All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Middle East markets in transition
Cards market developments in the Middle East. The Middle East has traditionally favoured cash over other payment methods. In some markets that situation is changing, as governments and the financial industry move to promote card adoption
ABN AMRO’s Asia-Pacific strategy
News that ABN AMRO is building its Asia-Pacific regional consumer finance business is bound to raise eyebrows The bank has been active in several Asian markets but has not had a clearly defined strategy Puneet Bahl, the banks head of consumer finance, consumer clients, Asia, talks to Titien Ahmad.
US subprime fallout could spread to card sector
The subprime mortgage crisis in the US, which has already hit the global credit markets, could be spreading into other consumer credit sectors, according to data from global credit ratings agency Moodys US consumers are beginning to default on credit card payments at a significantly higher rate than in the year-ago period, and credit card companies were forced to write off 4.58 percent of payments as uncollectable in the first half of 2007, a rise of almost 30 percent from last year.
China’s emerging payments market
A recent study from First Data and The Economist Intelligence Unit, entitled Beyond Cash: Chinas Emerging Payments Market, points to the significant opportunities that await card industry players in the worlds fastest-growing economy.
Bank of America aids MasterCard in debit battle with Visa
Bank of America (BofA), which is already the largest issuer of Visa-branded debit cards in the US, is preparing to launch MasterCard-branded debit cards as part of its new three-year sponsorship deal with the National Football League (NFL). The new agreement significantly expands an existing partnership between BofA and the NFL that included NFL and team-identified credit cards and a sports rewards programme.
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ECB study points to higher SEPA costs for banks
A new European Central Bank (ECB) study into the economic impact of the SEPA has found that its impact on payment-related costs and revenues in the European banking sector are expected to be limited
Barclays expands US presence
UK banking giant and card issuer Barclays has established itself as the fastest-growing major credit card issuer in the US with the announcement that Barclays US credit card business has passed the $5 billion mark in credit card receivables
Region round up
Shanghai Pudong Development Bank issued 290,000 new credit cards with Citibank in the first half of 2007… Deutsche Bank and Lufthansa Airlines have launched a frequent flyer card on the Visa Platinum and Visa Signature platform in India…
French love affair with cards continues
Card issuance and use is well established in France and retailer-issued cards play a major role In a mature and sophisticated market, issuers are focusing on non-traditional products, such as commercial cards and contactless technology, for market expansion
Discover takes on Visa and MasterCard
CI spoke to Sanjay Sakhrani, an equity analyst with financial services analysis provider Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW), and asked for his opinion on how Discover will fare against its larger rivals, Visa and MasterCard. CI: How will Discovers transition to a publicly traded company help it to compete for market share against Visa and MasterCard?