ATM & Debit News articles from February 2003

ATM & Debit News archives from February 2003

Bank To Dump ATM Fees In NYC.
February 6, 2003... Consistent with its policy throughout the rest of the country, Washington Mutual Inc. eventually plans to drop surcharges imposed on all users of its ATMs in the New York City area, including those applied to noncustomers. The Seattle-based...

Co-op ATM Volume Up 34.2%.
February 6, 2003... The Ontario, Calif.-based Co-op Network says it experienced a 34.2% jump in ATM volume last year, to 640 million transactions from 477 million in 2001. The transactions include those made by Co-op debit cardholders on ATMs operated by the...

Virus Hit Shows Gap In Dependability Of Web-Based ATMs.
February 6, 2003... Thousands of ATMs are now part of larger internal computer networks that depend on Internet connectivity to support a host of functions. As a result, many of those machines are now just as vulnerable to virus attacks as any other Internet-based...

Fifth Third Unit Is First Processor To Back Debitman.
February 6, 2003... A new PIN-based point-of-sale debit network called Debitman has officially been switched on, giving merchants a lower-cost option to many other PIN-based debit networks and an ability to earn interchange revenue to boot. The network...

While Visa Stays Put With Its Rates, MasterCard Bolsters Issuer Revenue.
February 6, 2003... MasterCard International has made significant moves over the past year or so to try to grow its debit MasterCard program, including hiring new executives to develop and implement strategy. While MasterCard has created rewards initiatives and...

E*Trade Picks Up 4,000 More ATMs In XtraCash Deal.
February 6, 2003... The Menlo Park, Calif.-based E*Trade Access ATM subsidiary of E*Trade Group Inc. is making off-premise ATM operators' heads turn once again. E*Trade this week purchased 4,000 XtraCash ATM contracts from Toronto-based Canadian Imperial Bank of...

Sizing Up Offline Debit Rates.
February 6, 2003... Debit MasterCard Offline Rate Fees* Standard As of 4/03 1.40%+10cents 66.0cents Current 1.38%+10cents 65.2cents Supermarkets As of 4/03 1.20% 48.0cents ...

Vendor News.
February 6, 2003... Diebold ATM Revenue Up Slightly ATM manufacturer Diebold Inc. is reporting slow ATM sales growth for 2002. The North Canton, Ohio-based ATM maker says revenue in its financial self-service division grew by 1.4%, to $1.41 billion last year...

Clarification.
February 6, 2003... Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International do not charge card issuers a set $50,000 for debit promotions, as suggested in a Jan. 30 ATM&Debit News article about ICBA Bancard. Issuers' fees are based on participation. Also, ICBA Bancard is served...

Concord Changes Management.
February 13, 2003... Concord EFS Inc., the Memphis, Tenn.-based payment processor and owner of the Star electronic funds transfer network, today announced a realignment of senior management. Edward A. Labry III, Concord president and acting CEO who was to become...

Survey Finds ATM Confusion.
February 13, 2003... A recent Pulse network survey found that 45% of the 758 responding ATM and debit card users were confused about the meaning of ATM signage. About 25% believed that a card brand mismatch with a brand appearing on an ATM meant they could not use...

Small Banks Have Big Plans For Check Imaging.
February 13, 2003... Community banks apparently are becoming downright aggressive in their efforts to electronically image checks. And they stand to benefit greatly if pending legislation that would open the door to check imaging on a mass scale is approved by...

SA Cash Buyer Hopes To Extend Campus Card Use.
February 13, 2003... Student Advantage Inc., whose 2-year-old SA Cash program is now used by 23 U.S. colleges and universities to enable off-campus merchants to participate in their campus card stored-value programs, earlier this month sold the a majority of its SA...

Wireless Payment Terminals To Hit The Streets In Chicago Taxicabs.
February 13, 2003... Stickers with the MasterCard International and Visa U.S.A. logos soon could become as common on Chicago taxicabs as "For Hire" lights. Chicago by June will require all 6,000 taxis operating in the city to be equipped with payment terminals that...

Small-Bank Check Imaging Use.
February 13, 2003... Currently Using 47% Planning To Evaluate 41% Not Interested 8% Source: Independent Community Bankers of America. Results based on a survey of 952 community banks. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

Large Retailers Hit With Gift Card Patent Lawsuit.
February 13, 2003... Last August, a Chicago law firm sent letters to several major merchants suggesting they pay client Default Proof Credit Card System Inc. licensing fees to comply with a patent the Miami-based company has on prepaid gift card dispensing. Default...

Chicago Cab Pilot Details.
February 13, 2003... City Cabs 6,000 Pilot Programs 11 Deadline* June *All Chicago cabs by June must be equipped with city approved payment terminals that accept all major credit and signature-based debit cards. Source:...

Hypercom Outlook Is Up.
February 13, 2003... Point-of-sale terminal maker Hypercom Corp. posted net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 of $1.2 million on revenues of $69.6 million. That compares with net income of $1.5 million on revenues of $68.1 million for the same period the...

First Data Card Chief Leaves.
February 13, 2003... Eula Adams, president of First Data Corp.'s Card Issuing Services unit, has resigned and will leave the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based processor March 1. Neither First Data nor Adams gave a specific reason for Adams' departure. Copyright...

News Briefs.
February 20, 2003... Supermarkets Back Speedpass Three Greater Boston Stop & Shop supermarkets are piloting acceptance of ExxonMobil Oil Corp.'s Speedpass transponders, the companies announced. Stop & Shop is the first supermarket chain to accept Speedpass,...

Processing News: Concord Reshuffles Management; Stock Price Tumbles.
February 20, 2003... A stock price slide and management shakeup at Memphis, Tenn.-based Concord EFS Inc. may point to fundamental economic model problems with Concord. Or they may be a short-term blip in an otherwise bright future for the company. Those are...

ATM Update: Vendors Try Again To Renew Interest In Check Cashing.
February 20, 2003... ATM operators slowly are learning that there is no cookie-cutter solution to offering automated check-cashing services at ATMs, despite the service being a potentially cheaper alternative to the high cost of cashing checks at check-cashing...

Processing Trends: Despite Concord Concerns, Report Predicts Positive Future For Processors.
February 20, 2003... Over the past year, more financial analysts have begun to monitor publicly held payment card processors. They began paying particularly close attention last summer, when Memphis, Tenn.-based Concord EFS Inc., the leading processor in the...

Concord's 4th Quarter Results.
February 20, 2003... 2002 2001 Change Revenues $605,809 $472,481 28% Net Income $89,069 $89,760 -1% Source: Concord EFS Inc. Figures in thousands. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights...

KeyBank Rewards For PIN Use, Too.
February 20, 2003... With more merchants looking to reduce their transaction costs by prompting debit cardholders to enter their PINs, financial institutions are adopting counterstrategies to encourage cardholders to use their signatures instead, thereby generating...

CashWorks' ISO clients.
February 20, 2003... Financial Technologies Inc. International Merchant Services Inc. Access ATM Inc. Cardtronics Inc. Western States ATM Systems Inc. Momentum Cash* Electronic Cash Systems Inc. Best Price Merchant Services Inc. ...

Diebold Strikes Satellite Deal.
February 20, 2003... Diebold Inc., the North Canton, Ohio-based ATM maker, has signed a deal with Israel-based Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. to use Gilat's Spacenet U.S. subsidiary to offer Diebold's ATM clients connections to Spacenet's Connexstar business-grade...

Starbucks Brews New Card.
February 27, 2003... Capitalizing on the popularity of its prepaid card, Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. has announced it will roll out a combined stored-value/credit card with Bank One Corp. and Visa U.S.A. in the latter half of this year. Starbucks customers...

EFunds Has Off Year In 2002.
February 27, 2003... EFunds Corp., the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based electronic funds transfer processor, reports company revenues for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 totaled $131.6 million, down 4.7% from $138.1 million during the same period in 2001. Net income for...

Prepaid Cards Are Replacing Checks For Child Support.
February 27, 2003... Electronic benefits transfer programs, in which participants in cash-assistance and food-stamp programs access government funds using debit cards, is reaching maturity. More than 90% of food-stamp recipients, for example, access their benefits...

Hacker Breach Dents Confidence In Card Security.
February 27, 2003... Using zero-liability and other policies, Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International, along with many of their member issuers of signature-based debit cards, have worked hard to quell consumer concerns about card security. But at least some of...

New ATM-Support Products Show Marked Decline In Vendor Pricing.
February 27, 2003... In the mid-1990s, ATM surcharging sparked mass nonbank acquisitions of ATMs for deployment in retail locations. As a result, the cost of basic ATMs fell from about $30,000 then to less than $5,000 today. Now, similar price reductions are...

Prepaid Child-Support States.
February 27, 2003... State Active Cases Washington 350,000 Minnesota 237,000 Colorado 100,000 Source: ATM&Debit News. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Stratus Facts.
February 27, 2003... Headquarters: Maynard, Mass. Business: Computer Hardware ATM Product: ftServer Annual ftServer Sales: 1,000 units Source: Stratus Technologies Inc. Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc....

Speedpass Adds ACH Debit As A Payment Option.
February 27, 2003... During a recent pilot involving ExxonMobil Corp. and Timex Corp., consumers bought more Timex wristwatches embedded with Speedpass transponders than they did same-style watches lacking the radio-frequency chips, even though the Speedpass...

What To Do If Compromised.
February 27, 2003... * Act fast to contain damage and limit exposure. Preserve logs and electronic evidence, and do not access the compromised system. * Investigate the security breach and possible loss or theft within 24 hours of the incident. Record all...

Cardtronics Inks 3 ATM Deals.
February 27, 2003... Cardtronics Inc., a Houston-based ATM independent sales organization, Feb. 27 announced that it acquired the ATMs and related transaction-processing contract covering 938 Winn-Dixie stores from CIBC's XtraCash ATM Inc. unit. This follows an...