All articles by EPI editorial
EPI editorial
Visa and Yalamanchili join forces for growth plan
Visa has set itself the goal of expanding its payments processing operations in what it terms high growth geographies a strategy it will pursue in partnership with Singapore-based payments technology developer Yalamanchili Software Exports (YSE).
Turkish court sends out strong warning to cyber-criminals
What is certainly one of the harshest sentences yet imposed on a cyber-criminal 30 years in prison has been handed down by a Turkish court to Maksym Yastremskiy (alias Maksik) for hacking computer systems of 12 of the countrys banks No stranger to crime, it would appear, Yastremskiy has also been accused by US law enforcement agencies of playing a key role in the theft of customer information from US retailers including TJX, which operates retail stores TJ Maxx and Marshalls, OfficeMax, Barnes & Noble, Boston Market, Sports Authority, Forever 21, DSW, BJs and Wholesale Club. In August 2008, 11 people including Yastremskiy were charged in the US with crimes related to these thefts in which a total some 40 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by the gang, according to the US Department of Justice.
Widespread PSD procrastination
The European Payment Services Directive (PSD) has been described by the European Commission and European Central Bank as providing the legal foundation to make the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) possible The PSD is particularly crucial to the security of cross-border credit transfer, direct debit and card payments The European Payment Services Directive (PSD) has been described by the European Commission and European Central Bank as providing the legal foundation to make the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) possible
Global Payments’ big stride into the UK
In a deal that will provide it with an instant 15 percent share of the UKs card processing market, US payment processor Global Payments is to buy a 51 percent stake in UK bank HSBCs merchant acquiring business for $439 million in cash The deal extends a relationship between the two companies that began with the formation of a similar joint venture (JV), Global Payments Asia-Pacific, in July 2006 In a deal that will provide it with an instant 15 percent share of the UKs card processing market, US payment processor Global Payments is to buy a 51 percent stake in UK bank HSBCs merchant acquiring business for $439 million in cash
A hard habit to break
Despite predictions of cash’s immanent demise, it remains king – especially for small value payments emphasises De La Rue, the world’s largest private paper currency and security paper producer.
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Google Checkout revs up
Having built an impressive merchant base from scratch, Googles electronic wallet is flexing its muscles a little, charging online retailers that do not advertise on Google for use of the search company’s Google Checkout product
eBay stirs up a storm in Australian e-commerce market
A battle royal is raging in Australia following eBays announcement that in order to ensure a more secure online payments platform its wholly owned subsidiary PayPal is to become the sole means of payment for purchases on its Australian website The decision prompted an outcry from sellers using the eBay website, prompting the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to launch a formal investigation. In a response to the ACCCs request for comment Australian internet payments specialist Paymates MD Dilip Rao hit out at eBay
Hawala enters the formal market
Hawala, a massive global remittance system, pre-dates modern banking and plays a vital role in many developing economies.
A big boost for Amex’s strategy
In a significant strategic move American Express (Amex) has acquired Corporate Payment Services (CPS), the corporate card corporate purchasing business of GE Money, a unit of US conglomerate General Electric (GE), in a $1.1 billion cash deal.
Mastercard challenger EU Commission ruling
MasterCard has applied to the European Court of First Instance to annul a ruling by the European Commission (EC) that it claims would harm consumers and undermine European competitiveness and innovation The appeal relates to a ruling on 19 December 2007 by the EC, the executive branch of the European Union, that MasterCards multilateral interchange fees (MIF) for cross-border payment with MasterCard- and Maestro-branded debit and consumer credit cards in the European Economic Area (EEA) violate rules on restrictive business practices. Expounding on the rationale for the appeal, the president of MasterCard Europe, Javier Perez, said: MasterCard firmly believes that market forces, not regulation, should drive key decisions such as the setting of interchange fees and retailers choices over which forms of payment to accept.