ATM & Debit News articles from December 2005

ATM & Debit News archives from December 2005

Chase Big On MasterCard IPO.
December 8, 2005... Several of the top MasterCard issuers apparently like what they see in a MasterCard initial public offering of stock and its shift in governance. Financial institution shareholders, at a Nov. 28 meeting, approved MasterCard's IPO plans and its...

Blue Cross Plans Own Bank.
December 8, 2005... Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance organizations are chartering a new bank, to be called Blue HealthCare Bank, that will offer tax-deferred health accounts and debit cards issued to employees to pay health-related costs. The Blue Cross Blue...

Deployers Slow In Converting To Windows.
December 8, 2005... Most ATM manufacturers have seen increased ATM software upgrade purchases and sales gains from recent ATM mandates. However, as ATM transaction volumes slump and surcharge revenues shrink, some ATM operators appear to be tiring of making...

First Data Maps Future Without Fote.
December 8, 2005... As a debit-transaction processor, First Data Corp. leads the pack in the U.S. in terms of transaction volume. The company processed about 4.5 billion debit transactions in 2004, according to ATM&Debit News EFT Data Book 2006. But that...

Some Deployers See Windows As A Boost To ATM Coupon Programs.
December 8, 2005... When Microsoft Corp.'s Windows-based operating systems hit the ATM scene several years ago, they brought with them the potential for new functions. In the past few years, everything from check imaging to credit card campaigns have been tested...

Pulse, NYCE Find Visitor Connections.
December 8, 2005... MasterCard International and Visa International dominate international debit transaction authorization. But several domestic EFT networks also are tapping into international transactions. Discover Financial Services, for example, hopes to...

VeriFone Closes Deal In Mexico.
December 8, 2005... VeriFone Holdings Inc. said it received a $5.8 million contract to supply an unnamed Mexican bank with 19,000 electronic payment terminals. VeriFone will provide its Vx 510 countertop and Vx 610 portable terminals. San Jose, Calif.-based...

More Interest In Micropayments.
December 8, 2005... A survey on small payments found pent-up consumer desire to use credit and debit cards instead of cash. An estimated 45 million consumers would use credit or debit cards for purchases of $5 or less, up 23% from September 2004, according to a...

FDC Appoints Cards Chief.
December 15, 2005... First Data Corp. named David P. Bailis as president of the company's troubled card-issuing unit. Bailis, who also was named First Data executive vice president, will report to First Data CEO Henry C. "Ric" Duques, who recently replaced former...

Metavante In Image Deal.
December 15, 2005... Metavante Inc., a major transaction processor for financial institutions, is partnering with ATM maker NCR Corp. to promote NCR's ATM check-imaging product.Under the agreement, Metavante's Advanced Financial Solutions processing subsidiary will...

New Plans For Diebold.
December 15, 2005... The resignation of Walden O'Dell from the position of CEO and chairman of the board at Diebold this week was seen by financial analysts as a positive development after a series of negative ones. Thomas W. Swidarski, Diebold's new CEO and the...

U.S. ATMs Remain One-Way Cash Machines.
December 15, 2005... Recycling cash in ATMs by taking cash in as well as dispensing it may seem like a good way to save deployers cash-replenishment costs. But, unlike in other nations, U.S. ATM users are not warming to the concept of inserting cash into the...

2006 Seen As Banner Year For Contactless Debit.
December 15, 2005... The coming year is shaping up as a watershed for the issuance of contactless debit cards. Millions of contactless payment cards or keychain fobs are already in circulation, and millions more are expected to be distributed in the U.S. next year....

Coinstar Makes Bid For Broader Use Of Prepaid Cards Beyond Coin Value.
December 15, 2005... Bellevue, Wash.-based Coinstar Inc. is one of the first firms to turn cash directly into plastic via a prepaid debit card. In 2001, Coinstar, a company which operates automated coin-counting machines, began piloting its MasterCard-branded Truth...

Benefit Cards Being Stashed For Emergencies.
December 15, 2005... Like squirrels gathering nuts for the winter, governments are stashing millions of unused debit cards for emergencies. Back-to-back hurricane disasters in 2005, in addition to past disasters such as the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World...

NCR In Biometrics Deal.
December 15, 2005... Biometric provider Pay By Touch and NCR Corp. announced a global strategic alliance. The two firms are marketing NCR's point-of-sale checkout software with Pay By Touch's fingerprint authentication and payment systems. Additionally, the...

Diebold To Repurchase Shares.
December 15, 2005... ATM maker Diebold Inc. announced last week its intent to repurchase up to 4 million shares. The shares will be added to the approximately 500,000 shares left over from a 2 million share-purchase authorization approved by shareholders in August....

Stockholder Sues Diebold.
December 22, 2005... The same week as Chairman and CEO Walden W. O'Dell resigned, Diebold Inc. was hit by a lawsuit by a shareholder who charges that top executives improperly withheld information from the public. The suit, filed last week against the North Canton,...

Fair Isaac Signs Fiserv.
December 22, 2005... Two new networks have agreed to use Fair Isaac Corp.'s Card Alert anti-fraud software for PIN-debit card transactions. Fair Isaac announced that Fiserv Inc., which owns the Accel/Exchange electronic funds transfer network, and the Alaska Option...

UK's Network Imposes Fines On Rule Violators.
December 22, 2005... ATM surcharging in the United Kingdom has only been allowed since 2000, but Link Interchange Network, Ltd., the UK's sole ATM switching network, has already developed a strict set of rules regarding fee notification. And Link has fined ATM...

Big Banks Gain With Offline Debit Consolidations.
December 22, 2005... Acquisitions and mergers among financial institutions are making the signature-based debit card-issuing landscape a lot more consolidated than it used to be, to the financial benefit of the largest debit players. But smaller debit issuers also...

Embarking On A Long Global March, TSYS Takes Stake In Chinese Network.
December 22, 2005... With a population of 1.3 billion and the world's fastest-growing major economy, China represents a huge growth opportunity for companies that have grown out of the increasingly mature U.S. credit and debit card industries. Thus it comes as...

New Rewards By AmSouth Are Paying Off.
December 22, 2005... Having big-merchant participants, combined with offering rewards for both PIN-based debit and signature-debit purchases, is paying off for Birmingham, Ala.-based AmSouth Bancorp. At least one in 10 of Amsouth's Visa check cardholders are...

Morgan Beaumont Sees Loss.
December 22, 2005... Morgan Beaumont Inc., a transaction processor and prepaid debit and phone card distributor, announced that it lost $5.8 million in its 2005 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. The company also reported revenues of $417,000 in the fourth quarter...

Credit Union 24 Gains Retailers.
December 22, 2005... Credit Union 24's point-of-sale acceptance levels are increasing with the addition of several major retailers, including Sears and Target, carrying the network's brand on POS machines. The participation of these retailers in Credit Union 24 was...

The 2005 ATM&Debit News Index.
December 29, 2005... The 2005 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...