All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
BofA and Amex plough ahead
Both organisations also benefited from lower loan loss costs in 2006, thanks to falling bankruptcy and delinquent levels following the introduction of new legislation in late 2005, which led to a spike in bankruptcy filings.MBNA acquisition boosts BofABofA reported that 2006 net income rose 28 percent to $21.13 billion from $16.47 billion a year earlier, reflecting both the addition of MBNA at the start of 2006 and organic growth in most major customer segments
Region Round-up: Europe, Middle East, Africa
Visa International has reported that the number of all Visa cards in Egypt, including both credit and debit cards, increased by 40 percent during the third quarter of 2006, which is 1.5 times the average increase of 27 percent across the Middle East region..
Country Survey: Growth in UK payments
Debit cards now dominate the UKs consumer payments landscape, as debt-conscious consumers shy away from credit cards
Region Round-up: Asia
Visa International (Thailand) expects that in 2007 spending through credit cards will grow by 20 percent and the number of cards issued will grow by 25 percent from the 6 million cards in the market at present..
Visa marches ahead in Europe
Visa Europes annual results for 2006 reveal that the payment network is enjoying strong growth across a range of card segments Peter Ayliffe, president and CEO of Visa Europe, spoke to CI about the networks progress over the past year. Visa Europes annual results for 2006 have highlighted how the payment network is making additional strides in its efforts to persuade European consumers to use payment cards instead of cash and cheques
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JCB in UAE credit card joint venture
In a move underlining the burgeoning use of payment cards in the Middle East region, Japanese card consortium JCB has teamed up with Japanese financial services group Orix and property development group Majid Al Futtaim Group (MAF) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to form a joint venture for a credit card business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the venture MAF JCB Card will start issuing JCB cards from July 2007, and will also develop JCB licence partners for JCB card issuing and merchant acquiring businesses.The new venture will have a capitalisation of AED100 million ($27 million)
Citibank, SMRT launch co-brand card in Singapore
Citibank Singapore and Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT), a multi-modal transport service provider, have formed a strategic co-brand card partnership in Singapore.The first initiative under this partnership is the launch of the Citibank-SMRT Visa credit and debit card programme, which incorporates EZ-Link functionality and Singapores first travel rewards programme that gives free SMRT rides Citibank and SMRT said that the partnership offers added convenience to SMRTs passengers, who make 2 million trips daily, by bringing facilities that serve passengers banking and lifestyle needs within easy reach.The Citibank-SMRT co-brand card offers Visa credit or debit card functionality and the full suite of Citibank card privileges and services, and the card can also function as a contactless EZ-Link card that can be used on SMRT trains, buses and taxis
Visa signs prepaid acceptance deal with Blackhawk Network
Visa USA has signed an agreement with Blackhawk Network, a US provider of card-based financial solutions, to introduce Visa ReadyLink, Visas prepaid load network, to Blackhawk Networks alliance partner stores.Supermarket chain Safeway will be the first in Blackhawk Networks alliance of 60,000 stores in the US to implement Visa ReadyLink Fifth Third Bank will serve as the acquiring financial institution.The Visa ReadyLink service allows consumers to more easily add funds to eligible Visa reloadable prepaid cards at participating retail locations
Oyster teams up with Barclaycard
CI reportsFrom the middle of this year, Oyster the prepaid transport card for the London bus and underground rail (Tube) system is to be made available on Barclaycard debit and credit cards, marking a major advance in developing contactless payments in Europe.
TSYS to process Rabobank credit portfolio
Global payment processor TSYS has entered into an agreement with Rabobank, the largest card issuer in the Netherlands, to process the banks consumer credit portfolio.The multi-stage conversion of Rabobanks more than 1 million accounts to TSYSs TS2 processing platform is scheduled to conclude in the second quarter of 2007 Rabobank will compensate WWF for CO2 emissions connected with purchases that cardholders make using the credit card.Rabobank is owned by 218 independent local co-operative banks that provide financial services and products to the Dutch retail and business markets.In its Netherlands home market, Rabobank Group has some 1.5 million members and 9 million business and private customers.Kelley Knutson, managing director for TSYS Europe, said: “Rabobanks reputation in the Dutch market makes this the type of alliance we are most interested in cultivating