All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
EAPS gains traction in European debit space
Amid the flurry of activity in Europes debit card market, the u-turn of the Belgian banks over switching to Maestro, and speculation about new independent bank-controlled debit schemes, a recent announcement is set to impact on the sector even further and will cause Visa and MasterCard to ponder whether their schemes are now set to face serious competition. At the Cards and Payments Europe conference, held in Berlin by VRL KnowledgeBank at the end of May, the Euro Alliance of Payment Schemes (EAPS) announced that in the second half of 2007 it could be setting up a not-for-profit company to be headquartered in Brussels, Belgium
Cards at a premium
The premium cards sector is facing competitive pressure from the increasing number of issuers entering the field, attracted by its profitable business model But will diluted product offerings both tarnish the prestige and erode the margins of these status symbols
Region Round-Up
A security index from Unisys, the global IT consultancy, found that Singaporeans were more concerned about identity and credit card theft than they were about terrorism and war… Ukraines UkrGasBank has been certified to issue chip cards according to the current requirements of MasterCard
Cards test Germany’s cash economy
While cash has traditionally been the dominant payment method for the cautious and debt-averse German market, there are signs of growth in the numbers of debit cards When analysing the German cards market, it is useful to consider the role of cards within the context of all payment mechanisms available to consumers and businesses
Visa means to keep European focus
At Visa Europes membership conference, held in Rome at the end of April, the association stated its firm commitment to a European-controlled and -owned membership model amid an atmosphere of regulatory uncertainty It has been over two years since Visa last staged a gathering of its European bank members and during that time, the payment industry has experienced a number of significant developments that will undoubtedly shape the future of European payments
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Competition still growing in Thailand
Near-saturation in the market and strict regulation, combined with political uncertainty and economic slowdown, are compounding the downturn in credit card activity in Thailand The first quarter of a year is usually a sluggish season for credit card spending, but the market situation in Thailand has been further worsened by the weak economic environment
The PSD: the devil is in the detail
While the European Parliaments vote in favour of the Payment Services Directive has been widely applauded, there are obstacles to successful implementation that may have considerable implications for the cards industry On 24 April 2007, after protracted negotiations and compromises among the main stakeholders, the European Parliament voted in favour of adopting the Payment Services Directive (PSD), the legal framework underpinning the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) initiative
European prepaid spending set to reach $164bn by 2010
The BCG research shows that Europe predicted total spending figure amounts to $163 billion, 25.4 percent of the estimated global total of $645 billion, leaving it behind the US ($296 billion and 45.9 percent of the global total), but well ahead of Japan ($59 billion and 9.1 percent of the global total).
Consumer credit – what’s the score?
Once a strictly business-to-business affair dominated by a single player, the US credit scoring industry has seen a variety of new entrants as providers of credit scores work more closely than ever with consumers to provide new products and services Fair Isaacs FICO score, that unassailable monument to creditworthiness, is facing greater competition from new entrants, including more flexible approaches that use real-time payment records on utility bills, rental units and even payday loans to assess the ability of consumers once shut out of the credit system.
Joseph Saunders named as CEO of Visa Inc
Visa has named card industry veteran Joseph Saunders as the new chairman and CEO of Visa Inc, which will be created following Visas transformation into a publicly traded company Saunderss background includes extensive experience of bank acquisition and integration activity, which should prove useful as Visa prepares to integrate its global operating divisions.