of the eurozone countries expects to reach a critical mass of SEPA payments by 2010, and several countries pushing for a mini-SEPA whereby customers are offered one service in their home market and another in the rest of the eurozone According to the report, overall success for achieving full SEPA compliance and avoiding a mini-SEPA will depend on regulatory incentives to attract essential first movers such as corporates and the public sector to SEPA instruments.Cards as payment methodThe significance of cards in the attempt to boost growth in non-cash payments is consistently rising
Low-fee ATMs could become a thing of the past
Low-fee ATMs could become a thing of the past. For the past few years, US banking customers have enjoyed relatively cheap ATM use, but the latest move from Bank of America could lead to ATM use fees rising across the US banking sector. At the end of July, Bank of America announced that it would be charging non-customers who use its ATMs a fee of $3, up from $2.The move could be a lucrative one for the bank, which operates the largest bank ATM network in the US with 17,000 machines in place.
CITIC Bank and Amex launch joint credit card venture
Chinas CITIC Bank and American Express have unveiled their first joint credit card venture in China. The CITIC American Express card is denominated in both renminbi and US dollars, and comes in gold and classic versions. The cards are issued by CITIC Bank, part of the CITIC Group, and are accepted on the banks and China UnionPays merchant network in China and across the American Express merchant network.