Filter search results

    No Filter Selected

  • Strategy (8056)
  • Technology (5177)
  • Alternative Payments (1540)
  • Mobile and Electronic Payments (1494)
  • FDI (1245)
  • Regulation (1039)
  • Payments (577)
  • Security (370)
  • Zero Trust (305)
  • Internets Next Revolution (261)
  • Financial Services (231)
  • FinTech (212)
  • Credit Cards (174)
  • BNPL whitepaper (155)
  • JobsOhio WP (133)
  • Contactless (123)
  • Artificial Intelligence (121)
  • Cryptocurrencies (113)
  • Environmental Sustainability (107)

    No Filter Selected

  • News Analysis and Comments (25918)
  • White Papers (189)
  • Suppliers (20)
  • Thought Leaders (9)
  • Press Releases (6)

    No Filter Selected

  • North America (5878)
  • United States (5586)
  • Europe (4977)
  • Asia - Pacific (3353)
  • United Kingdom (2623)
  • Middle East & Africa (1614)
  • Global (1263)
  • India (1216)
  • Canada (802)
  • China (616)
  • South & Central America (612)
  • Australia (605)
  • Singapore (463)
  • Germany (413)
  • United Arab Emirates (386)
  • Russia (315)
  • France (304)
  • Japan (299)
  • New Zealand (205)
  • Spain (197)

    No Filter Selected

  • Artificial Intelligence (16)
  • Big Data (2)
  • Blockchain (4)
  • Cloud (7)
  • Contactless Retail (1)
  • Corporate Governance (4)
  • Covid-19 (2)
  • Cryptocurrencies (3)
  • Cybersecurity (24)
  • Digital Banking (4)
  • Digital Lending (1)
  • Digital Payments (3)
  • Digitalization (3)
  • ESG (1)
  • Easy & Affordable (1)
  • Ecommerce (5)
  • Environmental Sustainability (5)
  • Financial Wellness (1)
  • Future of Work (2)
Showing 20 results out of 10000
Uncategorized

US issuers agree to consumer debt relief

In a significant development, some of the leading issuers have agreed to a package of rate cuts and relief measures in an effort to be seen as consumer-friendly, as Charles Davis reports.In a telling reflection of both the times and of the political climate, the 10 largest credit card issuers in the US have agreed to give struggling cardholders deeper rate cuts and relief from a variety of late and over-limit fees, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) said.The deal, hammered out between the foundation and the issuers, will apply to consumer credit card customers seeking to qualify for debt repayment plans through the Silver Spring, Maryland-based non-profits counselling services NFCC offers debt reduction counseling through a network of 850 offices nationwide, and has witnessed meteoric growth in consumers seeking assistance with crushing debt loads often fuelled in large part by credit card usage.NFCC officials praised the concessions, citing rising numbers of clients who can not afford even the most basic repayment plans without some easing of fees and rates.Susan Keating, the NFCCs president and chief executive, said the concessions were a response to the organisations call in late 2008 for issuers to enhance the concessions they traditionally offer to troubled borrowers.Many consumers are facing serious financial problems, and they should be given every opportunity to qualify for an affordable programme that meets their individual circumstances and that puts them back on the road to financial stability, said Keating

Uncategorized

Through the downturn and beyond

In his first guest article for Cards International, Matthew Lanford, head of prepaid at MasterCard Europe, outlines his view of the development of the European prepaid industry so far, and where opportunities may be found in the current economic climate, particularly for those brave enough to innovate For those readers who do not know me, I was based previously in the US as part of MasterCards Global Prepaid Product & Solutions Group, where my responsibilities included managing MasterCards commercial prepaid strategy and range of prepaid health solutions

Comment

Fraud: the enemy within?

As recession bites, card issuers and players are experiencing a surge in first-party credit card fraud and ATM and debit fraud A range of recent studies gives varying reasons for the upsurge, from individuals purposefully defrauding card issuers, to mass compromised card data, as Victoria Conroy reports It is a commonly-accepted saying in the payments industry that fraudsters always manage to stay one step ahead, but technology initiatives such as EMV and real-time transaction monitoring are enabling payment players to catch up to a degree.But difficult economic circumstances are now producing a rise in rather more old-fashioned types of fraud, the most notable of which is first-party fraud, where a customer applies for and receives a credit card with no intention of repayment, either using their real identity, a false identity or misrepresent their real identity to open accounts

Features

Penny pinching at the payment networks

Visa and MasterCards latest quarterly results starkly illustrate how debit is continuing to take a bigger share of payments worldwide, with Visas debit volumes in the US surpassing credit volumes for the first time It is not just consumers that are reining in their spending these days the payment networks Visa and MasterCard are cutting their discretionary spending too, most notably in the areas of advertising and marketing

Uncategorized

More pressure for card issuers

Charles Davis reports.Even as some of the nations leading credit card executives trudged into the White House at the invitation of President Obama, a new study added fuel to the fire over credit card reform.A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that nearly every US credit card has at least one feature the Federal Reserve and other regulators would deem unfair and deceptive under new rules finalised last year.The Philadelphia-based non-profit organisation based its study on a review of the terms and conditions of 400 cards offered by 12 of the nations largest credit card issuers, and found widespread examples of precisely the sort of card industry practices that have raised the ire of lawmakers and consumer groups and gained the attention of the nations commander-in-chief.Pew researchers examined the cards offered on 15 and 16 December 2008

Comment

Interchange the next big battlefront

US politicians and merchant groups, not content with bringing credit card billing practices under the spotlight, are now urging regulators to scrutinise interchange

Uncategorized

US card issuers expect further charge-offs

Rising US unemployment levels are fuelling an increase in card delinquencies and charge-off rates, but there are a few glimmers of hope on the horizon, as Charles Davis reports.A US cards industry desperate for some good news instead received several more body blows in recent days, with steep losses from swelling delinquencies fuelling record charge-off rates.The sense of pessimism was underscored when the Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit plunged in March at the fastest pace in 18 years, falling by $11.1 billion the largest dollar amount on record dating to 1943.Global credit ratings agency Moodys Investors Service then reported that its prime credit card charge-off rate index through the end of March rose 50 basis points from the previous month, to a record high 9.3 percent of outstanding receivables The delinquency rate index for credit card accounts more than 30 days late also set a new record of 6.4 percent, its highest point since peaking at 6.28 percent in December 1990, Moodys said.Charge-offs set to peak in 2010Moodys also revised its prediction for where the average credit card charge-off rate will peak, saying that it now expects charge-offs to peak at 12 percent in the first half of 2010, a huge jump from its original forecast of 10.5 percent

News

Protecting profitability

With prepaid card use expanding throughout Europe and continued innovation in debit card issuance despite the financial crisis, it was fitting the 2009 MasterCard Europe Debit and Prepaid Conference should be themed around payments and profitability in turbulent times.The conference was attended by around 300 of Europes top card industry players, from issuers and processors to public bodies and government representatives, many of whom contributed their ideas and opinions as to exactly where the industry was heading.One of the issues surrounding the use of prepaid cards is their relatively high fees, especially in comparison with debit which, for the average consumer, has all the benefits and few of the charges associated with prepaid

News

News Digest

Facing a particularly tough task is Consumer Portfolio Services (CPS), a US company providing vehicle financing to subprime borrowers which saw its bad debt write-offs soar by almost 50 percent in 2008.Western Union and communications technology specialist VeriSigns Messaging and Mobile Media Division have come to CPS assistance with a solution that enables CPS customers to trigger their monthly car payment directly from their mobile phone To use the service, CPS customers enrol online or by phone and provide their CPS account number, mobile phone number and debit account information

News

MasterCard suffers blow as WaMu debit portfolio migrates to Visa

Visa is set to gain an even bigger share of the US debit card market following JPMorgan Chases decision to migrate more than half of a $59 billion debit portfolio from MasterCard JPMorgan Chase, a predominately Visa issuer, acquired rival bank Washington Mutual (WaMu) in September last year and is now moving part of WaMus MasterCard-branded debit portfolio over to Visa.The decision is a blow for MasterCard as WaMu was its largest single debit card issuer in the US According to Credit Suisse First Boston, in 2008, WaMu signature-based volume debit purchase volume totalled around $35 billion, with PIN-based volume representing another $25-$30 billion

Country Surveys

Polish card market shines despite slump

Now that banks have been successful in getting cards into the hands of consumers, their focus is switching to activation and frequent usage campaigns, and Polish banks are also leading the way in pushing contactless technology, as Victoria Conroy reports Polands economyWith a population of around 38.5 million, Poland has reaped the rewards of economic liberalisation since 1990 to become one of the most dynamic card markets in the world

News

Asia-Pacific round-up

Loyalty programmesBarclays India launches new reward schemeBarclays Bank in India has announced it is to team up with credit card and payment solutions provider ElectraCard Services to launch a new loyalty system The new platform means that Barclays customers can now benefit from various loyalty programmes and receive rewards across multiple banking channels.Barclays Reward Points programme is a loyalty plan where customers are incentivised to use alternative channels of the bank These loyalty points are earned for transactions done on Barclays debit cards, mobile banking, internet banking and ATMs and for registration and activation on various banking channels.Ramesh Mengawade, CEO of ElectraCard Services, said: In a dynamic business environment like todays, customer expectations are to be met before they realise it themselves

News

Latin America round-up

Prepaid cardsEPAY launches prepaid card programmePanama-based payment service provider EPAY has launched a prepaid card service allowing companies around the world to conduct business transactions using prepaid cards with no foreign exchange conversion fees

News

North America round-up

RegulationObama signs credit card reform billPresident Barack Obama has signed into law the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act which will limit fees and contract changes

Uncategorized

MasterCard remains unruffled

An uneasy compromise has been reached over the matter but MasterCard has made clear its intention to fight on.Eric Tomlinson, group head of debit at MasterCard Europe, talks about how the interchange ruling will affect the debit card market, why contactless payments still have a way to go before they are widely accepted, and what the current economic climate is going to do to end card payment structuring as we know it.CI: How does MasterCard view the threat of Visas rival debit scheme V-Pay?ET: I think we see it as a significant threat

Uncategorized

Innovation in real-time rewards

A series of seminars recently hosted by VRL, publisher of CI, and loyalty programme solution provider Welcome Real-time threw the spotlight on the importance of loyalty programmes in cardholder recruitment and retention, and also profiled one of the most successful offerings in the market from PBZ BankLoyalty programmes have become increasingly popular over the years, and nowadays are prominent features of payment card programmes across the world But what exactly is a loyalty programme and what do card issuers hope to achieve by offering loyalty programmes to customers?A recent series of seminars hosted by VRL and Welcome Real-time sought to explain and answer those points, beginning with answering the question of what exactly a loyalty programme is, and what its main objectives are.Main loyalty programme objectivesLoyalty programmes may be commonly viewed as marketing tools but they also enable card issuers to achieve key strategic goals, including:

Comment

The law of unintended consequences?

Charles Davis reports.Only time will tell whether the legislation President Obama famously signed on 22 May overhauling the credit card industry, will usher in an era of issuer responsibility and increased consumer power, as its proponents predict, or cut off access to credit and further slow the anemic US economy, as many issuers warn.In at least one important measure, the warnings of issuers about reduced credit seem a self-fulfilling prophecy, as US credit card companies have been restricting credit for nine months or more already, and consumers slowed way down on credit usage as the economy began to sputter last year.Credit card reform or not, macroeconomic forces, including weak demand for consumer durables and the ongoing housing slump, will mask any real effects of the reform legislation for the foreseeable future.Most of the card standards will go into effect in nine months, but one that will go into effect in 90 days requires issuers to give customers 45 days' notice before increasing rates, giving consumers time to close the account and pay off balances at the current rate.Dramatic change to industry practicesThe law the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act - allows card issuers to increase rates on existing balances only when a payment is 60 days or more late, a promotional rate expires, the rate is tied to a variable rate or the cardholder has entered a workout agreement.It also requires consumers to opt in for over-the-limit fee protection, and it limits the number of over-the-limit fees issuers can charge for a single event of exceeding a credit limit.The law also requires promotional rates to be in place for at least six months, and it requires payments to apply to highest-rate balances first.It bans double-cycle billing and clamps down significantly on the ability of card companies to raise interest rates

Features

Meta pushes forward in prepaid

Largely absent from the prepaid card market, multinational banks have left the industry dominated by smaller issuers Brad Henson, president of Meta Payment Systems, speaks to CIs John Hill about what this could mean for the future and his view of where prepaid is headedMeta Payment Systems (MPS) is one of the largest prepaid card players in the US, although most would not have guessed it A division of the Storm Lake, Iowa bank MetaBank, MPS operates primarily as a sponsor for other card programmes, and is involved to varying extents with around 2,300 different prepaid products

Uncategorized

Merchant acquiring for beginners

Merchant acquirers tend to be, though are not always, banks.The merchant acquiring market for UK card payments involves four key groups: merchants, acquirers, card issuers and cardholders.An effective merchant acquiring service speeds up secure transactions and opens multi-channel purchasing to a wider customer base by enabling payments to be accepted over the telephone, on the internet as well as face-to-face.Merchant acquiring also enables businesses to automatically transfer funds, helps to protect them against fraud by recognising stolen or invalid cards and reduces the amount of cash they handle, which has obvious security benefits.Acquirers levy a merchant service charge (MSC) on card transactions that varies according to: the card scheme such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express; card type, for example debit, charge or credit; and transaction type, such as chip and PIN; as well as other factors

Uncategorized

MasterCard targets Hispanic segment

Prepaid cards and underbanked consumers would seem to be a natural fit, but many consumer segments, such as the Hispanic segment in the US, have yet to be convinced about the benefits of prepaid cards MasterCard is launching a targeted Hispanic marketing and financial literacy campaign promoting the use of its debit and prepaid products in the US