ATM & Debit News articles from December 2003

ATM & Debit News archives from December 2003

Star Raising POS Interchange.
December 11, 2003... The Maitland, Fla.-based Star electronic funds transfer network on Feb. 1 will raise its point-of-sale debit interchange rates. The hikes include 32% to 75% increases in the maximum amounts nonsupermarket acquirers pay card issuers per...

FDC Expects Merger Delay.
December 11, 2003... First Data Corp. says it does not expect its planned acquisition of Concord EFS Inc. to be completed by year end, according to a recent company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data also...

Banknorth Stays With NYCE.
December 11, 2003... Portland, Maine-based Banknorth Group Inc. has again chosen NYCE as its primary electronic funds transfer network switch, and it is joining NYCE's oversight board on network pricing and policies. Details of the multi-year contract renewal were...

Vendors Tout Open Systems, But Few Processors Buying.
December 11, 2003... The back rooms of large electronic funds transfer processors, whether financial institutions or networks, are not exactly whirring with exciting new products. And processors are not likely to open their wallets for new, multimillion-dollar...

Columbus Data Becomes A Top Driver Of ATMs.
December 11, 2003... Transaction volumes at off-premise ATMs may be flat nationwide. But some independent ATM companies believe there still is opportunity for growth. Columbus Data Services, a New Orleans-based ATM-transaction processor, for example, quickly...

Wal-Mart Wants Lower Pricing While Already Benefiting From Grocery Rates.
December 11, 2003... When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Dec. 3 announced it will stop accepting signature-based debit MasterCard transactions starting in February, company officials cited MasterCard's "higher transaction fees when compared to other debit cards." Half of...

EFT Processing Software Market.
December 11, 2003... Company U.S. Share ACI Worldwide (Base24) 66.9% EFunds (Connex) 10.1% S2 Systems (ON/2 & OpenN/2) 9.6% Mosaic (Postilion) 7.5% Oasis* (IST/Switch) 5.9% ...

Star Raises POS Interchange Rates.
December 11, 2003... The Maitland, Fla.-based Star electronic funds transfer network, which in recent months has lost several major card-issuer contracts, on Feb. 1 will raise its PIN-based point-of-sale debit interchange rates. The new rates closely mirror those...

Columbus Data At A Glance.
December 11, 2003... Headquarters: New Orleans Business: ATM Processor/Driver ATMs Under Contract: 12,000 Owner: First Bank & Trust Corp. Source: Columbus Data Services. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved....

Software Makers Form Pact.
December 11, 2003... Mosaic Software Inc., a Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based software maker, is partnering with eClassicSystems Inc., which produces ATM-management software. Mosaic will recommend Norwood, Mass.-based eClassicSystems' ATM Manager Pro software, which is...

NCR's IFX Units Get a Lift.
December 11, 2003... Omaha, Neb.-based First National Bank of Omaha will deploy NCR Corp. ATMs that contain software using Interactive Financial Exchange messaging protocols. The IFX-based ATMs will enable the bank to share the same transaction sets on the machines...

MasterCard, eFunds Form Alliance.
December 18, 2003... MasterCard International and eFunds Corp. have formed a processing alliance that will pursue contracts with the top 100 debit card issuers and compete with Visa USA's Debit Processing Service. MasterCard and eFunds will approach the financial...

Sam's To Dump Card Test.
December 18, 2003... Some 74 of the 500 Sam's Club warehouses owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that have been testing acceptance of Visa and MasterCard payment cards soon will stop accepting those brands. "As soon as we can get those turned off in clubs and have the...

First Data To Divest NYCE, But It Will Still Gain With Star.
December 18, 2003... The move by First Data Corp. to settle its legal dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice over its proposed purchase of Memphis, Tenn.-based Concord EFS Inc. shows how large transaction processors have come to view the PIN-based debit...

Windows Virus Problems Plague ATM Manufacturers.
December 18, 2003... By early 2006, International Business Machines Corp. will stop supporting the OS/2 operating system still widely used to run ATMs. And Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system is expected gradually to replace OS/2 as the dominant operating...

Russell Simmons, Jackson Hewitt Want To Make Refunds Less Taxing.
December 18, 2003... Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons continues to use prepaid cards to open doors to financial services for the unbanked and underprivileged. His latest target: low-income consumers who do not take advantage of earned income tax credits. UniRush...

More States Targeting Gift Card Fees.
December 18, 2003... As more consumers buy prepaid debit cards as gifts and stocking stuffers this holiday season, a battle appears to be brewing over who-state or federal agencies-can set rules governing prepaid cards issued by national banks. It is unclear,...

Atmel Supplying PayPass Chips.
December 18, 2003... MasterCard International has selected San Jose, Calif.-based Atmel Corp. as a supplier of chips for contactless PayPass radio-frequency cards. Atmel will work with the U.S. subsidiary of On Track Innovations Ltd., an Israeli company. MasterCard...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 18, 2003... Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eFunds Corp. purchased the Oasis transaction-software company, not ACI Worldwide as stated in a chart that appeared in the Dec. 11 issue. Also, ACI's Base24 processing software is Unix-based, not Linux-based. ...

The 2003 ATM&Debit News Index.
December 25, 2003... The 2003 ATM&Debit News index lists titles, dates and a summary of each story published this year. Articles are listed by subject, according to the date published. Also included is a list of sources interviewed during the year, their companies...